Buxton were left scratching their heads wondering how they were not coming away from Lancashire with all three points as they drew 2-2 with playoff hopefuls Chorley having led twice at Victory Park.
It was a clash that probably had just about everything in it. Declan Poole opened the scoring for the visitors with the halftime break fast approaching before Connor Hall volleyed Chorley level on 70 minutes. Only for the Bucks to restore their lead just two minutes later through Warren Clarke and, it looked like Craig Elliott’s men were going to head back to Derbyshire with all three points until Connor Hall scored from the penalty spot. That is without mentioning Tommy Elliot’s penalty miss when he saw his first-half spot kick well saved by Matt Urwin.
When the teamsheets were released, some Buxton fans may have raised an eyebrow as Clarke started his first game in three months. The last time the Bucks’ number 11 started a match was back in November when Buxton hosted Scarborough Athletic, he replaced Jordan Barnett who dropped to the subs bench while the other change saw Elliot lead the attack in place of Diego De Girolamo who was also amongst the substitutes.
In the opening 10 minutes of the game, both teams traded early chances. Former Stoke City youngster Ollie Shenton saw his shot blocked by the Buxton defence before the ball fell to Justin Johnson who put his effort over the bar. Meanwhile, at the other end of the pitch, Buxton saw a Jak McCourt free-kick bounce just past everyone inside Urwin’s penalty area but sadly for the Bucks it also bounced the wrong side of the post.
From that point onwards, Buxton took complete control of the first half as they dictated the play by getting it forward as much as possible. Their efforts were rewarded midway through the first half when Clarke got dragged down in the penalty area by Jack Sampson and, referee Dale Baines had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. With Buxton’s regular penalty takers not on the pitch the duties of taking it fell to Elliot, he hit a decent penalty low towards the left hand side of the goal however, Urwin guessed right to save it before getting up quickly to deny Elliot on the rebound.
The penalty miss didn’t affect the Buxton players too much as they continued to press the Magpies for that opener and, their best chance came on 32 minutes when Connor Kirby played in Brad Jackson but, sadly for the midfielder, he dragged his shot wide of the target.
It felt like it was only going to be a matter of time before the Bucks scored and, they duly did in the third minute of injury time when a McCourt freekick found Poole and he fired home from inside the six yard box. It was the defender’s first goal for the cub but it gave Buxton a lead they certainly deserved.
The opening exchanges of the second half were a little bit quiet with both goalkeepers practising their catching skills with Adam Blakeman testing out Theo Richardson from 30 yards out with a volley, while Kirby did the same with Urwin but, from a bit closer in.
The game did explode back into life with about 20 minutes left on the clock as we were treated to two goals in two minutes.
First of all, Chorley equalised when former Port Vale youngster Mike Calverley flicked on Scott Wilson’s cross to Hall who proved why he is Chorley’s top scorer as he slammed home from close range.
Despite conceding the goal, Buxton went straight back on the attack and retook the lead within 120 seconds as a deep cross was missed by Urwin and Clarke was able to head home, it was a fantastic way to mark his first start in three months.
Clarke’s goal meant that the hosts had to pile the pressure on the Buxton defence as Richardson made a fine save to deny Hall a second goal. While Harvey Smith headed a Blakeman corner over the crossbar.
Sadly, Buxton could not hold on for the win and, with 10 minutes left on the clock, Chorley were level as Buxton skipper Josh Granite felled Harry Scarborough in the area, meaning the referee again pointed to the spot. Hall stepped up and sent Richardson the wrong way to roll the Magpies level.
In the end, Buxton will have been kicking themselves to have only taken one point back home especially as a win would have hoisted them into the top half of the league table. However, they can take heart from the performance as they head to Norfolk and, King’s Lynn on Tuesday night.
After the game, I caught up with Buxton manager Craig Elliott to get his assessment of the draw
Chorley: Urwin, Henley, Smith, Wilson, Blakeman, Shenton, Johnson (Scarborough, 63), Calverley, Ustabasi, Sampson (Nolan, 46) and Hall,
Unused subs: Leather, Whitehouse and Kay
Buxton: Richardson, Brown, Conway, Granite, Hull, Kirby, Elliot (De Girolamo, 85), Clarke (Barnett, 80), McCourt, Jackson and Ackroyd (Poole, 22).
Unused subs: Brisley and Dawson.
Attendance: 1,120
