Buxton came from behind to beat Matlock Town 4-1 at the Tarmac Silverlands in a Cawarden Derbyshire Senior Cup semi-final, Tuesday February 13th. The Bucks will meet Heanor Town or Long Eaton United in April's final, seeking to retain the trophy.
Playing in heavy rain, Alex Duhameau poked the ball home for the Gladiators after quarter of an hour but the Bucks responded immediately, piling on pressure and visiting defender Adam Yates handled the ball on his goal line three minutes later. He was sent off but Jak McCourt missed the opportunity to draw level when he fired his spot-kick wide.
The second half belonged firmly to the Bucks. Two goals from Jake Wright and one each from Eoin McKeown and Dylan Motley-Henry emphasised the 76% possession.
Ben Andreucci was given his debut, receiving a warm welcome from the Silverlands crowd. The 19-year-old forward has signed on loan from Bolton Wanderers, having progressed previously through the academy at Leeds United. He is a Scotland U-19 international. Full Match Report HERE
Team manager Craig Elliott was comforted by the Bucks' dominant display. He said: "This is what we play football for, beating our near-neighbours and reaching a cup final.
"We let in a soft goal early on but there was determination to recover and produced some fine individual performances in the second half. I thought Jake Wright's two headed goals were outstanding, for example.
"Now it's back to the league, with two home games in a row. We're on a decent run and need to build on that and climb the table."
Banbury United are the visitors on Saturday, kick-off 3pm, followed by Gloucester City next Tuesday, 7.45pm.