Bury vs Hereford - Reported by Hannah Ingram at Gigg Lane
After taking an important three points at home to Bradford in midweek and climbing into the automatic promotion places, Bury returned to their home turf again to face a Hereford side sitting in 19th place and looking for some points to move them up the table. A draw at home to Crewe in midweek was a relief after two defeats in two games, but left the Bulls looking at the wrong end of the table. Bury beat Hereford 3-1 at Edgar Street at the start of the season and were looking for another three points in their second meeting.
GOAL! Bury started in fine form by taking the lead on two minutes. A foul on Lowe on the edge of the box saw the Shakers awarded a free kick which Michael Jones stood over. Eyeing up the top right hand corner, the influential Scouser curled the ball into that exact place and out of Bartlett's reach; a fantastic finish.
Shakers 1 Bulls 0
Worrall paced forward on 12 minutes after a neat pass from Futcher to the right. Looking for Lowe on his left in the box, he aimed to thread the ball through but it went out of play for a goal kick. Dawson made space on the right of the box on 18 minutes before crossing to Worrall in front of goal, but Worrall's header was well over the bar.
Ex-Shaker Marc Pugh tried an ambitious effort from outside the box on 23 minutes but it was well wide. Lowe tried a low cross to Dawson from deep in the box on 28 minutes, but Lunt intercepted to give the ball back to Bartlett.
Bury started a quick counter attack on 38 minutes after Brown rolled out the ball for Dawson to take forward. He passed to Lowe who then set Dawson up as he ran into the box on the right. Worrall was waiting on the left of the box but Dawson tried a shot only to see it go wide.
Some nifty intercepting from BBM on the left on 41 minutes saw him set up Lowe on the edge of the box with time to shoot. His powerful drive from the left of the box forced a brilliant save from Bartlett and gave Bury a corner. Taken by Jones on the left, it reached the feet of Sodje at the near post who brought the ball down well to shoot from close range, but Bartlett got down well to gather the ball.
One minute of additional time was indicated by the fourth official as Hereford were awarded a free kick inside their own half. Time was soon called by the referee, and saw the end of a relatively stop-start first half. Jones' goal was exemplary, and Bury had pressed forward looking for more whilst keeping Hereford at bay. Pugh had made some runs down the right wing but had been mostly kept under control by Buchanan and BBM.
Half Time - Shakers 1 Bulls 0
Both sides returned to the field with no changes made. A free kick from BBM on the right wing on 47 minutes set up Lowe on the right of the box, giving him chance to pass the ball to Morrell waiting in front of goal. Before he could tee up his shot, Constantine had blocked the threat and cleared the ball up the field.
A clever cross from King on 50 minutes was aimed for Tolley on the far side of the box but had to be cleared by Scott. Jones worked hard on the left hand side on 52 minutes, firstly taking the ball inside and then back out wide to beat his marker and shooting from the left of the box. Bartlett spilled the save but Worrall couldn't connect to the loose ball before it was cleared.
Lowe managed a shot from the right of the box on 53 minutes which Bartlett got a touch to but couldn't stop it rolling towards the back of the net. The linesman judged the ball to have been cleared from in front of the line but from this side of the ground, the ball seemed well over the line before it was touched.
Buchanan took the ball forward on 58 minutes and took a shot from the middle of the box but it was an easy save for Bartlett. Constantine took a shot on 59 minutes from just inside the box after Pugh's initial effort had been foiled by Sodje; it was a powerful right-footed drive that went wide of the right post.
Substitution for Hereford on 63 minutes - Mathieu Mansett on for Craig King
Constantine had a golden opportunity to make things level on 69 minutes after Buchanan was caught trying to head the ball clear from the box. The loose ball fell to Constantine and he shot from close range, forcing a reaction save from Brown to keep Bury ahead.
Substitution for Hereford on 71 minutes - Gavin McCallum on for Matt Done
Substitution for Bury on 71 minutes - Richie Baker on for Andy Morrell
After taking on two markers on the left wing on 77 minutes, Worrall cut between the pair of them and took a curling shot from the edge of the box. Bartlett was in the right place though and gathered easily. Constantine had another chance to equalize on 87 minutes after a high cross was headed goal-bound. Fortunately, it was in Brown's vicinity and he could palm it over the bar.
Three minutes of additional time were indicated by the fourth official as Brown cleared the ball up the field. Hereford tried to take the ball forward again in the dying stages but Bury stayed resilient and cleared the ball from their half. As the referee called time on the match, Bury had possession on the right wing and fulfilled their aim of keeping hold of the ball.
It seemed a long time to keep such an early lead, but Hereford didn't launch anything particularly threatening in Bury's direction. They had their chances in the form of Constantine at the front, but those were wasted and stopped Hereford from snatching a point. It wasn't a particularly memorable performance but the three points go to Bury and keep them in third place in the table.
Bury welcome Rochdale to Gigg Lane in their next match, in front of Sky's cameras. The Dale are flying high at the top of the table with an impressive goal difference and run of form, and so it remains to be seen whether the Shakers can stop them in their tracks in the hotly contested Lancashire derby.
Full Time - Shakers 1 Bulls 0
Attendance - 2797 (113 visitors)
Bury:Wayne Brown, Paul Scott, David Buchanan, Ben Futcher, Stephen Dawson (c), Brian Barry-Murphy, Michael Jones, Ryan Lowe, Efetobore Sodje, Andy Morrell, David Worrall
Subs:Ryan Cresswell, Richie Baker, Damien Allen, Cameron Belford, Tom Newey
Hereford United:Adam Bartlett, Ryan Valentine, Keith Lowe, Kenny Lunt, Marc Pugh, Leon Constantine, Jamie Tolley, Sam Gwynne, Darren Jones, Matt Done, Craig King
Subs:Edrissa Sonko, James McQuilkin, Craig Jones, Tyler Weir, Mathieu Mansett, Chris Adamson, Gavin McCallum
Referee: Mr. Tony Bates (Staffordshire)
Assistant (R&Y Flag):Mr. K W Haycocks
Assistant (Y Flag):Mr. D P Plowright
Fourth Official:Mr. B Roberts
