Five Take Aways as FC Isle of Man Beat Peel

PDW

Dean Pinnington put in another good showing against Peel, as the former Wolves and Wigan man nabbed two goals. More importantly, he showed a good understanding with Sean Doyle and Dean Leece. With Ste Whitley coming off the bench at half-time and look strong down the right, Paul Jones may just have a lethal three pronged attack at his disposal. If he can get all three of them playing together and scoring, there could be something very exciting coming this season.

Another big plus for Jones was Tom Creer coming on and looking very comfortable on the ball, linking up with Whitley and causing problems for Peel’s back line, he looks to have grown in stature over the summer and it would be great to see him getting a run of games to find his feet a bit in the league.

Engine Room

Kyle Watson, Mikey Williams and Luke Murray lined up in midfield against Peel and while the first two looked at home and settled into their usual game, Murray just seemed a tad crowded out at times. His break up play was, as expected, very strong, but whether he can be as effective going forward from his deeper role remains to be seen. He’s a big player in Paul Jones’ squad and has a proven record of being a goalscorer too, so it is going to be really interesting to see how Murray fits into the system once the league gets going.

Frank Jones, Ste Riding and Sam Gelling all come on at half-time and looked comfortable, linking the play well and generally just controlling the game.

The Thin Red Line

Another strong showing at the back, with Ryan Burns and Al Maitland looking largely in control in the middle. Sherrard and Crook did well going forward and didn’t look exposed coming back either. Maitland was a constantly strong performer last season and looks set to be the leader in that back line.

Jamie Corlett came on at half-time and looked at ease and confident, so it will be interesting to see who started the first league game on Saturday.

Number 1?

After the Brackley Town game I said Ben Wilkinson had a good chance of being number 1, since then James Rice, Adam Killey and Harry Callin have all had a chance to impress. I’d still back Wilko, especially given his maturity last season, but there is some serious competition for the blue jersey come Saturday.

Let’s Go!

At the end of the game, the Ravens won 5-0, looked at ease, comfortable and played some good football. None of that matters come Saturday as they host Wythenshawe Town. The Ravens beat Town 3-1 back in April and they’ll be looking for a strong performance to get their NWCFL Premier Division season off to a good start. Speaking to fans last night, there is a confidence and general positivity around how pre-season has gone, how the team is looking and what we can expect to see this season.

It is going to be a long, hard campaign, with no doubt many of football’s best cliches thrown in throughout. But with a strong squad, with plenty of options across the park, Paul Jones is almost spoilt for choice as he gets ready to Unleash The Ravens!