It’s a local derby for the Coasters on Boxing Day as AFC Fylde travel to Victory Park to face Lancashire rivals Chorley F.C.
‘Get to Know’ the Magpies ahead of Fylde’s fixture this afternoon – (3pm KO). 👇
History
Chorley Football Club was formed in 1883, switching from rugby to football. The club does date back to 1875, as Major John Lawrence, a Wigan player, had conceived the idea a year earlier. Chorley joined the Lancashire Junior League in 1889, and then joined the Lancashire Alliance the following year. They joined the Lancashire League 1894/95, and were crowned champions in 1896/97. During the First World War, Chorley joined the Northern Division but struggled to fill a team, but formed a side in August 2018 for friendlies. The 1920’s were successful for Chorley in the Lancashire Combinations as the club achieved several honours for ten consecutive seasons. The Magpies were founding members of the Northern Premier League in 1968/69, but left at the end of the season to join the Cheshire League. Chorley re-joined the Northern Premier League in 1982/83 and won the competition in 1987/88 which earned them promotion to the Football Conference where they remained for two seasons before returning to the Northern Premier League.
Chorley spent the first decade of the 21st century in the Northern Premier League Division One, although they did nearly achieve promotion in the 2002/03 season after qualifying for the play-offs but losing in the final. They achieved promotion to the Northern Premier League Premier Division at the end of the 2010/11 season, beating AFC Fylde in the final. The Magpies would go on to win promotion to the Conference North once more in 2013/14 as league champions, and came close to back-to-back promotions in 2014/15. Under Jamie Vermiglio in 2018/19 Chorley won the play-off final against Spennymoor Town on penalties to achieve promotion to the National League, but they would go on to be relegated in 2019/20 to the National League North where they compete today.
The Manager – Jamie Vermiglio
Jamie Vermiglio has been the manager at Chorley since his appointment in June 2018 but his links to Chorley F.C. go back over a decade. Vermiglio has had three spells with the Magpies as a player totalling over 200 appearances for the club. Since retiring from playing in 2014, Vermiglio had been heavily involved with Chorley as staff firstly as a team coach, before progressing into an assistant manager. Following Matt Jansen’s departure, he took over as manager. He managed to lead Chorley into National League North play-off triumph in less than a year, which was Chorley’s first return to the top of the non-league pyramid in 29 years.
The Captain – Scott Leather
Club captain Scott Leather has been a part of Chorley’s squad since joining the club in 2016 from Altrincham. The 28-year-old defender started his career at Crewe Alexandra before moving to Preston North End to complete his football education. Leather made appearances for the first team, making his debut against Ipswich Town in a 2-1 defeat in April 2011. Leather was then released from Preston, moving on to Altrincham between the years of 2012 and 2016 where he made over 150 appearances. He finally moved on to Chorley prior to the 2016/17 season, and he’s been an important part of the Magpies ever since joining. Leather is a composed defender, and he is an important presence in Chorley’s defence. He led he Magpies in their 2019 play-off final win against Spennymoor Town.
Scout Report
1 Matt Urwin
2 Arlen Birch
5 Scott Leather ©
3 Harvey Smith
6 Lewis Baines
12 Will Tomlinson.
8 Mike Calveley.
11 Elliot Newby.
13 Ollie Shenton.
27 Connor Hall
9 Harry Cardwell
Chorley are coming from an 11-day break since their last fixture, which saw the Magpies losing 2-0 away from home to Guiseley, which saw them depart from the FA Trophy. Their last league outing saw Chorley draw to Alfreton Town in a 1-1 game again away from Victory Park. The Magpies have achieved 4 points playing at home this season out of 13, suffering 2 defeats, 1 win and 1 draw. The Magpies currently sit 14th in the table with the same number of games played as the Coasters.
The Coasters are fresh off an unfortunate ending to their FA Trophy Third Round fixture. After a brilliant start with Junior Mondal’s goal seconds into the match, Boston’s Connor Dimaio scored in the closing stages of the game taking the game into penalties. Luck wasn’t on Fylde’s side as the Pilgrims defeated the Coasters 4-2 in penalties. As for the National League North, Fylde will be expecting to recover from their last encounter against Hereford which saw the Coasters suffering their second defeat of the season. After such a great start to this year’s campaign, Fylde will want to return to winning ways this Boxing Day.
This fixture will be the 20th time that AFC Fylde and Chorley will be coming up against each other in both club’s history. History demonstrates a balance in results between both these teams, but favouring Chorley slightly as the Magpies have achieved 8 wins against Fylde’s 7 in the past. This local derby has also ended up in a draw on 4 occasions, but Fylde is the highest scoring team with 27 goals scored. The last time these sides faced each other dates back to the start of the 2019/20 season, which saw an unexciting 0-0 draw.
As for how we could see Chorley lining up, the Magpies changed things up a bit for their FA Trophy outing against Guiseley which featured several Chorley academy products on the pitch. This fixture could see them return to somewhat of a normal side, and we should expect to see Matt Urwin starting in goal after captaining the side against Guiseley.
The defence could see a familiar face facing AFC Fylde, as former Coaster Arlen Birch could be featuring in the right side of the defence. Former Fleetwood Town youngster Lewis Baines is expected to start on the opposite side as the left footed defender has joined Chorley permanently in 2019. Captain Scott Leather and former Bristol City youngster Harvey Smith could complete the defensive team for Chorley.
Will Tomlinson is predicted to be starting in midfield for Chorley, as the hard-working central midfielder seems to play an important role in the middle of the park for the Magpies. The energetic Mike Calveley should complete this midfield partnership with Tomlinson as his strength and energy will most definitely be an asset to Chorley. Exciting winger Elliot Newby is predicted to start on the wing for Chorley, Newby possesses great technical ability and pace which makes him menacing to opposition. Stoke City youth academy product Ollie Shenton is expected to complete the midfield for the Magpies.
Up front for Chorley we are expecting to see Connor Hall, who has recently joined from National League side Woking on a short-term loan, and Scottish forward Harry Cardwell who presents a big aerial threat to Fylde up front for Chorley.
The One to Watch- Elliot Newby
At National League North level, Elliot Newby is without doubt one of the most exciting talents at the moment, as the Magpies’ winger’s strong technical ability makes him an unpredictable player when running at the defence.
Newby is gifted with a natural ability to commit players when traveling with the ball, and with that, he’s played a key role in Chorley’s giant killings this season in the FA Cup scoring a goal against Wigan Athletic in Chorley’s 3-2 First Round win. Newby’s assist, via a corner kick, also contributed towards an important goal in Chorley’s 2-1 victory against Peterborough United.
Newby is into his third season at Chorley having joined in the 2018/19 season from AFC Telford United who he’d spent a season with the year before. Prior to that, Newby had begun his footballing journey at Bolton Wanderers, before dropping into the non-league system with Barrow, his local club. Whilst with The Bluebirds, Newby experienced loan moves to Burscough and Altrincham before joining Telford on a permanent deal.
Newby’s creativity going forward will be a goal threat, and he will be an exciting player to keep an eye on in the Boxing Day derby.
