Port Vale vs Bury - Reported by Hannah Ingram at Vale Park

As the Shakers' poor home form continued last week with a last minute 1-0 loss against Cheltenham, Bury came to Vale Park looking to continue their good away form so far this season. Two league wins and a JPT win since the start of the season had seen Bury play some of their best football away from Gigg Lane. After securing the loan of striker Tom Elliot in midweek from Leeds, Bury were hoping for some more goals to lift the spirits in the dressing room, and most importantly, on the terraces.

Lowe managed to win Bury a corner on 4 minutes, much to the home fans' disapproval. BBM took it from the right, and swung it in towards the far post looking for Scott, but Chris Martin got up well to gather the ball before it reached him.

GOAL! Bury found it hard to break down the Vale defence in the opening stages, but made an important breakthrough on 11 minutes. Tom Newey made a clever run down the left, before passing to Dawson in the box, who then squared the ball to Jones. Jonah then seemed to beat his man and send a low shot goalbound, but the ball was heavily deflected and rolled into the net. Lowe ran to the Bury fans claiming the goal, so there must have been some Bury contact at some stage!

Valiants 0 Shakers 1

Dodds came close to getting one back for Vale on 18 minutes, after the Bury defence was effectively parted by a Vale onslaught. He made space well on the edge of the box, sending a curling shot to Brown's left which he palmed away for a corner. Taylor sent a cross field ball into the box moments later, which Brown did well to get his fingers to and send out for another corner. Both corners had been aimed right in front of goal, but Bury dealt with them well with BBM and Baker clearing the danger.

It was obvious that Vale were piling on the pressure after conceding early, and Bury had to sustain a long period of attack from Vale, but numerous crosses were wasted and passes misplaced. Lowe went down after a late challenge on the half hour mark and while he received treatment, Alan Knill gave his players a quick chat. Soon after, Bury were attacking again, with Bishop and Jones making strong runs down the wings. The first half became more about who could keep possession and build attacks rather than chance after chance.

As the fourth official displayed two minutes additional time, Lowe braced forward down the right wing after a long clearance. Baker was surging forwards to be in the area by the time a potential cross arrived, but Lowe was dispossessed by the corner flag and Vale attacked again. As the referee called time on the first half, he was booed off the field by the home fans after they had disagreed with many of his decisions.

It was a relatively even first half, but it was clear that Vale seemed to have the edge over Bury. Their attacks looked dangerous and more frequent, but the Bury defence had coped with the pressure well. Their counter attacks had been good, with Bishop, Baker and Lowe all getting involved. Scoring an early goal had given the Shakers a boost, but it had in turn given Vale more drive to pile the pressure on the Bury defence to even things out. The game had become a very physical affair, with both sides fighting for the ball and snapping at heels, and Cresswell stood out in particular with his strength at the back. It set the game up for a very interesting second half in a game which had the potential to go either way.

Half Time - Valiants 0 Shakers 1

Vale returned the pitch ready for the second half whilst Bury stayed in their dressing room. Whether psychological or not, Vale were made to wait. No substitutions were made during the break, and the competition for possession began again. Some good passing between Dawson and Baker set up Bishop with a chance on goal on 52 minutes but his long range effort was easily gathered by Chris Martin.

Substitution for Port Vale on 53 minutes - Lewis Haldane on for Adam Yates

A long clearance from Sodje on 54 minutes was controlled well by Lowe, who tried a long range curling effort which went just over the bar. Moments later, and Jones was making light work of the Vale defence, and worked his way into the box, before sending a shot to the far post. With Chris Martin well beaten in net, Jones watched as his shot rebounded off the post and was cleared for a corner. It was easily one of Bury's best chances of the game; both build-up and shot wise.

Yellow card for Bury on 56 minutes - Ryan Cresswell

Haldane took a sweeping shot at a loose ball in the Bury box on 59 minutes, but sent it well over. Richards reacted well to a Vale cross on 70 minutes but saw his effort go wide.

Double Substitution for Bury on 71 minutes - Tom Elliot on for Ryan Lowe, David Buchanan on for Richie Baker

Haldane had the Bury hearts in their mouths on 75 minutes after beating Sodje and running forward with only Brown to beat. He put his shot wide of the post, but the linesman had judged him to be offside regardless.

Substitution for Port Vale on 75 minutes - Simon Richman on for Louis Dodds

After a clumsy foul by Sodje on 80 minutes just outside the box, Tommy Fraser stood up the take the free kick. He seemed to be teeing up a curling shot, but it was deflected away for a corner by a Bury header.

Substitution for Port Vale on 83 minutes - David Howland on for Doug Loft

Red card for Bury on 87 minutes - Ryan Cresswell (second bookable offence)

Substitution for Bury on 87 minutes - Ben Futcher on for Michael Jones

It was a shame to see Cresswell dismissed, but it would be hard to argue with the referee's decision as his challenge seemed far from the ball, but with intent to stop the imminent Vale attack. His fighting attitude had seen him play one of his best games for Bury, but it was a shame to end it seeing red. Following a Bury clearance, Dawson ran ¾ the length of the pitch, taking the ball with him and eventually winning a corner. BBM took it from the left, but Futcher's resulting header lacked the pace.

Five minutes of additional time were indicated by the fourth official as the game continued to get heated. Deep into added time, Bury's hearts fluttered again with Vale being awarded a corner, but BBM did well to clear the danger at the near post. Bury managed to play out the remainder of the game and end the game on top.

Yellow card for Bury in added time - Wayne Brown

It was a controversial final ten minutes, with bookings, Vale's sustained pressure and a red card all adding spice to the mix. Ultimately, Bury held on to take all vital three points home with them, and snuff out Vale's impressive home form to boot. Vale fans will feel aggrieved with their team's performance in the second half, as they seemed to take their foot off the gas and gave Bury room to play. Bury turned their fortunes around in the second half as a result, playing better football and frustrating the Vale team in the process. Three points are three points in any circumstance, and Bury will feel grateful for their deflected goal which claimed the win.

Full Time - Valiants 0 Shakers 1

Attendance - 5641 (372 Shakers)

Bury:Wayne Brown, Paul Scott, Ryan Cresswell, Stephen Dawson, Richie Baker, Andy Bishop, Brian Barry-Murphy, Michael Jones, Ryan Lowe, Efe Sodje, Tom Newey

Subs:David Buchanan, Ben Futcher, Danny Racchi, David Worrall, Cameron Belford, Tom Elliott

Port Vale:Chris Martin, Robert Taylor, John McCombe, Doug Loft, Marc Richards, Adam Yates, Tommy Fraser, Louis Dodds, Lee Collins, Gareth Owen, Kris Taylor

Subs: Sam Stockley, Anthony Griffin, Simon Richman, Damien McCroy, Daniel Lloyd-Weston, Lewis Haldane, David Howland