Two very late goals from Alex Nicholson of Blyth Spartans condemned Buxton to their first home defeat in the Vanarama National League North.
The Bucks had led from just before the half-time break, when Jason Gilchrist scored a fantastic header. However, Nicholson pounced in the 87th minute to equalise for the Spartans before the defender scored a penalty less than a minute later to seal the win.
Buxton have had a few injury problems already this season with Mace Goodridge, captain Josh Granite, Chris Dawson and Tom Elliot being notable absentees from the team, and manager Jamie Vermiglio was forced to shuffle his pack twice within the first 20 minutes of the game. First of all James Hardy had to come off for Lindon Meikle on 14 minutes, and then on 20 minutes, Jack McKay was carried off after an innocuous tackle to be replaced by Gilchrist. It meant that the hosts had made two of their three allotted substitutes with three quarters of the match still to be played.
The early chances in the game fell to Blyth with Josh Gillies testing Theo Richardson from the edge of the area but, the former Cleethorpes Town goalkeeper got down well to gather the ball. While captain Nathan Buddle headed a corner over the crossbar at the back post as they looked for their 2nd win under new manager Graham Fenton.
The rather well-travelled Blyth contingent, which included supporters from across the Midlands, including Stoke-on-Trent, thought they had taken the lead when JJ O’Donnell saw his low shot fly past Richardson’s dive however, it also went the wrong side of the goal.
Despite all the pressure from Blyth, it was Buxton who took the lead on 42 minutes when some good work in the midfield saw the ball eventually work its way out to Connor Kirby who put in a delightful cross for Gilchrist to head home. The centre forward has made a career of scoring goals, particularly at this level, and he could prove very important for Buxton this season.
After the interval, Buxton turned up the heat on Blyth with Jake Moult getting forward from his midfield position, but when he looked set to pull the trigger Matthew Elsdon got back to block him. While stand-in captain Sean Newton went almighty close to that all important second goal when he hit a shot from outside the area just over Alex Mitchell’s crossbar. The ball had looped up and down quickly, and for just a second it looked like it was going to nestle in the back of the goal, however, it wasn’t meant to be.
Blyth knew they had to act if they wanted to take something back to the North East. They threw on Sam Fishburn, who had a productive loan spell at Lancaster City in the Northern Premier League last season, and Jordan Hickey hoping that either of them would be able to produce the magic to turn the tide around. It was the latter who would have the best chance when he flashed a shot wide of the goal as the Buxton defence stood firm.
The Buxton defence did indeed stand firm, and it looked like they were going to claim their first clean sheet in the National League North as they repelled everything Blyth threw at them including from corners, which Richardson did well to deal with as the Blyth players kept crowding round him at every moment.
However, in football its never over until it’s over and Blyth finally found a way to score on 87 minutes. A high ball into the area fell nicely to Nicholson, and the defender’s low half volley from inside the six-yard box left Richardson or his defenders on the line with no chance of stopping it.
The visitors then had a chance to claim all three points less than a minute later when Shaun Brisley brought down Hickey inside the penalty area leaving the referee James Bancroft no option but to point to the spot. O’Donnell had originally picked up the ball to take the spot kick, but he handed the duties over to Nicholson who found the corner of the goal despite Richardson diving the right way.
Buxton will be left wondering what might have been as they slip to 19th in the league table. However, they must pick themselves up quickly as they head to Vermiglio’s former club AFC Telford United on Bank Holiday Monday. The Shropshire side sit one place below them in the table.
After the match I caught up with Buxton manager Jamie Vermiglio to get his thoughts on the game.
Buxton: Richardson, Andoh, Brisley, Newton, Moult, Hardy (Meilke, 14), Kirby, Clarke, De Girolamo (Tasdemir, 80), McKay (Gilchrist, 20) and Bunn.
Unused subs: Poole and Greaves.
Blyth Spartans: Mitchell, Liddle, Nicholson, Buddle (Evans, 87), Elsdon, Richardson, O’Donnell, Gilies, Deverdics, McNall (Fishburn, 61) and McKeown (Hickey, 65).
Unused subs: Cornish and Barlow.
Attendance: 692
