MARK Beesley says his Warrington Town side can take inspiration from their play-off history with South Shields as they head to Tyneside tonight for a do-or-die semi-final clash.

Three years ago, Yellows memorably won 2-1 in the north east in the Northern Premier League Premier Division play-off final, only to lose a one-off ‘super play-off’ to King’s Lynn Town to deny them promotion.

Beesley was involved as assistant to then-manager Paul Carden while several squad members who played that day, including skipper Mark Roberts and winning goal scorer Josh Amis, remain at the club.

Warrington Guardian:

The scene at full-time after Warrington Town's play-off victory at South Shields in 2019. Picture by John Hopkins

A midweek trip to a now-full time Shields outfit that have beaten them home and away this season presents an altogether different prospect, but Beesley says something can be taken from the events of the past.

With the Mariners regularly attracting more than 2,000 fans to home games, a large crowd is expected at the 1st Cloud Arena but the Town boss has called on his players to play the game rather than the occasion.

“The experience of it will help as we’ve been up there in a play-off game and came out on the right side of it. We can draw from that,” he said.

“We’ve got half a different squad to that day but its important that the lads who were there to use that experience and take it into the game.

“At the end of the day, we’ve got to play the game rather than the occasion.

“We’ve got to match them at what they’re good at because they’re a good team.

"They’re a good footballing side that scores a lot of goals, so we’ve got to be defensively right.

“We’ve got to be at the top of our game. We’ve played some good football away from home this season so we’re going to need to do that again.

“It’s going to be a big crowd but we’ve got plenty of players who have played in front of big crowds in play-off games. They will enjoy that experience.

“We’ve got to hope we get a strong referee who doesn’t get overawed with the big crowd, because that can happen.

“It’s important that we look after ourselves and look forward to the game because at the end of the day, we’re in football to play in big games like this.”

Yellows were consigned to a fifth-place finish after losing 2-0 at Matlock Town on Saturday in their final game of the regular season.

> EXPLAINED: How Warrington Town's play-off route looks

Having started the day third, the result allowed both Matlock and Scarborough Athletic to leapfrog them in the final table.

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A 2-0 loss at Matlock Town on Saturday dropped Yellows from third to fifth in the final league table. Picture by Nick Oates Photography

While disappointed that a home play-off tie had slipped from their grasp, Beesley insisted merely finishing inside the top five should be applauded.

“The objective was always to finish in the top five and the lads deserve a lot of credit for doing that,” he said.

“There’s been times this year when it’s been difficult and like everybody else, we’ve had to contend with a lot of injuries, but finishing in the top five is a great achievement.

“It gives us an opportunity to try and get promoted. That’s what we want and its up to us now to take that opportunity.”

On Saturday’s game, he added: “We’ve been in a good run of form and in the first half, the lads did everything we asked of them.

“I thought we had the better two or three chances but in a tight game, you’ve got to be a bit more ruthless in front of goal.

“They were pushing in the second half and scored a great goal – we’ve had a few of those scored past us lately.

“To be fair to them, they saw the game out in the last 15 minutes and we didn’t really have an answer to it.”

Tonight’s play-off game kicks off at 7.45pm.