Play-off agony for ex-Magpie Trundle

9:11am Wednesday 28th May 2008

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Striker Lee Trundle came agonisingly close to becoming the first Chorley player to graduate to the Barclays Premier League when his Bristol City side lost 1-0 to Hull City in the Division One promotion play-off final at Wembley at the weekend.

Trundle, an £8,000 signing by Dave Sutton from Burscough in 1995 when he was only 19, moved to Stalybridge Celtic two years later for an undisclosed fee. Several clubs later Trundle joined newly-promoted Bristol City from Swansea City in a £1,000,000 deal last year.

A number of other players with Chorley connections have been in the spotlight recently and several names familiar to Magpie fans will remember the season just ended as a career highlight.

Chris Thompson helped Barrow return to the top flight of non-league football for the first time in a decade. Thommo, who scored 12 goals for Chorley in season 2005-06 before joining Conference club Scarborough, was a regular member of the Barrow side who have been promoted to the Blue Square Premier Division via the play-offs.

Keith Hill, a Magpie defender in Mark Patterson's time in 2003-04 and now Rochdale manager, took the Spotland club to their first-ever Wembley outing, Monday's Division Two play-off final only to see them lose 3-2 to Stockport County, whose goals included one from Anthony Pilkington, elder brother of Danny Pilkington, a two-footed winger who did a sound job for Tony Hesketh at the end of the season. Anthony did the presentations after the Hospital Cup final at Victory Park earlier this month.

Matt Taylor, grandson of former Chorley player-coach Cyril Fairclough, helped Exeter City regain a place in the Football League after a five-year absence with a 1-0 win over Cambridge United at Wembley.

Another Wembley warrior was former Magpie defender James Sheppard, one of the substitutes in Kirkham and Wesham's FA Vase triumph over Lowestoft. Sheppard was at Victory Park in 2006-07.

Goalkeeper Danny Hurst, who had a brief spell at Chorley under Gerry Luczka also in 2006-07, was a key figure in Fleetwood Town's UniBond Premier League title success, and ex-Magpies Karl Marginson and Phil Power were again the managerial team behind FC United of Manchester's third successive promotion, this time to the UniBond Premier. Midfielder James Holden played in some of the later games.

Lee Southwood, who was at Chorley with Mark Molyneaux in 2002-03, helped Trafford win the North West Counties title, and the Magpies will renew acquaintanceship next season with Salford City chairman Darren Quick, who was here in 1998-99.

Kenny Mayers left Chorley in time to help New Mills become North West Counties second division champions and Derek Goulding, a defender here in 1997-98, Bryan Griffiths's time, begins a new chapter in his career as manager of new club AFC Liverpool.

And let's not forget Euxton Villa's memorable Goldline Trophy triumph over Charnock Richard at the Reebok Stadium, helped by goalkeeper Ross Baxter and defender Michael Bromham. Charnock's side included James Price, Lee Pennington, Scott Priestley and Lee Clitheroe, all familiar names to Chorley fans.