As we look ahead to the 2022/23 season, we’ve taken a look at the teams we are set to face our part of preparation for the new Sky Bet League Two campaign.
Warrington Town (A) – Saturday July 9, 3pm
First up, our pre-season schedule begins on July 9th with a trip to non-league side Warrington Town.
Currently sitting in the Evo-stick Northern Premier division, Warrington had a decent season last year with them finishing just inside the play-off places.
They unfortunately missed out on promotion despite getting to the play-off final as they lost 2-1 to Scarborough Athletic. But ahead of the new campaign, they’ll be raring to go and thriving off facing league two opposition as they look to go one better this year.
Hearts of Midlothian (H) – Wednesday July 13, 7:30pm
Following on from facing the non-league outfit, Micky Mellon's squad face a test from a side who come from North of the border as Hearts make the trip to Birkenhead.
With a midweek game being the first at Prenton Park in the pre-season schedule, it’ll be the first chance for the SWA to see some new faces ahead of the new season as we pick up the pace and look to hit the ground running in 22/23.
Hearts finished third in last season’s SPL after winning 17 games last year whilst gaining qualification for the Europa League play-off round and with some important games before the league season begins, Robbie Neilson will be using the game at Prenton Park as a key 90 minutes as he looks to make his decisions ahead of the European action.
Southport (A) – Saturday July 16, 3pm
After a midweek home game, it’s a return of the away days as the whites make a short trip to National League North side Southport.
After a stable 11th placed finish last season, they’ll be looking to push further on this campaign and it gives Rovers another good run out against a side wanting to prove themselves against higher league opposition.
With it being the second game in three against non-league opposition, it provides a strong balance of competition ahead of our final game in the pre-season schedule.
Huddersfield Town (H) – Saturday July 23, 12pm
Finally, a week prior to the season starting, we face arguably our toughest test of pre-season with a home clash with last season’s Championship play-off finalist Huddersfield Town.
The Terriers fell at the final hurdle last campaign after losing 1-0 to Nottingham Forest in the play-off final, but there’s a good feeling around the John Smith’s that they can have another strong campaign.
With it being the final test before the season starts, it will be Micky Mellon’s last real opportunity to iron out any little details in preparation for the first league game that kicks off on July 30.
Tickets for each game can be bought from the following links: