FC Isle of Man march on in Macron Cup

FC Isle of Man produced a superb second-half comeback to defeat Maghull 3-2 at the Bowl on Saturday.

The Ravens overturned a two-goal half-time deficit to secure their place in the third round of the Macron Challenge Cup.

The visitors made a dream start, with Oliver Pritchard opening the scoring in the 13th minute before Sam Smith doubled Maghull’s advantage only two minutes later after a major mess up at the back left keeper Adam Killey totally stranded.

In amongst this, the Ravens were lucky not to be further behind, with the visitors missing several opportunities and Jamie Clark hitting the post with a rifled shot from the edge of the box.

But the Ravens wasted little time in turning the contest around after the restart.

Charlie Higgins pulled one back in the 47th minute, curling a strike into the far corner past Patrick McLoughlin after a deep corner.

Adam Adebiyi struck a minute later to bring the scores level at 2-2 when he pounced on a ball over the top and looped one over McLoughlin.

With momentum firmly on their side, the Ravens pressed for a winner and their persistence paid off in the 80th minute.

Substitute Jason Charmer completed a good team move, sweeping home a cross in from Dean Pinnington to make it 3-2.

The win sees the Ravens advance to the third round of the Macron Challenge Cup, provisionally scheduled to take place on Saturday, November 21.

With manager Lee Dixon forced into two first-half substitutions, replacing Al Maitland and Jacob Crook early on, he'll be relieved with the result but left sweating on the fitness of two of his usual stalwarts.