Brackley Beaten 0-1 in Buxton Home Promotion Fight.

With a disappointing goalless draw away midweek to King’s Lynn, Brackley have dropped back second to Scunthorpe in the three way fiercely competitive promotion race which includes Chester.

Buxton are in 9th place and needed to win today in order to recapture its top of the league position.

Brackley players line up of the start of their promotion fight match with Buxton

Brackley- fighting and dominating the Buxton end in the first ten minutes of play which deteriorated as the first half progressed.

Brackley started the match well with most of the play being fought in the Buxton end. By the end of the first quarter of the first half, Brackley despite dominating the early play had not had any shots on goal leading to a bit of frustration and disappoinment setting in. The Brackkey crowd behind the Buxton goal was more vocal than usual chanting and drumming their team on for that vital promotion chasing goal to be delivered. In the 18th minute, Brackley were given a right hand side corner kick which raised their spirits but were quickly dampened as the ball passed easily into the Buxton goalkeeper’s hands. The intensity of the Brackley drummer increased as the first half progressed but to no avail with a drought of shots on goal and a lack of sense of urgency for a promotion chasing side. Brackley have tended to perform a type of war of attrition approach on the pitch in the latter part of this season, preferring to keep things even, tire the other side down and then get a late winning goal. However, in the 26th minute this type of play was foiled when a Buxton striker, Dan Guru managed to break through the Brackley defence and hit the back of the net giving Buxton the unanticipated lead similar to previous matches. The big question from there on was could Brackley get the equaliser followed by a winning goal, as they have done in the past matches this season ? As more of sun came out in the third quarter of the first half, everybody was beginning to wonder if it would also shine on Brackley’s play? In the 31st minute, the Brackley attacking line started to break through more into the Buxton goal area and got their fist, be it weak shot on goal. In the 36th min, Buxton got a corner which didn’t go in but Buxton’s possession of the ball continued to gradually increase further . In the 38th min Brackley got their own corner which was also easily cleared out of trouble. In the 40th, Brackley got a free kick on the right hand side just outside the edge of the penalty box which when taken went high over the cross bar, sort of summarising Brackley's first half performance as everyone waited for the referee to blow his whistle. When it finally came, all one could hope for was that it would improve on the second.

In the 55th minute and with chant of come on Brackley from their fans things definitely started to look better as Brackley got their first corner in the second half. The corner kick didn’t go in but their play was beginning to look a bit sharper after their half time team talk. In the 62nd minute, Brackley got their second corner which led to a header looking like it had gone over the goal line and early them the equaliser but it was not awarded by the referee. In the 63rd, both sides put on two substitutes but it had little effect on play or the result. Brackley putting up more of a fight but Buxton continued to play sufficiently enough to hold onto the lead as the match moved into the final quarter of an hour of the match. In the 70th , Brackley’s winger broke through on the left hand side with an opportunity which looked seriously goal scoring but he was brought down. A yellow was awarded to the Buxton defender and the free kick which followed led to the closest chance so far for Brackley with the Buxton goal keeper only just saving the ball wide. The Brackley corner which followed also nearly went in with a shot on goal which also looked like it went over the line. Again the referee refused to give anything leading to offensive chants towards the refereee from the home end. The play turned more bitter as Brackley started to wake up to the fact that they were going to lose the match which they desperately needed to win to keep in the struggle for the league title. Brackley stepped up the pressure and their play but had they left things all a little too late? In the 80th minute, Buxton annoyingly for Brackley were creating a few chances of their own. In one such chance, Buxton managed to punch open a hole in the Brackley defence which fortunately for them when the final shot came, it went high over the cross bar. Buxton were proving themselves to be a good side despite the mid table position in the league. By the final five mins of the match the home fans had been silences as the Buxton fans could be more heard chanting can you hear the Brackley sing, With a higher 950 attendance announced for the promotion fight match, everyone everyone of the new and existing home fans must have felt disappointed with the 0-1 defeat final result and Brackley’s play as the final whistle went.