Nine man Bury rescued a point at the death against FC Isle of Man in Douglas on Saturday evening. A last minute equaliser from Ben Hockenhull making the long journey across the Irish Sea a little easier for the Bury contingent.

Bolstered by a strong second half performance against South Liverpool Dave McNabb named a similar starting lineup handing starts to both Bryan Ly and Lewis Alessandra.

Despite the attacking lineup Bury found keeping possession and building attacks a struggle. Besides a Jerome strike that hit the post ruled out for offside the Shakers looked off the pace and were easily outmuscled by a physical Manx side.

Isle of Man forward Sean Doyle had a shot on goal from point blank range saved brilliantly by Mitch Allen before Adam Adebiyi fired the rebound wide. Adebiyi again tormented the Bury back line getting in behind the defence but his shot was wide of the mark.

Up until the half hour mark Allen was by far the busier keeper however as the first half wore on Bury seemed to turn a corner. Alex Cherera had a shot well saved before home keeper Adam Killey pounced on the free ball to prevent a second shot. Both Gomes and Cherera saw promising crosses narrowly miss their targets while Earl up front for a free kick lifted a shot just over the bar.

Bury tried to break the deadlock before halftime but couldn’t find a way past the Ravens defence though Cherera continued to look the most likely, a cynical foul on the Bury winger saw the Manx full back Callum Sherry go into the book.

Whatever progress the Shakers might have made towards the end of the first half was wiped away early on after the restart. Allen forced into another save palmed a chance onto the crossbar. Bury were forced onto the back foot again and when Bryan Ly misplaced a pass it gave the Ravens a chance to take the lead. A cross from the left was met by the big centre forward Doyle whose header deflected off Allen and into the Bury goal.

From there the hosts sat back and looked to frustrate the Shakers. Gamesmanship and time wasting became part of the Ravens strategy. Despite turning to fresh legs on the bench McNabb could not find a way to break down the Isle of Man defence as time began to run short.

Cherera had a chance but his rushed lob shot was just wide of the post, Lewis Earl’s long range shot went wide and Bryan Ly had a late free kick just miss the target.

Bury felt they had a late advantage when the already booked Callum Sherry took one liberty too many in the referee’s eyes and the Ravens player got a second yellow card for time wasting. Bury could not make the advantage stick. First substitute Andy Briggs, already walking a fine line and channelling the collective frustration of everyone at Bury received a sin bin for one complaint too many. With less than ten minutes to play it served as an effective sending off. Only shortly afterwards a Cherera appeal for a handball saw him join his teammate on the sidelines and the tables were turned, Bury had fewer players left and the match was into stoppage time.

The desperate lateonslaught continued. Drafted into the front line centre back Ben Hockenhull found himself the most forward man and though marked heavily he used his strength to fashion a final shot on goal. His chaotic effort beat Killey and rippled into the back of the net. The frustration boiling over in the Bury stands turned into an eruption and the whole team plus the sidelines chased Hockenhull to the joyful waiting arms of Bury fans behind the goal.