FC ISLE OF MAN (The King George V Bowl)

NORTH WEST COUNTIES LEAGUE DIVISION ONE SOUTH, FC ISLE OF MAN 2-1 BROCTON, ATTENDANCE: 2,012

Back in 2019 it was announced that, following in the footsteps of Guernsey and Jersey, the Isle of Man would be making an application to enter a team into the national league system, with the hope of competing in the North West Counties League for the 2020/21 season.

This application was successful and the team was placed at step six in the pyramid, the NWCFL Division One South (due to the proximity of these clubs to the regions airports). However, we all know what came next and the Covid pandemic struck. Like the rest of the UK, the Isle of Man went into lockdown and it meant the club were unable to play their first game until August 2021.

As the season began, the Isle of Man still remained closed to visitors so the football team had to play all of their 'home' games away from the Island. On the 4th October though, the Isle of Man government annouced the re-opening of their borders meaning the The Ravens could now finally play a competitive game at home. I was straight onto the various travel sites to book my journey meaning it would be the first time I've ever flown to a North West Counties game.

 The Bowl, Douglas 

Home in the case of FC Isle of Man is the main stadium on the island, the 3,000 capacity King George V Bowl in Douglas. The ground is, as the name suggests, bowl shaped and is all seated, with an artificial playing surface. Local team St Mary's also play their home games here.

For this ground hopper not only was there the opportunity to witness this historic match, there was also a chance of a double header as, to avoid having a negative impact on the local leagues who play at 2.30pm, FC Isle of Man games kick off at 6.30pm. I opted to watch Corinthians AFC vs Ramsey YCOB at the Ballafletcher Sports Ground, which is a 25 minute walk up the road from The Bowl. Corinthians won 3-0.

 ⬆️ Ballafletcher Sports Ground, Corinthians AFC ⬇️

I got chatting to the people at Corinthians and most of them were heading to The Bowl afterwards, especially as there were numerous ex-Corinthians players now at FC Isle of Man.

After checking in at my hotel, I arrived at the ground about 45 minutes before kick off and you could sense the anticipation. The place was heaving and the match had clearly captured the imagination of locals. There was a bumper crowd of over 2k present as FC Isle of Man took to the field to play Brocton.

The Ravens came into the game on the back of two defeats, one of them an FA Vase exit at Billingham Synthonia , so falling behind inside two minutes didn't help matters. In their first attack, Brocton forced a corner and a loose ball in the box fell to Ben Haddaway who forced the ball home.

The home side dominated possession thereafter but rarely troubled Tony Allsopp in the Brocton goal. Indeed it was the visitors from Stafford who looked more likely to score on the counter attack. Just before the break Isle of Man hit the bar through Stephen Whitley before Daniel Simpson forced Allsopp into a great save. The momentum had swung.

The second half began as the first half ended with Isle of Man on the attack and it seemed a matter of time before they equalised. It arrived on 61 minutes when club captain Jack McVey headed home.  From then on there was only going to be one winner.

The Ravens winning goal duly arrived after 75 minutes when Luke Murray picked up the ball in midfield and headed towards goal before striking the ball home from 25 yards, via a slight deflection off both a Brocton player and a post. Cue scenes, as they say in modern parlance.

Allsopp produced another fine save to deny Whitley his second goal before The Badgers had some late half chances to snatch a point. In the end, FC Isle of Man weren't to be denied on their big night and, in front of their supporters it was much needed. Hopefully they will be encouraged back for more, it will be interesting to see how the attendances hold up going forward.

Reading the notes in the programme, it is hoped that having a team in the league system will bring people to the island. The article said that if 50 people per match came over as result this would be great for the local economy, especially as the majority of games will be outside the usual tourist season. Looking at various pictures on social media it would appear this is worked immediately!

I did my little bit (hic) and I throughly enjoyed my brief stay in Douglas. I will certainly be returning again at some point in the future.

BOSTON UNITED (Jakemans Community Stadium)

FA CUP 4th QUALIFYING ROUND, BOSTON UNITED 1-1 STRATFORD TOWN, ATTENDANCE: 1,627

This afternoon I headed cross country to Lincolnshire to complete my trilogy of the three brand new grounds in the National League North that I needed at the start of the season (Gloucester City and York City were the others).

Boston moved into their new stadium at the end of 2020 after leaving York Street after 77 years. The ground move had been mooted since 2006, when Boston were a football league club, but it finally came to fruition last year.

The new ground is part of a redevelopment of an area on the outskirts of Boston in Wyberton. As well as the ground, there is a new housing estate and the ubiquitous retail outlets.

The ground is easy to find if you are driving, as it is off the main A16 road. We parked on a residential street about a 10 minute walk away. However, if you are walking it from the town centre then you are looking at about a 40 minute stroll.

The ground is currently three sided, a main seated stand and two sides of terracing. The fourth side behind the goal will be developed in the future.

The Pilgrims played their first game at the new Stadium on 5 December 2020, a 2-0 loss to Chorley in the National League North. Due to Covid fans were not permitted to attend until the start of the current 2021-22 season.

Today I was attracted by the magic of the cup. Both teams were playing for the chance of getting into the first round proper, and all of the possibilities that entails, but for the visitors Stratford Town the occasion was more special as this was the furthest they had ever gone in the FA Cup in their 80 year history.

Boston will be wondering how this one got away. After dominating the opening proceedings, they eventually took the lead courtesy of a Fraser Preston free-kick after 22 minutes. Preston thought he had bagged a second five minutes later, but an assistant referee's flag came to the visitors rescue.

This let off galvanised Stratford and on 32 minutes they were level when Jaanai Gordon headed home from a corner kick.

Stratford had a spell of pressure before half time as Boston were clearly stunned by the disallowed goal and equaliser, but it was all square at the break.

Boston began the second half as they began the first, putting the Stratford under pressure but in truth they failed to trouble Liam O'Brien in The Bards goal. On 75 minutes there was a bit of melee in the Stratford penalty area which resulted in a red card for Jake Wright Jr and with that both teams seemed happy to settle for a replay.

Result!

EDIT: Stratford Town won the replay 3-2 and were rewarded with a home tie with Shrewsbury Town, which will be shown live on television. A very lucrative reward for their efforts, which is why the FA Cup is still important to the majority of clubs.

YORK CITY (York Community Stadium)

NATIONAL LEAGUE NORTH, YORK CITY 3-1 SOUTHPORT, ATTENDANCE: 3,199

This afternoon I headed to York City to visit the second of the three brand new grounds in the National League North that I needed at the start of the season (Gloucester City and Boston United being the others).

My trip was slightly delayed, as such, because I originally planned to visit here a few weeks ago when Hereford were due in town but an outbreak of Covid-19 in the visitors camp saw that game postponed. There were no problems exchanging my ticket for the todays game, where Southport were the opposition.

So, after 88 years, York left Bootham Crescent to move across the city to the York Community Stadium, currently known as the LNER Community Stadium. The last game at Bootham was a 1-0 victory over Guiseley.

The Stadium is located just off the A64 in Huntington and is part of a leisure complex consisting of all the usual outlets. Indeed to get to my turnstile I walked past a cinema, a bowling alley and an indoor golf range.

It is also the location of Monks Cross Park and ride, which made parking very easy. I was off the ale today so I never bothered taking a bus into the city centre for a pint. The parking was pre-booked online and the getaway after the game was relatively painless.

The first competitive game at the York Community Stadium took place in February 2021, after delays meant the opening was over eight years after originally planned, where York were beaten 3-1 by AFC Fylde.

The ground, which is shared with York City Knights Rugby League, has a capacity of 8,000. It obviously lacks the character of Bootham Crescent but is a fine example of a modern Stadium, ticking all the necessary boxes. The leg room where I was sitting was very good, I must say.

There was a record crowd in attendance to watch The Minstermen despatch Southport 3-1. Both teams have struggled for form this season so I didn't anticipate a classic encounter but York had just enough to claim the victory, no doubt to the delight of their manager, ex-Evertonian, Steve Watson.

York could have been in front within a minute of the start but veteran striker Clayton Donaldson's header went agonisingly wide.

They did take the lead after 29 minutes when Matt Brown headed home. The lead lasted just a minute when Brown went from hero to Villa by conceding a penalty, duly converted by Josh Hmami (pictured right).

York 'keeper Pete Jameson made a terrific save from point blank range to prevent Southport taking the lead in first half stoppage time.

After 58 minutes York retook the lead with another header, this time fro. Akil Wright.

The game opened up as the Sandgrounders searched for another equaliser but in the 85th minute Olly Dyson netted to seal the win for York.

I don't know the ins and outs but there are clearly issues between supporters and the board. There were chants of "sack the board" ringing out during the second half, even when the team were winning and one fan even ran onto the pitch.

Just one more ground to go now to recomplete the National League North and I think a journey to Lincolnshire may be on the cards next Saturday!

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My first visit to Bootham Crescent was back in 1995 when Everton were unceremoniously dumped out of the league Cup, The Minstermen winning 3-2. My last visit was for a York City Knights match versus the North Wales Crusaders back in 2018.