Bury hold Burnley in reserve league

Last updated : 01 December 2010 By Tony Scholes
Alex MacDonald
Alex MacDonald - on the scoresheet again
If anyone thought it was cold at the first team game against Derby at the weekend then I can assure them the temperatures were considerably lower tonight at a very sparse Turf Moor. There was snow and ice on the streets outside and around the touchline, but the pitch was green and in perfect condition.

The weather forced on change in the Burnley side with goalkeeper Brian Jensen not travelling and Craig Mawson stepping in, but he had little to do in the opening period of the game when we went 1-0 in front and could have had the game won.

David Edgar has the first shot which went just wide and then it seemed as if John Guidetti had taken over. He scored one and could so easily have added a couple more. The one he got owed much to the quality of the cross from Michael King which he headed home.

He then got clear on the right of the box before firing a shot just beyond the far post and then he brought a save from the Bury keeper after brilliantly making room for himself to get the shot in.

The link up between him and Alex MacDonald was very much a feature of our early play and had we managed one more goal during that period then I'm sure we'd have gone on to win the game comfortably.

We lost our way a bit during that first half but how on earth the officials didn't, between them, award us a penalty is anyone's guess. The referee saw the blatant handball inside the box (and not just inside the box either) and then stunned everyone inside the ground by awarding a free kick about a yard outside. Needless to say the man with the flag kept out of it.

Bury had their moments in the first half, and they certainly did after the break and shocked the Clarets by scoring twice to go in front. They'd already had one effort ruled out for the offside before the equaliser came just seconds after we'd missed a good chance to go 2-0 up.

The long ball clearance was won by the visitors and when it was played forward there was Kyle Bennett to score. And ten minutes later Andrai Jones got on the end of a free kick to give Bury the lead, only the second time our reserve team has been behind all season.

That was with 71 minutes gone but within seconds of the re-start they were down to ten men when Max Harrop received a straight red card following a challenge on Alex-Ray Harvey. It looked harsh, and three minutes later it was all square again.

Ross Wilson, on for King, got a cross in from the left that goalkeeper Richie Branagan punched out but only as far as MacDonald who made no mistake as he headed into the empty net.

That, I thought, would just be the opportunity to go on and win it, but it didn't happen and the nearest we got to a winning goal came from Bury but Mawson saved well to ensure the point.

It's taken us eight points clear now at the top and we remain unbeaten. We've certainly played considerably better this season than in this game although we did create enough chances to have won it comfortably.

We're next in action a week next Monday, 13th December when we play Tranmere Rovers at Turf Moor.

The teams were;

Burnley: Craig Mawson, David Edgar, Nik Kudiersky, Chris Lynch, Ed Williams, Dominic Knowles, Chris Anderson, Alex-Ray Harvey, Michael King (Ross Wilson 64), John Guidetti (Joe Jackson 45), Alex MacDonald. Subs not used: Josh Cook, Curtis Woods, Neil Yadolahi, Dave Lynch, Mehdi Lazaar.

Bury: Richie Branagan, Sam Barnes, Zach Rothwell, Andrai Jones, Kyle McGonigle, Max Harrop, Kyle Bennett, Adam Dawson, Danny Hudson, Danny Carlton, Luke McCarthy. Subs: Dalton McLaughlin, Ryan Howley, Shaun Mangan, Jordan Melia, Liam Boswell, Connor Loftus.

Attendance: 285.