Training begins at 18:50 on Thursday 20th August at Temple fieids

Cost = £2 and bring a friend.......

A comfortable stroll beside the Sea-siders…

FC Buxton 4 – 1 Whitby Wanderers

With a double header this weekend, Merse rallied the troops and managed to get an 18 man squad for this fixture against Buxton’s relegation rivals, who were due to meet at The Silverlands later that day.

With three Wanderers’ players falling foul of a dodgy Sat Nav, Merse donated jack-of-all-trades Corbett and young Haworth to the visitors for the opening exchanges. The FC Bucks lined up as follows: Cat. Bettsy. Ryan. Gaz B. Mark. Nick. Bammer. Tiff. James. Joel. Gav. Subs for the Bucks were Merse. Dren. Berba. Kalyan. debutant Gaz Cannon and of course the two on loan to Whitby.

Despite the obvious lack of preparation from The Seasiders, with a couple playing in trainers and the goalkeeper appearing to have mislaid his gloves, the first half was extremely laboured from the hosts, maybe with Sunday’s big semi-final playing on a few minds. The Bucks eventually took the lead when a cross from the left was met by the experienced head of Bammer who saw his effort nestle sweetly in the back of the net.

 The response was almost imminent, and was not without its controversy, with Buxton loanee Corbett finding himself unmarked at the back post to power a header past the despairing Cat, despite the valiant efforts of young Jimmy Wright on the Buxton line. Corbett celebrated in extravagant fashion, showing the small crowd the cartwheel which had been perfected some 20 years ago in the schoolyard.

Buxton regained the lead when a powerful shot from Johnson left the Whitby stopper for dead (although I didn’t actually see it so this description is based purely on the reconstruction provided by Gav whilst warming up for the semi-final the day after).

HT 2-1.

With the clash with Queens Head in mind the gaffer made several changes for the second half with the lineup as follows: Cat. Haworth. Ryan. Gaz B. Merse. Dren. Rajan. Tiff. Nick. Berba. Gaz Cannon. The changes seemed to unsettle FC and it was not until the last twenty minutes until they really found their stride, by which time Corbett had remembered his roots, coming on to replace Bammer Jr. with Gaz Cannon moving to the left. Merse had also tested the keeper, with his new white boots nearly pulling off a goal of the season contender with their first touch. Berba then produced a trademark finish from two yards out after the Wanderers’ keeper had failed to deal with a long range effort, before Cannon wrapped things up with a smart finish from the edge of the six yard box.

Final score 4-1 and the FC Bucks moved their attentions to the Invitation Cup semi-final with Queens Head on Sunday morning, expecting a much tougher encounter that this one had proved to be.

 Gaffer’s man-of-the-match: Gaz Cannon.

Three minute wonder…

FC Buxton 0 – 1 Queens Head

Team: Cat. Bettsy. Micky P. Mossy. Merse. Dren. Kalyan. Bammer. Stu. Joel. Gav. Subs: Berba. Jonny B. Tiff. Mark. Revs.

Buxton went into this tie full on confidence after the comfortable victory against Whitby just 24 hours earlier, but the task they faced was highlighted from the off as Queens set the pace of the game at a high tempo and forced the FC Bucks into some early mistakes.

FC seemed to be a little overwhelmed by the occasion and the prospect of playing at The Silverlands in May, and only the trademark reactions of the self-titled ‘Cat’ kept the scores level, clawing a header back of the line when it seemed destined for the back of the net.

As the half wore on, the FC Bucks gradually found their gear and looked set to take advantage of some nervous goalkeeping from the Queens number one. Corbett was unlucky not to capitalise on some sloppy defending from the pub side, as the swerve of the ball took it away from him in front of goal and allowed him little chance to get a shot off (I am being kind…). Gav, Dren and Joel all went close with powerful strikes and the team reached half-time with a strong belief that if they kept plugging away they might grab that crucial goal. Much of the game had been played at either end of the pitch, with both midfields being bypassed by long balls – Bammer and Kalyan sharing their disgruntlement of this with the rest of the team at the break.

HT 0-0.

FC Buxton began the second half in the dominant fashion which they had finished the first, but could not find that telling goal, however hard they tried. The Queens’ goalie got good fingertips to a Dren thunderbolt, and when a deep corner from Pearson was met by the head of Bammer it look as if the breakthrough was upon us.

It wasn’t. Somehow the ball got cleared to safety as it bounced down of the woodwork. It was beginning to feel like it wasn’t going to be FC’s day.

The missed chances from the FC Bucks seemed to give Queens Head a new lease of life, as it had looked at one stage like they had tired in the face of the relentless Buxton attacks in the middle third of the game. They seemed to profit from a smart tactical change, pushing the pacy left winger up front, which gave them an option on the floor as well as in the air which they had been consistently strong at throughout the match. Sweetmore’s battle with Moss (which left both with nasty bumps to the head) had been a particular highlight.

Jonny B replaced Corbett on the left, and was shortly followed by Berba who replaced the injured Pearson. Just as the game looked set for extra time, an ambitious punt down the Queens’ right was met by a header which Merse could only flick on. The header was met by a Queens’ striker who laid the ball of for the nippy forward to rifle a shot past the helpless Cat from just outside the area. Cue mass celebrations from the Queens players.

However, the never-say-die attitude of FC Buxton was highlighted as they drove forward again with Micky P (who had been employed as a makeshift centre forward) hitting the post.  He reacted fastest to the rebound, but his defensive instincts kicked in with him seemingly clearing the ball from the goal-line, and it was not to be for FC Buxton.

Queens Head seemed a stronger team than their position in The Taverners League suggested, and similar performances from them next season may see them take revenge for some of the heavy beatings they took earlier on in the season. The FC Bucks on the other hand, took it on their chins and headed off for an afternoon in the pub (not the Queens surprisingly), pondering what might have been…

Gaffers man-of-the-match: Mossy.