Basford beaten by high-flying Buxton

Steve Chettle’s men went in front early on when Brad Gascoigne thundered Ryan Wilson’s low corner past Theo Richardson, before Ward equalised.

Josh Granite’s clever header put the visitors in front after the break before the impressive Ward sealed all three points when he fired home midway through the second half.

The defeat sees United stumble in their quest for a play-off position as Buxton maintain their unbeaten start to the season.

Despite the defeat, United made the perfect start; out of the traps early as Rev James forced a corner of Ben Milnes with a minute played.

Wilson’s delivery was poorly defended, and Gascoigne emphatically fired first time through Richardson as they looked to build on their superb win over South Shields on Saturday.

Without loss all season, the visitors reacted well and began to take a foothold.

On a slippery surface, a shot from distance forced Adam Collin to spill as Dom Roma hacked clear, before the ‘keeper did wonderfully to push Warren Clarke’s low strike to safety after possibly seeing it late.

On top, Ward – formerly of Forest, Derby and Sheffield United, among others – began to enjoy himself and was a catalyst all evening.

He easily broke the tackle of two and may have equalised but for a slight deflection, seconds prior to a delicate hit that curled just wide.

Boss Chettle admitted post-game that his boys worked hard, and that was evident when James charged down and dispossessed Granite deep in Buxton territory, only some inexcusable hesitancy allowed the defender to retreat and clear.

Personal battles and midfield doggedness saw little created in front of either goal and it was from an individual mistake that saw Ward bag his first.

Seemingly innocuous, Gascoigne’s pass into Thornhill was loose, his attempted flick out to Betts was intercepted and the once Northern Ireland international dispatched with aplomb at Collin’s near stick for a deserved leveller.

Into the second period and neither team could trouble opposing ‘keepers, that was before Granite fired a header across Collin and into the far corner ten minutes after the restart.

Aaron O’Connor was introduced and seemed to re-ignite an attacking spark, unusually absent through United’s front three. He cutely teed up Marcus Marshall on the hour, though his shot lacked any direction or power.

That was about as good as it got for a United side unable to progress on their weekend victory in the North-East and Ward sealed his personal double with 22 minutes remaining when he found space to pass around Collin.

Not one to rest on his laurels, he then turned playmaker and a piece of individual skill saw him gallop beyond Wilson and set up Diego De Girolamo – uncharacteristically quiet – who sliced wide.

Basford continued to push and would have forced a nervy ten minutes for those from Derbyshire had Stef Galinski’s unmarked header from six yards out carried more power.

Richardson gratefully held on, and the hosts’ focus now diverts to the visit of Hyde United on Saturday (15:00).

“We wanted another positive result here, but it wasn’t to be and key moments in the game cost us a result.” Chettle said. “We need to create more at the top of the pitch.

“It was a tough night. We lost two key personnel from the weekend; Terry [Hawkridge] was injured and stretchered off at South Shields and we lost Dunny [Declan Dunn] which is a big factor in what we do and how we prepare.”

“[Conceding from set pieces] It’s not something we generally do,” he added. “Everyone has a role in defending set plays and people have got to their own job – that’s a disappointment for us.

On the formation change pre-game: “We had to get as many key players on the pitch as we could, and we thought the shape we went with would suit us.

“We go ahead early in the game and then make a negative move which sees us turn the ball over ourselves and we could go into the half ahead and then you don’t know what’s going to happen – ifs, buts and maybes.

“We had to go with that shape to get everyone on the pitch to start with. Bettsy’s [Owen Betts] has been booked so we couldn’t afford for him to be sent off and then we changed the shape again to try and get more luck at the top of the pitch.”

BASFORD UNITED: Adam Collin, Owen Betts (Aaron O’Connor 59’), Ryan Wilson, Brad Gascoigne, Stef Galinski, Dom Roma, Reco Fyfe, Matt Thornhill, Marcus Marshall, Kane Richards (Alex Howes 71’), Rev James

SUBS NOT USED: Josh Scott, Jordan Haywood, Jordan Pierrepont

BUXTON: Theo Richardson, Matt Curley (Ben Middleton 53’), Nathan Fox, Ben Milnes, Josh Granite, James Hurst, Jamie Ward (Lindon Meikle 82’), Chris Dawson, Diego DeGirolamo (Ash Chambers 87’), Tom Elliott, Warren Clarke

SUBS NOT USED: Akeem Hinds, Ben Turner

ATTENDANCE: 353