Ste Whitley scored a late winner as FC Isle of Man beat Glossop North End 1-2 away in Derbyshire on Saturday afternoon.

With more than a slight chill in the air, the Ravens took revenge for Glossop’s 0-2 win at the Bowl in January.

The home side should have taken the lead in the opening moments as Tom Lawless beat the offside trap to go through one-on-one with Adam Killey.

But, as the Ravens keeper came out to close him down, he did just enough to put him off as the striker placed his shot wide of the right-hand post.

At the other end of the pitch, Dean Pinnington weaved his way past two defenders shortly after to burst through into the box but, as he went to shoot, David Badrock brilliantly slid in to block his effort.

With few chances for either side throughout the rest of the first half, Sean Doyle went closest for the Ravens as he flicked on a free-kick that was dealt with by the Glossop keeper Alex Brown.

Lawless also had another chance to score but his tame effort was held by Killey to ensure the game was scoreless at the break.

In the second half, the Ravens’ opening goal came with some controversy from the home side’s perspective as, when Pinnington played Whitley through, there was a suggestion of offside but with no flag coming he kept his cool and slotted home to make it 0-1 to FC Isle of Man.

The Derbyshire side looked to strike back immediately and had the ball in the Ravens’ net after a Killey save was put home on the rebound, only for the assistant’s flag to go up and the goal was ruled out.

That relief for the Manx side was short-lived though, as Glossop were soon awarded a penalty which Lee Rick duly converted.

As the clock ticked down, the home side were reduced to 10 men as Tom Creer barged Abdul Djalo over.

The latter player then got up and run up to shove Creer over, being sent for an early shower for his efforts. Doyle was also booked for his part in the handbags that followed.

Despite the Ravens now having a man advantage, they struggled to create much but Lady Luck was shining on Paul Jones’ side in the form of Alex Brown.

Deep into added time, the Glossop keeper mishit a kick straight to Doyle who found himself free on goal from about 30 yards.

He went to go round the keeper, only for Whitley to appear behind him and tap into the empty net to make it 1-2 and send the travelling fans wild.

- FC Isle of Man have 11 games left of the North West Counties season to go. All bar one are at the Bowl, with the Ravens’ final away trip of the season a trip to Burscough on Saturday, March 1.

The islanders’ run of home games begins with the visit of mid-table Barnoldswick Town to the national Stadium on Saturday evening.

That game kicks off at 6pm.

SAM TURTON