FC Isle of Man celebrating Challenge Cup win in first season

The team lifted their first silverware at The Bowl in Douglas on Saturday

FC Isle of Man are celebrating after achieving their first cup win on the final day of the North West Counties Football League season.

The Ravens picked up the First Division Challenge Cup by beating Cammell Laird 1907 FC at the Bowl on Saturday.

It follows an impressive first season in the First Division South, which saw the team gain promotion in April.

Captain for the final match, Furo Davies, said picking up the silverware was the "cherry on top".

The Ravens secured the win with a late goal from man of the match Jacob Crook in the 79th minute of the match, in front of a 3,000-strong home crowd at the island's national stadium in Douglas.

Davies said although it had been "a bit of a scrappy game" and their opponents had defended well, the team had managed to edge to victory in end.

He said: "It's been such a long season from where we started to get here now and to still be able to get a 1-0 win, however we win it doesn't really matter, to get that win is amazing. And that's the cherry on the cake."

Reflecting on the team's performance in its first year, manager Chris Bass said the "whole season's just had everything".

He said the younger players, who were brought in for the cup run, had "done us proud".

He said: "That's the point, the more you play them the more experienced they become, and the better they will become."

"Today we could have played a lot better but it doesn't matter, the cup's ours. No-one can take it away, it's written down in history.

"FC Isle of Man first season went up to level five, won the division one cup, you couldn't write it. Nobody would have predicted this at the start of the season, nobody."

Looking forward, Davies said he was "massively" excited about the prospect of the new season.

"I think the excitement of another challenge and potentially better teams… is going to excite us, and hopefully I think we should be able to hold our own and just keep on going," he added.