Play-Off Semi-Final Preview: Scunthorpe vs Chorley

After Chorley's narrow 1-0 win over King’s Lynn Town and Chester’s extra-time victory against Buxton, will we get some more close calls?

Let’s take a look at the first of the semi-finals - and another huge crowd is expected.

The story so far:

Scunthorpe United will be thrilled they have home advantage - because their away form is what saw them miss out on the title.

Finishing just two points off top spot, on 90 points in comparison to Brackley Town’s 92, they know how important it is to be in front of their fans.

But Chorley love the big occasion, and have proven to be a tough nut to crack. The Magpies have won three on the bounce, scoring 11 times. There’s been nothing to separate them in the league this season.

Any team with Mark Ellis at both ends are not there to make up the numbers!

The leading goalscorers:

Scunthorpe United:
Callum Roberts: 20
Danny Whitehall: 14
Alfie Beestin: 8

Chorley:
Mark Ellis: 12
Mike Calveley: 11
Kole Hall: 10
Tom Carr: 10

Head to head:
24/08/24: Chorley 1-1 Scunthorpe United
18/01/25: Scunthorpe United 2-2 Chorley

What the managers say:

Andy Butler, Scunthorpe United: “We've now got two games to get into the National League with home advantage, and that's really important.

“Chorley are a very good team going forward, excellent at set pieces so that's one aspect of their game.

“But the message to the players is just focus on ourselves again.”

Andy Preece, Chorley: “We've got into that mentality of when the pressure comes, we’ll enjoy it - and we’ll embrace it.

“We know that if you don't finish in those first three spots you're going to have a really tough away game, and it doesn't get any tougher in our league.

“We've got to go there and enjoy it, it's a great place to play football, a great stadium and the fans make it electric”.