12 October 2009       Attendance: 375

An 88th minute penalty, convincingly converted by Tommy Agus, put Buxton into the F.A. Cup’s last qualifying round and with another home tie to follow a good chance of an appearance in the competition proper for the first time since 1962. The replay looked destined for extra time when the penalty award, on the advice of the well-positioned assistant, came out of the blue, conceded by the otherwise impressive Bradford goalkeeper, Steve Dickinson. A penetrative Agus pass set Kieron Lugsden off in pursuit but Dickinson was always favourite to collect. Evidently worried about catching the ball outside the penalty area, he mishandled and then dragged down the Buxton striker in his panic.Though a surprise, this late resolution of the tie was well deserved by a battling Buxton side which defended effectively and grittily after a shaky start, played most of the good soccer on view and kept its composure despite some first half physical excesses by a desperate, under-achieving Park Avenue outfit. Bradford’s first-half strategy was undiluted ‘route one’ and that required Scott Hartley to field any number of hopeful balls forward, but he was subjected to heavy, foul treatment on several occasions to such an extent that Buxton made representations to the referee at half-time. This direct approach gave Bradford’s Mark Bett a first-minute chance but he blazed hopelessly over the bar, and this effort was typical of many of Park Avenue’s shots at goal. As the visiting defence gradually gained in composure, so ‘the Bucks’ developed as an attacking force in the tie’s second quarter. A dangerous Gavin Knight cross was cut out with difficulty, a Steve Ridley curling free kick went very close, earning a corner, and an Agus 45-yard drive of awesome power was not all that far off target. Continuing to impress, Buxton made two more serious goal attempts with Lugsden thwarted by Iqbal as Joe Wilcox’s low pull-back found him 15 yards out, while a 35-yard thunderous Agus free-kick again troubled the ‘keeper low to his left. However, the home side made a promising break on the right and there was some luck attached to Hartley’s save, then in the 43rd minute Bradford were dismayed not to have a ‘spot-kick’ award when Bett appeared to have been impeded.
For the second half Bradford abandoned their previous strategy but to no avail as the visitors generally had the better of the exchanges and in the 53rd minute Knight should have put Buxton ahead. A fabulous Christian Millar pass put the striker clear in the inside-right channel but he dragged his shot wide of the far post and the miss looked likely to be costly as Bradford and Buxton’s defending displayed total commitment with skipper Gregg Anderson making a find double block to thwart a breakaway. ‘The Bucks’ weathered the storm and after a close-in Millar free-kick had been deflected away, Anderson’s header from the ensuing corner-kick, was all but touched into goal by Lugsden. The followed the break Buxton had worked so hard for and the delight of all concerned at the final whistle was uncontained. 

Team: Scott Hartley, Grant Black, Tommy Agus, Sam Liversidge, Gregg Anderson, Scott Maxfield, Joe Wilcox, Christain Millar, Kieran Lugsden, Grant Black, Steve Ridley
Subs: Mark Reed (Millar), Geoff McGaw, Kyle Collins, Michael Towey (Wilcox), Tom Pressman
Goalscorers: Agus (pen)