Curzon Ashton edged past Buxton FC with a narrow 1-0 victory at the Tameside Stadium, courtesy of a first-half goal from Isaac Buckley-Ricketts.
The hosts had the first chance of the match when Stefan Moles saw his deflected effort trickle just wide of the post after bouncing off a Buxton defender.
Buxton responded with an opportunity of their own after 10 minutes, as Luke Brennan cut inside from the wing and fired a shot over the bar.
Shortly after, a corner for the visitors was met by Bobby Faulkner, but his header lacked power and was comfortably collected by goalkeeper Bobby Jones.
At the other end, Jimmy Spencer tried his luck from the edge of the box, sending a looping effort towards goal, but Buxton’s loanee goalkeeper True Grant gathered it with ease.
The Bucks pressed forward and created another opening when Ethan Fitzhugh played in Brennan, who teed up Tommy Elliott on the edge of the area. His shot, however, drifted narrowly wide.
Curzon Ashton threatened from a couple of short corners, with Mols coming closest when his close-range effort was parried away by Grant.
Controversy struck in the 32nd minute when Elliott appeared to be brought down inside the penalty area, but the referee waved away Buxton’s appeals.
Moments later, Alex Curran broke through on goal, but under pressure from Buxton’s defence, his low effort was dealt with by Grant.
Just before the break, Curzon Ashton found the breakthrough. In the 42nd minute, Curran delivered a cross into the path of Buckley-Ricketts, who powered the ball into the empty net to make it 1-0.
Buxton looked for an immediate response, with Ben Sault whipping in a low cross towards Johnny Johnston, though the forward could only send his shot over the bar.
After the restart, the visitors began the second half on the front foot and came close to an equaliser when Fitzhugh curled a shot towards the top corner, forcing Jones into a fingertip save.
Brennan continued to cause problems for the hosts, picking out Johnston with a cross, but his header failed to find the target.
Substitute Connor Falls made an instant impact, using his pace to launch a counterattack and drive forward with intent.
Late drama unfolded when Faulkner went down in the penalty area following a free-kick, yet once again, Buxton’s penalty appeals were dismissed.
In stoppage time, the Bucks had one final opportunity to snatch a point. With Jones beaten, the ball fell to Oliver Ewing on the edge of the box, but he couldn’t keep his shot on target, allowing Curzon Ashton to hold on for all three points.
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