FC Isle of Man booked their place in the second round of the Isuzu FA Vase with a come-from-behind victory at Billingham Town on Saturday.

The Ravens had beaten Lower Breck 3-1 in the second qualifying round of the competition to set up a clash in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham.

The game got off to the worst possible start for the Manx side though, with the hosts opening the scoring inside the very first minute when Andrew Nelson found the back of James Rice’s net.

But it wasn’t long before FC Isle of Man got back on level terms when Ste Whitley swung in a free-kick to Luke Murray - making his 50th appearance - who headed back across goal and into the far corner of the net to make it 1-1.

The same combination nearly struck again just before the half-hour mark when another Whitley set-piece found Murray but this time his header sailed over the bar.

Ravens centre-back Karl Clark delivered a timely intervention at the other end of the pitch to prevent the hosts from retaking the lead.

The lively Whitley was agonisingly close to giving the visitors’ the lead when he curled a fine free-kick past the home goalkeeper from 25 yards out, only for his effort to crash back off the crossbar and it remained 1-1.

But there was to be no denying the Ravens a second goal before the interval. Having denied Billingham a goal at one end, Clark was then on hand at the other to get on the end of a Jack McVey free-kick and head home to put the visitors 2-1 in front.

Chris Bass Sr’s charges very nearly grabbed a third on the stroke of half-time when Ciaran McNulty, Murray and Whitley combined to set up Jacob Crook 25 yards out but his brilliant first-time effort sailed inches past the post so it remained 2-1 at the break.

The home team started the second half well but chances were at a premium for both sides during the opening exchanges, with the best chance falling to a Billingham attacker who was denied in impressive fashion by Rice when one-on-one.

A raft of substitutions from both teams further disrupted the game, with Charlie Higgins and Dean Leece entering the fray for FC Isle of Man in place of McNulty and Adam Mealin.

It wasn’t long before Leece was in the thick of the action for the visitors, crossing to Murray who sidefooted home only for his effort to be disallowed for offside.

But soon after the Ravens found the back of the Billingham net again and this time the goal stood as Murray escaped down the left before crossing to Higgins who fired home to make it 3-1 with a little over 10 minutes remaining.

The Whitley/Murray combination then came to the fore once again in the closing moments of the game. First, another Whitley cross found the head of Murray inside the area but the tall striker sent his effort off target.

But Billingham failed to heed the warning and, four minutes into injury time, Whitley set up Murray inside the area to slot home at the back post to complete his brace and rubberstamp an impressive 4-1 win for FC Isle of Man to book their place in the next round.

The Ravens will go up against Holker Old Boys in the second round away on Saturday, November 12.

- The Manx team are back in action this evening (Tuesday) when they take on Wythenshawe Town in the North West Counties Football League Premier Division in Manchester, kicking off at 7.45pm.