Another big step forward for Brackley Town as they secure superb success at Buxton

The victory, secured courtesy of second-half goals from Connor Hall and Matt Lowe, capped a good few days for the Saints, who were 2-1 winners at home to Darlington last Saturday.

And it pushed Cowan's men up to seventh, the final play-off place, in Vanarama National League North.

Buxton had gone into the game sitting third in the standings, but Brackley rocked up and produced a hugely impressive performance on the road.

"It was a brilliant win at a really tough place to come," Saints boss Cowan said.

"Buxton are a very good side and we had to prepare diligently because they are obviously a full-time team who have got a manager and staff who have got them working in incredible fashion.

"You'd pay money to watch them because they are so good in possession and they're really good in transition and with their counter-press.

"We were really impressed with them when we watched them – and no wonder they had won five out of six.

"But we were very confident coming here. We felt like we could do a professional job - and I felt we did that.

"The focus and concentration of the lads was electric and we knew we'd get our moments.

"We worked really hard on making sure we would be prepared, be confident and be concentrated.

"The big words for us were focus and concentration and I'm really proud of all the players."

Cowan added: "We allowed them to have the ball for long periods but I can't remember them having a chance.

"The skipper (Gaz Dean) came in and marshalled the lads outside of him.

"George (Carline), Kade (Craig), Alfie (Bates) and Shane (Byrne) were absolutely incredible.

"Then the front three were electric.

"It's a really good performance and another big step forward for us.

"It pushes us higher up in the league with a game in hand and we know we've got a tough fixture list coming with the FA Cup and FA Trophy.

"We'll make sure we look after the lads because we've had some pretty severe injuries and it's a small squad but their mentality is just incredible.

"This group is a group full of men and I'm really proud of them."

The game at Buxton was the first of six successive away games for Brackley, who will travel in both the FA Cup and FA Trophy in the coming weeks.

Next up is the Trophy second round tie at Hashtag United, which takes place on Sunday (kick-off 3pm).