BAD DAY AT THE OFFICE

FC Buxton came crashing back down to earth on Saturday morning, as their recent run of good form was ended by an efficient Marine side.

Following the impressive away win at Bury B the weekend prior, confidence had been high in the build up to this one, but with the late withdrawals of Redburn and Andy Gould hitting the very nerve centre of the team, there was an air of discomfort amongst those who did travel as they arrived in Merseyside, especially once it had been revealed that the toilet - always well-utilised before FC games - was out of order.

Forced into a late re-shuffle of his pack, player-manager Taylor went with the following XI: Wright. Staff. Corbett. D Bainbridge. Taylor. N Bainbridge. Keane. Hill. Sheppard. Drennan. Hollins. Solitary sub for FC was Dan 'cough

 your guts up' Gould.

The gaffer's message in his pre-match natter was clear - start well. It was thought that against the recently-formed opposition, an early goal was key. Unfortunately, with the benefit of hindsight, FC wouldn't have scored had they still been playing now.

In a poor first half, FC had the lion's share of possession but created little. The closest they came to scoring was when Drennan burst through and put the ball in the net, only for it to be ruled that Hollins, who had been involved in the build-up, was offside. Sheppard was also deemed to be offside when his scuffed effort went wide of the near post.

FC were uncharacteristically quiet. Was it the absence of 'the rock' Gould in the heart of the defence? Was it because nobody was shouting at Redburn? Was it because the usually inspirational captain Robbie Keane was too busy thinking about his cross country journey to Derby's Pride Park that would follow the match? Who knows... but FC weren't on their game and the two teams went in level at the break.

Despite the disappointing first-half performance, stand-in goalkeeper Jimmy JLS Wright had been rarely tested so far, and had spent most of the half practising his 'Beat Again' dance routine for his heroes' forthcoming tour. Dangry Gould replaced Sheppard at the break, with the belief still there that if FC could somehow up the tempo and find their rhythm, they could take the points.

With Bainbridge Snr. given a more advanced role as he swapped positions with skipper Keane, there were a few promising signs in the opening exchanges after the break. Key to any FC victory would be to get the pacy Bainbridge Jnr, Nick, on the ball, and on a couple of occasions when this did happen it appeared as though things were finally coming together for the visitors, as they began to exert a little pressure around the opposition box. A Dave Bainbridge free-kick fizzed over the cross bar as FC sensed a goal.

It was a false dawn, however, and as the home side's confidence began to build, Buxton began to realise that if even if they didn't want the match, Marine certainly did. A couple of long range efforts sailed narrowly over Wright's bar in quick succession, almost as a warning sign to the visitors.

FC refused to heed these warnings and were soon trailing. A ball from midfield was not cleared and a low strike from the edge of the area beat Wright towards his bottom-left corner. 0-1. 

Buoyed by their goal, the home side were now causing all sorts of problems for the FC defence, which appeared to have lost it's shape in search of that elusive goal at the other end. Another long-range effort this time rattled off the cross bar, and when it came down the Marine winger reacted quickest to set up his team-mate for his and his side's second goal of the game. 0-2.

FC were despondent and offered little in response. How could their best performance of the season last week turn into their worst in a long time this week? That's football, one might say. What is clear is that FC must now pick themselves up quickly for this weekend's away trip to face the Manchester United supporters' team.