21 November 2009       Attendance: 229

Buxton’s fourth consecutive away win, all achieved with a ‘clean sheet, in west Lancashire on Saturday moved the Silverlands outfit up to mid-table. A typically hard-working performance, allied to tight defensive work after the interval, earned full points in a dour battle played out in a strong, swirling wind. The game bore uncanny similarities to the F.C. United victory a fortnight ago. There was again little to choose between the two teams, Gavin Knight again scored the vital goal, once more with a delightfully executed chip and the ‘Bucks’ withstood late home pressure by virtue of utterly determined resolute defensive work.

Scott Hartley returned in goal and Neil Stevens ‘in midfield’ had his first start for two months as Michael Towey was ruled out with a back injury, while Scott Maxfield was making his 100^th appearance for the club. The player-coach had plenty of organising to do from his midfield berth early on as Burscough started the better and came closest to scoring all afternoon as early as the fifth minute. A half-cleared corner fell to Roberts, whose 12-yard drive rattled the bar. ‘The Bucks’ soon settled and with another referee might well have had a penalty only 5 minutes later as centre-back Donnolly’s clumsy tackle brought down Kieran Lugsden. With wind and slope in their favour they dominated possession without creating clear openings and the next two scoring chances fell to Burscough’s on-loan striker, Cayne Hanley. After 27 minutes, on a Burscough break from defence, Hanley inexplicably found himself in acres of space on the left but took his shot too early and badly missed the target. Ten minutes later, a fine through ball by left back Bowen set him up again, but Hartley brilliantly diverted his goal-bound shot. In the first minute of added-time prior to the interval, Gavin Knight showed Hanley how to finish. A Burscough error allowed Mark Reed to make a finely-judged headed pass into Knight’s path and the striker netted his fourth goal of the week with confidence.

With the elements unrelenting, the home side throughout the second half pressed hard for an equaliser. Firstly Grant Black got across well to thwart an attack, then a Bowen corner and a Roberts header saw Bayliss hook his shot wide before Lugsden’s defensive header foiled another probe on the right. A hamstrung injury to Knight and a nasty blow to Reed’s head virtually obliterated the visitor’s attacking threat, especially as Darryl Proffitt made little impact. On 78 minutes, however, a superb Maxfield pass under pressure produced shots for Lugsden and Stevens but neither reached the target and it was left to an effective rearguard action to seal the points. Hartley’s handling was secure and defensive errors were avoided by Buxton’s afternoon was marred in added time when Black was shown a second yellow card at a time when virtually all the decisions were going Burscough’s way.

Three more hard-won points but against better side, ‘the Bucks’ will need to offer more in attack when defending a lead.

Team: Scott Hartley, Grant Black, Joe Wilcox, Tommy Agus, Gregg Anderson, Scott Maxfield, Kieran Lugsden, Neil Stevens, Mark Reed, Gavin Knight, Steve Ridley
Subs: Dorryl Proffitt (Knight), Christian Millar, Geoff McGaw (Reed), Ryan Pugh,
Goalscorers: Knight