All eyes will be on the Bowl this Saturday evening when FC Isle of Man plays its first ever home league game.

A packed crowd is expected to descend on the national stadium for the 6.30pm kick-off against Brocton in Division One South of the NorthWest Counties Football League.

The ongoing coronavirus situation which caused uncertainty surrounding the island’s border status has meant that the Ravens have thus far played all of their league and FA Vase games away from home.

But that will all change this weekend when Stafford-based Brocton make the journey from England to the Isle of Man where they face a Ravens side challenging for a spot in the play-off positions.

Prior to last night’s (Wednesday’s) away match at play-off rivals Cheadle Town, the Manx team had enjoyed a superb seven-match winning run in the league which leaves them on the cusp of breaking into the top five and a possible promotion challenge in their very first season.

The relentless travel over the last couple of months means that it’s been difficult for manager Chris Bass Sr to pick a settled side, which was reflected last weekend when an understrength FC Isle of Man were knocked out of the FA Vase by Billingham Synthonia.

But a home game gives the gaffer a plethora of players to choose from, so hopefully the majority of his squad emerged unscathed from Wednesday’s match at Cheadle Town.

And in Sean Doyle, Bass has the league’s in-form striker at his disposal.

The Ravens frontman has been ruthless in front of goal of late, scoring a whopping 12 goals in a week recently, including a double hat-trick against Abbey Hulton United.

As such, Doyle is now the second highest scorer in the league on 18 goals, only one behind Saul Henderson of Wythenshawe Amateurs.

Tickets

Tickets are still available for this weekend’s match and fans can save 15 per cent off the price of a 10-game home pass until midnight tonight (Friday).

There may be some tickets available to purchase at the gate on a matchdays (by debit or credit card only), but spectators are urged to buy their tickets online in advance -for more information, visit www.fcisleofman.im/tickets

Live streaming

FC Isle of Man is to live stream all of its home fixtures this season by hosting matches outside of UEFA’s blackout window.

The club has a partnership deal in place with TicketCo Media Services which means the Ravens’ home games on Saturday evenings will be live-streamed for fans off-island.

Full report, photos and reaction from FC Isle of Man’s maiden home league game in next week’s Examiner, on sale Tuesday morning