Sodje strikes again to give Buxton victory over Darlington

In frequently dreadful conditions of end-to-end wind and torrential rain, Tai Sodje struck a 34th minute winner with his tenth goal of the season.

And boss John McGrath told the club’s media afterwards it was a hard-fought win.

He said: “We set the boys a target of just being on the front foot from the off and I thought in the first 20 minutes we came out of the blocks looking really sharp and moved the ball well.

"Tai hits the post and then Tai scores and we had a couple of balls flash across the box.

"I thought for 90 minutes we were really dominant, the only thing that was missing was a couple more goals. But credit to the back four, the keeper and two defensive central midfielders who were under a bit of an onslaught in the last ten minutes and held firm.

"When you’ve got an attacking front four like we’ve got and the replacements we’ve got to come on, then the job of the defensive players is to keep clean sheets, and if they do their job then it’s up to the boys up top.

"The goal Tai scored was probably harder than the one where he hit the post. It wasn’t just his goal, he led the line really well and his non-stop athleticism and running is there to be seen week in, week out and he’s done really well for us today.”

Buxton opened strongly with Max Bardell heading just wide from a corner in the first minute, then a shrewdly incisive Will Trueman pass set up Sodje for a shot that rebounded from a post.

Darlington centre-back Forbes then firmly drove a 15-yard effort flush against the bar, before the winner came in the 34th minute when Sodje found penalty area space to convert an Oli Greaves pass by stroking the ball wide of experienced 'keeper Jameson's left hand.

In the 49th minute Greaves had a half-chance but didn't act sufficiently quickly and almost at once another opening was created by Sodje's fine ball along the touchline for the over-lapping Bardell to cross, but Luke Brennan beyond the far post couldn't convert.

Darlington gave chase late on. Cedric Main sent a curling effort over the bar, then Paul Cooper had to punch away a lofted corner-kick.

Yet a home attack in the 91st minute went very close to doubling the advantage. Impressive substitute McLean made a 50-yard dash on the right flank before firing in a firm, low cross that took 'keeper Jameson's outstretched fingers to divert.

So, a convincing and dominant Buxton performance was rewarded with three points which brought a climb of two places to ninth.

It was a step forward too as the team maintained its high standard throughout and kept a clean sheet versus regular scorers and a side fresh from an excellent FA Cup success over high-riding AFC Fylde.