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The opening ten minutes were largely event free as both sides probed for weaknesses in their opponents. Bury had two very strong centre-backs up against Rob Turner and Wes Fletcher, and with two tigers in Young and Alex-Ray Harvey in midfield, you could tell it was going to be a physical encounter.
There was a slight flare up following a challenge after ten minutes or so and Adam Kay became involved. It obviously riled him and he was booked 60 seconds later for a heavy challenge on one of the Bury antagonists. He can have no complaints with the decision.
Both sides were working each other over well and both defences had to maintain their focus under constant pressure. Bury relied on direct play and pace while we looked to quickly pass the ball and force the game into a high tempo. Our approach paid off first as Kay played a lovely ball in to Alex McDonald, playing on the left, who burst clear and rounded the onrushing keeper. When he cut the ball back to goal from a wide angle there were returning defenders to hack it off the line but Wes Fletcher, taking two bites at the cherry, hammered home.
Gaining possession directly from the kick off we could have double the lead as the tenacious McDonald fed Turner and he saw his shot curl just wide. We were looking very dangerous and, for the time being, in total control. But from nothing Bury broke with an inch perfect ball out wide to the left winger. He left Hoskin for dead and was cut down by Dan Brown just outside the box on the left side. The centre-back was duly booked and again we can have no complaints.
The free kick in a dangerous position brought a goal, but it wasn't for Bury. A wild shot from the Bury right-back almost went for a throw in and was picked up by us. Two touches later Fletcher was running clear with the keeper bearing down on him 40 yards from goal. He skinned him but was caught up to by a defender. They met shoulder to shoulder in the box and the Bury lad hit the deck, allowing Fletcher to roll in his and the teams second.
Our tails were up and we started playing some fantastic flowing stuff. Anderson had two good chances, with the second producing a fine flying save from the keeper as he unleashed a rocket towards the top left corner of the net. Our domination in this period needed more goals though and we were punished as half time approached. A momentary lapse of concentration from the otherwise impeccable Brown allowed Bury in and after a scramble in the box they drilled home at the far post.
With the wind at their backs in the 2nd Bury took control of the game and we struggled, looking a different team altogether. Our lead was gone within five minutes and unfortunately it was another individual mistake as Thomas Bradley misjudged a header from a long punt down field and played the Bury forward clean through. He made no mistake and Ritchie had no chance.
Bury were attacking with increasing regularity and our keeper was beginning to get unsettled by the Bury lads chipping away at him. Perhaps this led to what happened next. Ritchie began his own personal horror show. Bury took the lead when he allowed a tame shot to squirm through his grasp and nearly conceded another when he rushed out to meet a through ball but got nowhere near it. The covering defenders cleared on this occasion though. Our defence became chaotic and the fact that all goals had come through individual errors meant that there was a lot of backbiting going on amongst our lads.
Brown was replaced by Chris Lynch in an attempt to stabilise our back line but before he could have any effect we were 4-2 down. We needed some of the performers from the 1st half to spark back into life and lift us. It was Anderson who began our revival picking up the ball in his own half and taking it on a surging run into the box where he was blocked off. The burst helped to kick start our performance and we had a half chance, winning a corner.
The corner was swung over by McDonald and it hit a defender, dropping into the box at the feet of Lynch and he gleefully smacked it home. Bury were still dangerous but we had begun to put up some resistance, offering something of our own to keep them from running riot. Ritchie made a good save, spreading himself well to thwart another break from Bury.
The final attack of the game almost saw us level it up as another right wing corner was met by the head of Lynch, who hit the bar. It wasn't to be though and after such a promising first half display we fell to a 4-3 defeat. Without the individual mistakes it would have been a totally different story, but such is life. They'll take the lessons learned from this defeat and hopefully it will help them to improve themselves.
Team :- Stef Ritchie, Ben Hoskin, Thomas Bradley, Dan Brown (Chris Lynch), Dean Stott, Chris Anderson, Alex McDonald, Adam Kay, Alex-Ray Harvey, Wes Fletcher, Rob Turner. Subs not used :- Jon Sergeant, Dil Chaggar, Lewis Craig.