​Bucks battle back to draw with King’s Lynn

​The spoils were shared on a grey but dry Silverlands Saturday by two out-of-form teams who could both take positives from an encounter that became a thriller in the last half-hour, as the outcome remained in doubt to the very end.

The Bucks had fought back from the half-time deficit, while the Linnets took a point after playing for an hour with ten men and surviving the last half-hour at 2-2.

It took only six minutes for the home rearguard to be breached at the Railway End. Visiting midfielder Powell sold Luke Shiels a perfect dummy deep on Buxton's left and from his low pull-back, Stephens netted at the near post.

After such an early blow to already fragile confidence, the hosts did make openings but couldn't hit the target. Connor Brown fired an angled, rising drive over the bar, the restored Sam Osborne first put a header wide then saw a 20-yard effort deflected for a corner, but Jake Wright, in a position to shoot from 16 yards, passed inaccurately instead.

Then, out of the blue, referee Robert Claussen was called upon to make the first of three game-changing decisions. In the 35th minute goal-scorer Stephens was dismissed for a midfield lunge at loanee Max Brogan and the visitors instantly changed their strategy by reducing their strike force from three to one and increasing their back four to five.

Yet it was Lynn who scored next, six minutes later, after another major intervention by the referee that handed the initiative back to the visitors. He made the first of two seemingly harsh penalty awards by deciding there was a foul on visiting striker Devonport, who arguably was already slipping over, but nonetheless Rogers confidently scored to double his team's lead.

The interval brought the introduction of the attack-minded duo of Diego De Giralomo and Tommy Elliott, both of whom contributed significantly to Buxton's attack, though not immediately. Possession was dominated but with the visitors packing defence, no clear chances were created.

Then came the third of the referee's match-changing decisions just past the hour when he awarded the Bucks a spot-kick, on the advice of an assistant, for a foul on Brown at the very edge of the penalty area.

De Girolamo sent experienced 'keeper Jones the wrong way to halve the deficit.

Visibly boosted, Buxton levelled within five minutes. Midfielder Brogan produced some neat footwork to side-step two defenders and find the net with a low, 15-yard drive into the far corner.

The goal yet again altered the nature of the proceedings as, to their credit, the Linnets emerged from defensive mode to seek a winner, and the Bucks also scented the possibility of victory.

Max Dearnley was soon twice forced to tip powerful drives over his bar, while Tommy Elliott's through ball was close to setting up Wright.

It was in the very last attack that Buxton all-but snatched victory. Osborne had enjoyed an excellent second half, regularly achieving penetration on the left, and when Elliott's glorious pass set him up, his fierce, low, 10-yard drive was going in until Lynn's debutant centre-back Taylor brilliantly intervened on the goal-line.