Chorley handed home tie against Warrington Rylands in FA Trophy after Marine win
Chorley assistant boss Chris Anderson admitted it was pleasing to see some of the squad fringe players step up in the FA Trophy on Saturday.
The Magpies progressed to the third round of the competition thanks to a 3-1 victory over Marine at Victory Park.
It was sweet revenge for Andy Preece’s men after losing to the Merseysiders 11 days earlier – only their third defeat of their National League North campaign.
The tie was also an opportunity to give players such as Sam Bird, Tom Carr and Jack Rice 90 minutes, while 17-year-old Noel Brindle and Liam Birchall (20) came off the bench.
A first-half strike from Dubem Eze handed the hosts the lead, which was added to in the second period by Momodou Touray and George Horbury. Harvey Gregson’s late reply was a mere consolation.
The Magpies reward for progressing is a home tie against Warrington Rylandsin the next round and Anderson told ChorleyFCTV: "We are very happy.
"We looked at this game and thought it was going to be a tough one, and it was as expected. We have just been to their place and obviously we were disappointed to be beaten.
"So we knew it was going to be tough, especially with players missing, but it was an opportunity for some of the young lads to get some minutes, like Sam Bird and Tom Carr and also some of the younger lads on the bench.”
The likelihood is that there will be more opportunities for other members of the squad this Tuesday, when Chorley host Bamber Bridge in the second round of the Lancashire FA Challenge Trophy.
"We are going to have to put a few more younger lads in the squad and rest the boys for some big games that we have coming up,” Anderson said.
Three NLN games in the final eight days of this month will test the club’s resources.
Table-topping Chorley are back in league action on Saturday at home to Chester, then visit Farsley Celtic next Tuesday.