Causeway Lane Monday, December 27th, 2021 k/o 15:00   Northern Premier Division Attendance: 2,155       Matlock Town 2-1 Buxton
2021 /22

Comments :

A bleak day in the dales, weather wise that is. The drive over hit a few fog patches and on arrival the low cloud and poor light almost invited the incessant fine rain. Found a butchers beforehand that did a nice hot pork and gravy roll, so nice i went back for seconds(well it is Christmas). Good job i got into the ground early picking a seat in the main stand before the bulk of the bumper two thousand plus crowd arrived. Whilst i thought i would be neutral i found myself rooting a little bit for the away side probably based on the games i had seen them play prior coupled with Buxton playing in white. This was a battle of the top two teams in the division and a local derby which promised much. The away side took the lead with a lobbed effort from outside a crowded box but shortly afterwards they were reduced to ten men when a player picked up two booking in two minutes. The first seemed to be a culmination of niggly fouls he had given away, the second a strong 50/50 challenge. Whilst you could well argue the player was rash and foolish in giving the referee a decision to make i think common sense should have prevailed with a final warning. As it was the sending off ruined the spectacle even though they still led at the break. Buxton still applied themselves well and the equaliser was slightly fortunate in that the first effort was saved the rebound blocked on the line by a defender but the third effort was drilled through the defenders legs. The winner came with a header from a corner as the hosts went top. One slight panic after the game as my phone charger was playing up with intermittent access to google maps for the way home.