In the A6 derby at The Silverlands, Buxton emerged victorious over Matlock Town with a 1-0 win to claim the Markovitz Cup.
The game started with Matlock on the front foot. In the 5th minute, Harry Wood won the ball high up the pitch and unleashed a shot that narrowly missed the post, setting the tone for an intense first half.
In the 19th minuteMatlock had a corner that saw JoshAshman rise highest, but his header lacked power.
Buxton’s Ethan Fitzhugh tested Matlock's keeper, Townsend, from distance in the 27th minute, but Ben Townsend was equal to the task, catching the ball comfortably.
Only 2 minutes later The Bucks almost had the opener of the game when Josh Popoola's cross found Connor Kirby, but the midfielders effort went over the bar from six yards out.
As the first half drew to a close, both teams had chances but lacked the finishing touch. Buxton's best opportunity came from Kirby, whose close-range effort was the highlight of a half that ended goalless.
The deadlock was broken shortly after the restart. In the 47th minute, Townsend in goal was forced to dribble out of his penalty area. He was dispossessed by Buxton's Ben Sault, who then calmly slotted the ball into the empty net, giving Buxton the lead.
Matlock nearly equalized in the 73rd minute when a long throw from Trialist A was flicked on, and Benni Ndlovu's shot was deflected onto the post.
Just a minute later, the game took another turn as one of Matlock’s trialists was shown a red card for a last-man foul on a Buxton trialist, reducing Matlock to ten men.
Despite being a man down, Matlock introduced Tomas Poole and Charlie Wood to keep the game at 11 vs 11 after an agreement with Buxton’s manager.
However, they couldn't find a way back into the game.
Buxton managed the game well after taking the lead, with Josh Williams nearly catching the Matlock keeper off guard with a cross that hit the top of the net in the 65th minute. The match ended with Buxton lifting the Markovitz Cup after a hard-fought 1-0 victory.
Both teams will take positives from this pre-season encounter. Buxton will look to build on this win in their next match against Macclesfield on Saturday.
Comments