Buxton progressed to the play-off semi-finals with a 4-2 victory over Scarborough and will now travel to South Shields on Saturday.
Early on, the first big chance fell to Scarborough. Former Buck Jake Hull headed down Lewis Maloney’s cross into the path of Kieran Weledji, whose close-range effort was well saved by Joe Young.
Soon after, Buxton looked dangerous on the counter attack, breaking forward in numbers. Johnny Johnston attempted to pick out Connor Douglas, but his pass had too much weight and ran through to the goalkeeper.
In the 17th minute, Luke Brennan had two opportunities to open the scoring. Johnston first set him up in the area, forcing Ryan Whitley into a smart save, before Brennan’s effort from the edge of the box was comfortably gathered.
Moments later, captain Connor Kirby tried his luck from distance with a dipping strike that took a deflection and went behind for a corner.
From the resulting set piece, Buxton appealed for a penalty when Kieran Burton was pushed to the ground, but the referee waved away the claims.
At the other end, Rio Allen tested Young with a strike that was saved, before Buxton broke quickly again, Johnston releasing Douglas, who dragged his shot wide of the post.
After the break, Johnston looked to use his pace but was halted by Alex Brown, who pulled him back to prevent a clear effort on goal.
Shortly after, Brennan cut inside from the left and aimed for the top corner with a curling effort that drifted narrowly over the bar.
From a corner, Young was then called into action, tipping away Luca Colville’s cross which looked to be heading straight in.
On the hour mark, Buxton took the lead. Cian Coleman picked up the ball in space, shrugged off his marker and curled a composed finish into the bottom corner.
Five minutes later, Buxton came close to doubling their advantage with a flowing move from back to front. Kirby found Brennan, who slipped in Johnston, but his effort went wide.
In the 66th minute, the second goal arrived. Douglas lifted a ball over the top for Brennan, who showed great composure to slot home.
Almost immediately, Scarborough responded with their top goalscorer pulling a goal back to reduce the deficit.
However, Buxton restored their two-goal cushion in the 75th minute. Johnston worked his way to the byline and delivered a cross for Coleman, who fired in his second of the night.
From the bench, Ashton Mee added a fourth with a powerful strike following a clever backheel from Brennan.
In stoppage time, Scarborough grabbed a late consolation through Harry Green, but it proved too little too late as Buxton sealed their place in the next round.
