Magpies are not on revenge mission against Spennymoor Town in National League North play-off final

Chorley boss Jamie Vermiglio does not see Sunday’s play-off final against Spennymoor as a revenge mission.
Jamie Vermiglio celebrates the win over AltrinchamJamie Vermiglio celebrates the win over Altrincham
Jamie Vermiglio celebrates the win over Altrincham

But he does want the Moors’ role in denting their title quest to give his men an extra bit of bite to claim their spot in the National League.

Vermiglio’s men went to Brewer Field on the penultimate day of the season knowing a draw would have left them needing just a final day win over Bradford Park Avenue to lift the title.

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But Glen Taylor’s injury time winner broke the Magpies’ hearts on Easter Monday with County beating Nuneaton on the last day of the regular season to clinch promotion.

Vermiglio’s side had time to lick their wounds and bounced back by beating Bradford Park Avenue 3-2.

They followed that up by fighting back from a goal down to draw 1-1 with Altrincham in normal time of their semi-final last week before winning 3-1 on penalties.

Now, as fate would have it, they host Spennymoor in a one-off shot at promotion at home on Sunday.

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Their visitors are one of only three sides in Blyth Spartans and Ashton United to have won in the league at at Victory Park this term and the only team to have done the double over the Magpies.

And Vermiglio says his men will not let Spennymoor beat them again as they aim to end a 29-year absence from the top tier of non-league.

He said: “They are a good side, very strong, very attack minded. They get a lot of players beyond the ball.

“They have got Taylor up front, he is the leading scorer in the league. He was awarded player of the season.

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“It is not going to be easy but I am hoping we can use those two defeats as fuel as part of the lads getting themselves up for it.

“Not that they will need it. It is the biggest game in a lot of their careers.

“The boys will be up for it. Their lads have done better against us than we have done against them so it is a challenge for our lads to not let that happen again.

“I am sure that they will be up for it. There is a tiny bit of if we would have picked up a draw there we would have won the league.

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“I would not call it revenge, just extra motivation to not be turned over by them. We’ve already had that happen twice and it will not happen again.”

Spennymoor also had to go to extra time and penalties after they could not overcome Brackley in normal time.

But Vermiglio says all of his men are fighting fit for the final.

He said: “Everyone is available. We had a recovery session on Tuesday night.

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“There is a decent enough time to recover. So it is a similar situation to Spennymoor because their game went to extra time too.

“Thursday was a sharp session and then Saturday we go a bit more into shapes, set-plays and how we feel we can gain an advantage over them.”