Magpies hope recent history is repeated in the play-offs
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The Magpies entertain Curzon Ashton at Victory Park this evening in a play-off preliminary tie – the winners will go through to a semi-final encounter where Brackley Town will be waiting at St James Park on Sunday.
The reason why Preece’s men face a preliminary match is because they finished fourth in the table – Scunthorpe United, who finished second, and third-placed Brackley – go straight through to the semi-final stage.
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Hide AdChorley take on seventh-placed Curzon, and Alfreton Town – who came fifth – host sixth-placed Boston United tonight for the right to play Scunthorpe at Glanford Park on Saturday.
For much of this season, the Magpies have been vying to finish inside the top three but ultimately finished two points behind Brackley.
It would appear Scunthorpe and Brackley hold the advantage as they only have to win two games to earn promotion but as recent history has shown that is not necessarily the case. Last year, Kidderminster Harriers won the play-offs after finishing the normal season in sixth spot in the table, while the season before that, it was York City who secured promotion despite ending the campaign in fifth spot.
Indeed, you have to go back to 2019 for the last time a team who finished in either second or third won the play-offs – and ironically that team was Chorley.
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Hide Ad"It is an interesting stat,” said Preece. “What sort of happens is you continue to play after the season and you continue in a rhythm, whereas we would have to wait another week before we play again if we had finished second or third.
"Sometimes getting on that roll and being in form, playing game after game, can give you that momentum.
"It’s interesting that we were the last ones to do that – win the play-offs by only winning two games.
"So it gives us that little bit more confidence – that it can be done again. We know on our day we can beat anybody in this division – we have shown that this season but equally if we are not quite at it, we know it can go the other way.”