A LATE brace from substitute Luke Parkin earned Farsley Celtic a 3-0 win at home to Buxton and ensured the Evo-Stik League premier high-fliers kept their promotion hopes on track.

His goals spared their blushes after they almost allowed a game they had dominated to slip through their grasp.

The Celts had taken an early lead, but then squandered a host of chances and were almost made to pay, as the visitors were buoyed to reach the break just one goal down.

They had an excellent spell midway through the second half which forced Farsley to defend desperately to protect Graeme McKibbon's goal.

The Bucks were on the back foot from the first whistle, and it was no surprise when Nathan Cartman turned home skipper Danny Ellis' goalbound header in the 11th minute.

Midway through the first half, Ryan Watson sent in a superb effort from the edge of the area that just cleared the top corner of Will Jaaskelainen’s net, and he went even closer just before the break when he bent a 44th-minute free-kick around the wall only to see it come back off the base of the post.

Ellis and his former centre-back partner Adam Clayton also went close, Buxton’s keeper blocking a Clayton shot on his line with a star jump that father Jussi, the former Bolton and Finland keeper, would have been proud of.

The younger Jaaskelainen should have been beaten for a second time five minutes after the interval as a good move ended with Nathan Turner setting himself with only the keeper to beat, but the Celts midfielder hit the base of the post and watched the ball spin towards the corner flag.

Buxton weathered that early second-half storm, and were in the ascendancy around the hour mark, but failed to peg the Celts back.

Parkin had replaced the injured Paul Walker in the 76th minute, and it took him just four minutes to make his mark. He put the result beyond doubt three minutes later as he completed his rapid-fire double.

Jaaskelainen had made some good saves and showed his positional awareness throughout the game, but had no chance with either of Parkin’s strikes.

The Celts man was on the end of a sweeping move but had to win the ball with a strong tackle inside the area to net his first and soon after he emphatically drilled in his second from a similar position.

The victory took Farsley back into the play-off places in the premier division as they reclaimed fifth spot. Adam Lakeland’s men are now just two points off second place, but have played more games than their promotion rivals.