FC Isle of Man went down 3-1 away at South Liverpool on Wednesday night, suffering their fourth defeat in the last six games in the North West Counties Premier Division.

Charlie Higgins had given the Ravens the lead in the Merseyside clash, but Rick Holden’s side were unable to find a second as South Liverpool regrouped.

The Ravens started the game brightly and penned the hosts back, but were a bit shot shy early on when opportunities presented themselves.

But that early pressure paid off in the 16th minute when Sam Baines pinched the ball in midfield.

He picked out Charlie Higgins who in turn laid it off to Ste Whitley and, with the latter unable to find room for a shot, the ball came back to Higgins who fired into the bottom-right corner of the net to give the Ravens a deserved lead.

But that early work was undone when Owen Dursley was allowed to arrive at the back post to score, at the second attempt after a good initial stop by Adam Killey to make it 1-1.

It was soon 2-1 to the home side as Luke Denton pounced on a lapse at the back for FC Isle of Man to give South the lead after two goals in four minutes.

The Manx side pushed South back as the half wore on, but Whitley’s well-placed cross being met by no-one which set the tone for the rest of the game.

Killey was called into action to keep the gap at one goal as he pulled off a smart save to deny Sullivan Barker when he tried to place one into the far corner.

Whitley had a speculative effort late in the first half that nearly drew the Ravens level when Dean Pinnington forced Lucas Allan into a rushed clearance. The ball came to Whitley but his long-range effort on his weaker foot dropped just over the bar to ensure it was 2-1 to the hosts at the break.

The second half saw some good moves which eventually came to nothing for the Ravens as Luke Booth and Higgins combined a couple of times, while Whitley out on the other flank also caused issues for the home side.

But, despite their endeavours, there was little reward for FC Isle of Man as the South defence mopped up or crosses flashed by with no-one there to convert.

The home side then managed to grab their third goal when Neil Weaver slid in to add another from a cross into the box that wasn’t dealt with by the visiting defence.

Despite the efforts of Higgins and Whitley to create chances down the wings, the Ravens were unable to find a route back into the game and the contest finished 3-1, leaving the Ravens 22nd in the table with eight points from 15 games.

- FC Isle of Man have a good opportunity to get back to winning ways this weekend when they travel to bottom of the league Litherland REMYCA on Saturday, with the match kicking off at 3pm.

SAM TURTON