Following hot on the heels of their fantastic performance against Rochdale the Shakers took on Kidderminster Harriers at sun drenched Gigg Lane.  Needless to say Graham Barrow named an unchanged side but Colin Woodthorpe returned to the bench following his three game suspension.

A lively Kidderminster start in which they managed to deliver a couple of hopeful crosses into the area was interrupted by a long range shot from David Nugent that was easily saved by Danby.

Harriers Simon Brown superbly beat the offside trap and cantered towards Garner in the Bury goal.  Danny Swailes, despite giving him a 5 yard start, superbly closed him down and, after timing his tackle to perfection on the edge of the area, cleared the danger.

A glancing header by Challinor, from a Flitcroft free kick, slid wide of the post but once again the Shakers dead ball delivery was creating numerous problems for the opposition defenders.

11 minutes gone and fabulous football from the Shakers saw Nugent, Barry-Murphy, and Porter combine to get the ball to Mattis in the area but with the goal gaping his shot was blocked and cleared.

A minute later and a spectacular passing move that was started by Nugent ended with the ball back at his feet 10 yards out but he powerfully drove his effort high and wide into the Manchester Road End of the ground.

A long range Flitcroft shot sailed marginally wide but on 19 minutes the Shakers should have taken the lead.  A Barry-Murphy corner was flicked on by Challinor to Porter at the back post but somehow the Shakers striker managed to head the ball directly at Danby who was stranded on his line.

A Flitcroft pass allowed Nugent to completely wrong foot his marker and charge into the area but his shot screamed over the crossbar.

Flitcroft was the first player to be booked in this game for a challenge on Keats in midfield.

Bury continued to press forward and Mattis did well to battle for the ball on the edge of the area. His pass found the ever dangerous Nugent but his shot was pulled across the area and wide of both the goal and the on-rushing Chris Porter.

On 33 minutes the inevitable happened when a superbly weighted pass allowed Nugent to dart in between Danby and Viveash, ride the clumsy challenge of the keeper, and hammer the ball into the back of the net.

Bury 1 Kidderminster Harriers 0

A fabulous corner from Barry-Murphy somehow managed to travel across the front of the goal without being turned into the net.  A clash of heads at the front post saw Jenkins leave the field to be replaced by McHale.

On 39 minutes the ball broke to Keates on the edge of the area and although his shot sailed high over the bar a warning was served to the dominant Shakers.

In the 40^th minute Unsworth dived into a challenge in the area as Brown broke through the Bury backline but fortunately the Harrier decided to hurdle the challenge and the ball ran away for a goal kick.

On the stroke of half time the Shakers extended their lead as Nugent picked up the ball in his own half of the field and accelerated towards the Kidderminster goal. He drew the defenders towards him and delivered a delightful pass to Porter who, with almost the last kick of the half, chipped the ball over the stranded keeper and into the back of the net.

Half Time Score: Bury 2 Kidderminster 0

The Shakers were relentless in their approach and within minutes of the kick off another horrendous refereeing decision saw Bury awarded a free kick on the edge of the area when Porter was "professionally" blocked by Hatswell who although clearly being the last line of defence was not even cautioned.  To further compound the misdemeanour the Kidderminster skipper was on hand to clear the ball off the line when Nugent fired a shot at goal from the resulting free kick.

Appleby was brought onto the field to replace Brown as Molby desperately tried to stem the tide of constant Bury pressure.

Porter turned well inside his own half and ran towards the Harriers defence. Mellon sensed that the Shakers striker was about to threaten the Kidderminster goal and cynically brought him down on the half way line.  Despite being fifty yards from goal and with players covering behind him he received a caution from referee Kettle.

Chris Porter was beginning to wreak havoc and he charged into the Kidderminster area holding off desperate challenges.  The ball was bobbling around and it took a superb save to deny the Shakers striker. The ball rebounded to Nugent who cut back into the centre of the area and a short pass to Flitcroft allowed him to stroke the ball into the bottom corner of the goal.

Bury 3 Kidderminster Harriers 0

Kidderminster were desperate to reduce the deficit and a free kick from Appleby was tipped over the bar by Garner.

On 63 minutes a Challinor defensive header was collected by Nugent and in a replica of the Shakers second he sprinted towards the Harriers defence, drew the defensive cover towards him, skipped past the keepers challenge, and rolled the ball across the goalmouth for Porter to tap home.

Bury 4 Kidderminster Harriers 0

David Nugent left the field to yet another standing ovation when substituted by Newby in the 70^th minute.

Hatswell had his name entered into referee Kettles notebook just seconds before disaster struck for the Shakers.  Flitcroft had received a stern warning from the referee just minutes before and following a very innocuous challenge received his second yellow card of the game and was incredibly dismissed from the field of play.

A delightfully cushioned header from Porter released Newby into the area but his powerful shot was deflected for a corner.

The 77^th minute of the game saw Barry-Murphy and Swailes replaced by Dunfield and Woodthorpe.

Another red card was issued by referee Kettle following a challenge by Mellon on Porter with Dunfield also being booked.

Kidderminster almost earned a late undeserved consolation goal but Roberts managed to strike the ball wide of the net from six inches out which summed up the Harriers day perfectly.

There were very few bad challenges throughout the 90 minutes but an incredible total of 41 free kicks were awarded and 3 yellow and 2 red cards given. 

The game drew to a close with the Shakers receiving a standing ovation and the referee a chorus of boos but at least Bury FC, those Brazilians of the Northern hemisphere, were most definitely back in town.

Final score: Bury 4 Kidderminster Harriers 0

Bury

Garner, Unsworth, Kennedy, Swailes, Challinor©, Scott, Mattis, Flitcroft, Barry-Murphy, Nugent, Porter

Subs

Barrass, Newby, Dunfield, Whaley, Woodthorpe

Kidderminster Harriers

Danby, Jenkins, Burton, Advice-Desruisseaux, Brown, Mellon, Keates, Christiansen, Viveash, Hatswell©, Roberts

Subs

Lewis, Appleby, Foster, McHale, Russell

Referee: T Kettle

Assistants: IL Faulkner and B Roberts

Fourth Official: D Richardson