Lee Attenborough shuffled his pack, with Lewis Austin handed a start and Nathan Whitehead returning to the starting XI as Mason Warren and Curtis Burrows were named as substitutes.

Buxton started brightly and on 15 minutes a Ben Sault cross found Diego De Girolamo but he couldn't quite connect with the shot.

The hosts took the lead in the 17th minute when Ryan Viggars collected the ball on the edge of the box. Having seen his first effort blocked, there was no stopping his second effort which flew past Kieran Preston into the corner of the net, a fantastic strike to open the scoring.

Belper's first chance came a couple of minutes later when Larell King's throw-in towards the six yard box was met by Harry Draper but his header flashed just wide.

Arguably the best chance of the night for the Nailers came on 27 minutes when Ben Rhodes played in Nat Crofts and after a slip by the defender he was left running on goal from a tight angle but the shot was over the bar into the Railway End.

Belper went close again in the 33rd minute when Draper headed down a free kick and Louis Keenan's shot whizzed across the face of goal and wide.

The Bucks doubled their lead with the last action of the first half on 37 minutes after Belper couldn't clear Tommy Elliott's cross and when the ball fell to Josh Popoola his shot was deflected into the net.

Belper introduced Mason Warren and Kelan Swales for the second half and the fresh legs made a difference, with Warren providing the first test of the second half for True Grant in the Buxton goal from a long range shot in the 57th minute.

Four minutes later good work by Luke Brennan created an opportunity for substitute Sam Tomlinson but his header was just wide.

With a quarter of an hour remaining, lovely footwork by Warren gave him the chance to pick out a pinpoint ball to Draper but Belper's top scorer saw his shot deflected wide.

Buxton sealed victory with eight minutes left on the clock when De Girolamo’s through-ball found substitute Sam Tomlinson and he slotted home to make it three.

On 86 minutes Popoola cut in from the left and forced a good save from Preston with his feet but he could do nothing about Tomlinson's effort two minutes into injury time, nearly a carbon copy of Popoola's effort but this one nestled into the corner to complete the scoring.

So Belper's last success in this competition remains in 2008, the last final to be played over two legs although the Nailers did reach the final in 2020 before Covid-19 forced a postponement before the tie could be played.

Manager Lee Attenborough had this to say following the match:

"Tonight we came up against a really well drilled, organised side who just had that little bit extra sharpness and fitness than us. They are in the playoff hunt two leagues above us and are a full time outfit, so we knew what we were up against. They move the ball really quickly, especially on a 4G and we had to sit in our shape and see if we could nick something on the counter. The lads worked their socks off all night, and even when the game was dead we didn't stop.

"I felt we competed really well over the 90 minutes, but especially the second half. It took a world class strike for them to score the first and then quickly after, a big deflection wrong footed KP and we found ourselves 2-0 down which I thought was harsh on us. There's no doubt they had the lions share of possession but we were not under siege by any stretch of the imagination and with the game at 1-0 we broke clean through on goal and had to score. Unfortunately we got the finish wrong on that occasion.

"For the first 30 minutes of the second half, again, despite not having loads of possession, I thought we were the most effective side and I thought if we could nick one, we might get back into the game. We had two sniffs where we should have got shots off but didn't quite take them and a couple of lightening counter attacks started by Nat who was lively all night but we got the final ball wrong.

"With six or seven minutes left we looked dead on our feet to be fair, having put so much into the game and got carved open by a couple of goals that I don't think would have happened earlier in the game.

"I actually think that was a good game to have in preparation for Dunston who move the ball equally as well as Buxton do. It has also showed some of our lads what's required to be at that level - it was good to be involved in a game at that tempo for 95 minutes!

"All the distractions of the cups are now out of the way and we can focus on trying to get our league form back on track"

Buxton FC: Grant, Lusala, Williams, Kirby (C) (Mantle 83), De Girolamo (White 83), Elliott, Brennan (Trueman 76), Sault (Stubbs 76), Popoola, Burton, Viggars (Tomlinson 45).
Unused subs: None

Belper Town: Preston, Rhodes (Rawson 76), Keenan, King, Broadhead (C) (Warren 45), Evans, Kuleya (Swales 45), Whitehead (Burrows 73), Draper, Austin, Crofts.
Unused subs: None

Referee: Danny McDonald

Attendance: 301