FC Isle of Man made it seven points from the last three games by beating City of Liverpool in Merseyside on Saturday afternoon.

First-half goals from Joe Middleton and Dean Pinnington helped pull the Ravens four points clear of the relegation zone in the Premier Division of the North West Counties Football League.

The wind played a massive part in the first half, not least delaying the boat which led to the team getting changed on the coach on the way to the ground.

But it also helped drive Rick Holden’s side early on as the Ravens dominated the early exchanges, with Middleton and Sammy Gelling both drawing comfortable saves from James Aspinall.

The home side could have taken the lead in the ninth minute as Josh Cain’s pass back to Mark Blair was cut out, with Lloyd Ellams being forced wide by Blair which gave Kyle Watson time to scurry back and clear the shot off the line.

Middleton opened the scoring in the 25th minute as he latched on to a long ball from Ste Whitley, dinking it over Aspinall to make it 1-0 to the Ravens.

A second goal soon followed as the ball fell to Pinnington on the edge of the box, he crafted some space for himself and curled it beyond Aspinall to make it 2-0.

Other than City of Liverpool flashing a shot wide of Blair’s goal after 40 minutes, the game was pretty even with no chances coming at either end before the break.

With the wind dying down somewhat in the second half, the Ravens managed to exert a fair bit of control and would have extended their lead but for Whitley’s curling effort going just wide and Adam Adebiyi drawing a good save from Aspinall.

City managed to pull one back after 65 minutes through Kyle Schorah, but then did little to threaten the FC Isle of Man goal from there on as Ravens captain Mikey Williams and his defence stood firm, supported by the efforts of Gelling and Pinnington in midfield.

The Ravens arguably should have had a penalty in the 72nd minute when Middleton flicked on to Adebiyi who was brought down when through on goal, but the officials were unmoved despite him having no reason not to stay on his feet and get a shot off.

With Robert Murphy sent off for City in the closing moments for a second yellow, the Ravens secured a big three points that sees the Manx side extend its unbeaten run to three games and away from the relegation zone.

SAM TURTON

- The Ravens are back in action on their home patch this weekend when they host Longridge Town at the Bowl on Saturday evening, kicking off at 6pm.