HAVING put themselves in a good position in the National League North, Warrington Town turn their attention to the FA Trophy tomorrow.
Their second-round clash with Blyth Spartans at Cantilever Park marks the start of a busy period for Yellows, who have midweek fixtures in each of the next three weeks.
Their upcoming schedule includes long Tuesday night trips to Darlington and Hereford, games against two of the division’s top three sides in Scunthorpe United and Tamworth and a Cheshire Senior Cup game against Ashville.
![Warrington Guardian: Town have a busy schedule over the next fortnight with games in three competitions]( "Warrington Guardian: Town have a busy schedule over the next fortnight with games in three competitions")
Town have a busy schedule over the next fortnight with games in three competitions (Image: warringtontownfc.co.uk)
There may also be another Trophy tie at the end of that run, but that depends on how they perform against a Blyth side that won 2-0 in WA4 in the league in August.
Mark Beesley’s side were given some respite in midweek when their scheduled home game against Scarborough Athletic was postponed due to the Seadogs’ involvement in an FA Cup replay.
Given what lies ahead, Town boss Beesley thinks the free midweek has been a blessing despite costing them the chance to immediately build on Saturday’s win over Rushall Olympic.
“It can work both ways,” he said.
“When you win on a Saturday and have a game on the Tuesday, you can still feel the momentum and the feel-good factor when you turn up.
“With the schedule coming up, though, I think having a free week will probably be more beneficial. We probably won’t know either way until the end of next week.
“Each game in this league is very difficult, so to win any game is a big achievement.
“To win two on the bounce is something we haven’t done since the early weeks of the season, so that’s a big plus for us.
“We’re now going into a very tough game on Saturday and a three-game week where we need to be better than the last one.
“We started that one well but didn’t finish it well, so we’ve got to be mindful of that.”
The period Beesley is referring too came at the end of last month – the last time his side faced three games in the same week.
Having started with a 4-1 win at Bishop’s Stortford, Yellows took just one point from the two home games that followed with Beesley admitting they ran out of steam.
With that in mind, changes are possible for Blyth’s visit – Sean Williams comes back into contention following suspension while Jordan Buckley, who scored the winner against Rushall off the bench, and Matty Grivosti are both pushing for starts.
However, they are set to be without veteran defender Peter Clarke, who was substituted early last time out with a groin injury.
They will be aiming to avenge the defeat they suffered to Spartans back in August in what was their first National League North home game, when they failed to take advantage of a first-half red card for Jack Bodenham and spurned several opportunities, including a Bohan Dixon penalty miss.
But having picked up 22 points from the 15 league games that have followed, does Beesley think his side are better now than they were that day?
“It’s hard to judge,” he said.
“I think we were unlucky on that day. We missed a penalty and they scored two really good goals against us.
“We know it will be a tough game as I like the way they play.
“They’ve got a really good manager who will set them up to be difficult to beat. We’ve just got to be ready for it.
“What we have learned is that every game is very tough, and to win any game is a massive effort.
“The level of the players and the coaches we’re coming up against is so high.
“We’re going week-by-week – we’ll probably take stock at the halfway point and see where we’re at then.
“We’ll prepare for each team as they come – it’s a challenge every week but we’re embracing that challenge.”
Both sides will be vying for a place in the third round draw, which takes place on Monday and will include the 24 teams from the National League who enter the competition in the next round.
Should tomorrow’s game finish level after 90 minutes, the winner will be decided by a penalty shoot-out.
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