FC Isle of Man suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of Kendal Town in the North West Counties League Premier Division on Saturday.

The Ravens were hoping to bounce back from the previous week’s 0-2 defeat against high-flying Bury at the Bowl.

But the Manx side found themselves three goals down inside the opening six minutes at the Westmorland Flooring Stadium as they were caught napping.

The opening goal arrived with less than 45 seconds on the clock as man of the match Steven Yawson crossed to Matthew Dudley at the back post and he headed down and past Ben Wilkinson in the FCIoM goal.

Less than three minutes later it was 2-0 when Kendal swept forward and the ball broke to James Bailey who poked the ball underneath Wilkinson to double the hosts’ advantage.

And the home team were in dreamland seconds later when Leyton Holden met a corner at the back post and headed home to make it 3-0 with barely six minutes on the clock.

FC Isle of Man briefly rallied and reduced the deficit just before the quarter-hour mark when Kendal defender Martin Grundy wrestled a Ravens player to the ground inside the area and a penalty was awarded by the referee for the Ravens.

Up stepped Sean Doyle who sent goalkeeper Christopher Cheetham the wrong way from 12 yards out to make it 3-1.

But any hopes of an FC Isle of Man comeback were soon quashed when Kendal restored their three-goal cushion in the 23rd minute following a good move between Dudley and Yawson who linked up well to set up Bailey who slotted home from close range for 4-1.

Matters got even worse for the Ravens moment later when the Mintcakes grabbed their fifth of the afternoon, with Yawson scoring his first when cutting inside and slotting past Wilkinson to make it 5-1 at half-time.

The second half was a much quieter affair but there was an FC Isle of Man debut for former Southport, Halifax Town and Stockport County player Dan Hattersley who came off the bench around the hour mark.

After showing some promising link-up signs between himself and Doyle, including setting up the latter for a header which was saved, it was Kendal who troubled the scorers next.

With 74 minutes on the clock, Dudley released Yawson who kept his cool to slot the ball past Wilkinson in the Ravens goal to make it 6-1.

The Manx side’s misery could have been compounded even further late on, but for Wilkinson producing a couple of excellent saves to deny the hosts a seventh.

But in the end it was a comfortable and dominant win for Kendal Town which leaves them eighth in the table, with FC Isle of Man 12th.

l The Ravens are back on home turf this weekend when they welcome West Didsbury & Chorlton to the Bowl on Saturday evening, kicking off at 6pm.

Head to https://fcisleofman.ticketco.events/uk/en to purchase tickets for the match.