Goals from Jack McVey, Ste Whitley and Tom Creer saw FC Isle of Man overcome a tricky Barnoldswick Town on Saturday.

The win takes Paul Jones’s side up to fourth in the NWCFL Premier Division ahead of this weekend’s visit of league leaders Ramsbottom United.

The Ravens have been guilty of conceding early goals this season, but it was the Manx side who took the lead in the eighth minute as McVey prodded home Whitley’s corner.

That lead didn’t last long, however, as Jenson Butterworth’s cross from the right beat everyone to pick out Gareth Hill who nodded home to make it 1-1 inside 15 minutes.

With neither side able to create much after, it was the Lancashire side who nearly grabbed the lead after a series of corners which culminated with Jacob Crook clearing an effort off the line.

Barlick then had a half-shout for a penalty as the ball appeared to strike a Ravens’ hand in the box from a corner, but referee Jamie Law was unmoved and waived play on.

As the midfields battled to try and get on top, a driving run from Crook saw the Barlick defenders left with no choice but to haul him down for a free-kick on the edge of their box.

When McVey’s effort hit the wall, it fell to Danny Gerrard whose resulting effort dropped onto the top of the goal.

The home side had the half’s final chance and Hill would have scored were it not for Callum Sherry heading the ball up and over from practically his own goal line.

The second half saw little in the way of chances as neither side was able to find a killer ball to open the other up.

A freekick just inside the Barlick half on the 66th minute gave McVey a chance to try something different and he deceived almost everyone when he tried to sneak an effort into the near side of the goal, with Barlick’s Gregor Zabret forced into a good stop.

With chances at a premium, it was the sin-binning of Barlick’s Ryan Moore that helped create the space that sub Charlie Higgins needed.

As Tom Creer did well to win the ball high in Barlick’s half, Higgins’s cross was headed in by Whitley to give the Ravens a 1-2 lead.

Higgins would turn provider again as Creer controlled a long ball, laid it back to Higgins whose first time pass was inch perfect to set the young Onchan striker away.

As he bore down on goal, he sat Zabret down and dinked it over him to wrap up the points with a 1-3 win.

SAM TURTON