BARNOLDSWICK TOWN 0, FC ISLE OF MAN 1
Fifth-bottom FC Isle of Man put further daylight between them and the relegation places following a hard-earned victory at lowly Barnoldswick Town.
Teenager Tom Creer was the matchwinner with a strike early in the second half which moved his side 11 points clear of the bottom two.
It was the Manx side’s fourth away premier division win in the North West Counties League with each trip to the mainland an expedition.
By the time the match kicked off at the Silentnight Beds Stadium, most of the players had been on the road for nine hours.
They had caught a 7am flight before having breakfast and killing time at a hotel near Manchester Airport.
Luke Murray, 22, the Isle of Man’s giant centre forward, had the best chance of the opening half as he headed against the crossbar from a free kick.
The decisive moment of the match came six minutes into the second half when Charlie Higgins delivered a delicious low cross from the left to the far post for 17-year-old Creer to have a simple tap in.
They almost added a second not long after following a poor clearance by goalkeeper Jordan Gidley.
Higgins tried an audacious shot from 40 yards, but Gidley got back to make an important save.
Barnoldswick, attacking the Sewer End in the second half, huffed and puffed, but were lacked a cutting edge in front of goal.
They put some great balls across the face of goal but nobody was able to get on the end of them while other efforts flashed wide or were blocked.
Barnoldswick thought they had equalised in the second of four added minutes when Lewis Rawsthorn had a well-taken goal disallowed for offside.
Then with almost the last kick of the game, a 30-yard drive from Lewis Brown flashed past the upright.
It was a case of too little, too late as the Ravens flew home with the points.