Chorley's early season report is a positive one

The Magpies have a welcome breather this weekend as they are without a game.

They were originally scheduled to face Darlington at Victory Park but that game was brought forward and played in October with Vermiglio’s men coming out on top 2-1.

It means Chorley have 11 days’ break from their FA Trophy tie against Spennymoor Town last Tuesday to their next league match at York City a week on Saturday.

The mini-break will allow extra time for some of the squad to recover from niggling injuries and it is also hands Vermiglio a chance to reflect on the season.

After last season’s FA Cup exploits which saw the club remarkably reach the fourth round proper before losing to Premier League Wolves, the Magpies have fallen at the first hurdle in the both the FA Cup – to Southport – and then Trophy, losing on penalties to Spennymoor.

However, their league form has been decent to say the least and they have racked up eights wins and five draws from their opening 16 games.

The pleasing thing for Vermiglio is that he feels his men have not quite hit top form in many of their matches which he believes bodes well for the future.

The 9-0 and 4-1 wins over Gloucester City and Chester City have certainly been the highlights so far, but many of Chorley’s victories have been ground out when they perhaps haven’t been quite at their best.

He said: “We recognise that we have had a really good first third of the season.

“When you look at the teams which we have played against, we have probably played well in a third of the games and done all right in the other games and we are sitting third in the table.

“It’s been a good third of the season and it has given the lads a lot of confidence but what we need to do now is kick on and now really focus hard on the league.

“Try to pick up points on the road and keep our really good home form going.

“We had a lighter session last night and then we’ll really hit it hard with a tough session on Saturday and another tough session on Tuesday. Then on the Thursday, we will prepare for York.”

While disappointed to go out of the Trophy on penalties after a 0-0 draw, Vermiglio was not too downcast with his side’s performance against a good Spennymoor Town team on their own patch.

“Overall during the 90 minutes we have gone toe-to-toe with a good Spennymoor side,” he said.

Elsewhere, leaders AFC Fylde welcome Blyth Spartans to Mill Farm, while Southport are in action against Hereford at Haig Avenue.

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