Chadderton delivered a clinical attacking performance to secure a 6-2 victory over the FC Isle of Man on Tuesday night, with a devastating spell before half-time proving decisive.

The Oldham hosts turned a tight North West Counties Premier Division contest into a rout in the space of 10 first-half minutes, capitalising on defensive lapses to score four times and effectively end the game before the interval.

After the Ravens’ Michael Williams hit the bar with a header early on, Charlie Higgins had a perfectly good goal ruled out midway through the half when he was wrongly flagged offside when played through by Dean Pinnington.

Chadderton’s Tawab Djankpata then opened the scoring on 36 minutes and quickly doubled his tally before Lewis-Simon Byrne added a third for the promotion play-off hopefuls.

A soft free-kick on the edge of the Ravens’ box then allowed Robert Flynn to curl a great set-piece away from Mark Blair into the far corner as Chadderton stormed into a 4-0 lead by half-time.

The Ravens showed improved urgency after the restart and were rewarded when Pinnington pulled a goal back on 56 minutes with a quality strike from the edge of the box.

But any hopes of a comeback were short-lived as Connor High restored Chadderton’s four-goal advantage midway through the half.

Byrne added his second of the evening to further extend the lead, capping an impressive attacking display from the home side who remain fourth.

The Ravens managed to salvage more pride as they continued to press forward and were able to take some consolation late on when top scorer Higgins slotted past Oliver Culkin in added time to make it 6-2.

It’s a busy Easter weekend for Rick Holden’s charges who face Prestwich Heys in the Ravens’ final home game of the campaign on Saturday evening at the Bowl.

The Manx side then start a run of four away games with a trip to Stockport Town on Easter Monday afternoon.

SAM TURTON