Oliver Ewing’s 87th-minute strike proved to be the difference as Buxton edged past South Shields with a narrow victory at the Tarmac Silverlands Stadium.
It was the hosts who almost took the lead within the first minute, as Dermi Lusala found Tommy Elliott in the box, but his near-post effort was well saved by the South Shields goalkeeper.
They kept pushing in the early stages, with Luke Brennan the next to go close, his low-driven shot collected comfortably by Myles Boney.
South Shields’ first real opportunity came when William Jenkins picked out Paul Blackett in the middle, but the forward dragged his shot wide from 12 yards out.
The Mariners’ top scorer was then forced off through injury after 23 minutes, with Ashton Mee coming on as his replacement.
At the half-hour mark, Josh Williams lofted a ball over the top to Johnny Johnston, whose first touch set him up for a shot, but his effort was closed down from a tight angle.
Buxton continued to apply pressure, with Robert Briggs producing a last-ditch tackle to prevent Johnston from getting a strike away.
Dylan Stephenson came close for the visitors just before half-time, latching onto Tom Broadbent’s through ball but being denied by Buxton goalkeeper Grant.
The Bucks had the first chance of the second half, with Elliott and Johnston linking up in a passing move before the latter set up Lusala on the right, but his shot was deflected behind.
Goalkeeper Grant then played a long ball over the top to find Brennan, who cut inside before curling his effort just wide of the target.
The winger was involved once again, this time striking a free-kick that took a slight deflection off the wall before being gathered by the goalkeeper.
As the game neared its conclusion, it seemed destined to end in a goalless draw despite the quality on display.
However, in the 87th minute, Johnston did well to slot the ball across to Ewing, who unleashed a thunderous strike into the top left corner, sealing a dramatic late victory for Buxton.
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