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St John's United v Peel

7pm  11 January 2013

Isle of Man Premier League
St John's United 3 Peel 2 (att 220)

St John's appear to be one of the Isle of Man's more progressive clubs, and have been making good use of their newly-installed floodlights to stage a few games on Friday nights. If the game I attended is any guide then they're attracting decent crowds as well, although many had made the short trip from local rivals Peel.

Given the large crowd I was surprised the club didn't make any effort to make a bit of money by charging admission, or offering a programmes or raffle tickets for sale. Still, I imagine the bar did good business, and the tea bar was certainly busy.

As well as floodlights, the Mullen y Cloie ground has a fully enclosed pitch, with dugouts and advertising boards to give if the feel of a "proper" ground.

The game was good, and reinforced my impression that domestic football on islands if often of a high standard. If you're a decent player based on the Isle of Man then you're likely play for a local club, unless you're good enough to make it worth moving to the mainland as a professional. In England, good players at this level would soon be tempted to clubs higher up the pyramid.

Peel had most of the early possession, but were toothless in front of goal, while St John's took an early lead with their first attack. It remained 1-0 at half time, but a flurry of early second half goals took the score to 3-1, before a late goal back for the visitors added interest for the closing moments.






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