by Hannah Ingram at Gigg Lane

Following their 1-1 draw at Barnet last weekend, the Shakers returned to home turf to play a Gillingham side who were yet to chalk up a win for the season. Three losses and three draws saw the Gills sitting in 17th place at the start of play, with Bury still in touching distance of the play-offs in 12th.

In reflection of the Barnet match, manager Alan Knill said "It felt like losing, and to not come away with three points was very disappointing."He made one change to the team that travelled to North London, with Andy Bishop returning to the starting XI ahead of David Worrall. Regarding the opposition's latest addition to the squad in the shape of striker Adebayo Akinfenwa, Alan Knill said "He will be a handful, but so are we."

An early cross from Peter Sweeney on the right hand side after 4 minutes picked out Andy Bishop in front of goal, but his headed effort at the legs of Gills keeper Lance Cronin was judged to be offside.

Barry Fuller had a good chance for the Gills on 7 minutes, taking the ball on the right of the box before getting past Joe Skarz and shooting well over the bar.

GOAL! Bury took the lead in calamitous fashion on 15 minutes after a backwards header from Josh Gowling was too short for Lance Cronin; Andy Bishop stormed forwards to challenge Cronin for the ball, eventually breaking free with it and finishing from close range.

Bury 1 Gillingham 0

Bishop came close to making it two nearly five minutes later after a neat pass through from Ryan Lowe set him up as he paced forward; shooting from the right of the goal, his effort skimmed past the left post with Cronin well beaten.

A low cross from Andy Haworth on the right of the area looked set to meet Ryan Lowe at the far post on 23 minutes, but as the ball skimmed across the face of goal, the linesman's flag was raised for offside.

GOAL! Bury made it two on 34 minutes after being awarded a penalty as Andy Bishop was judged to have been pushed over in the box by Josh Gowling. Ryan Lowe converted it with flair, sending Cronin the wrong way.

Bury 2 Gillingham 0

Two minutes of added time were indicated by the fourth official as Bury were awarded a corner on the right hand side. Skimmed into the area from Sweeney, the ball was cleared from danger.

The referee soon called time on a good first half for Bury; they were aided by some mistakes on the Gillingham back line, but had also played plenty of passing football.

Half Time - Bury 2 Gillingham 0

Double substitution for Gillingham at half time - Mark McCammon on for Mark Bentley, Stefan Payne on for Matt Lawrence

Bury refrained from making any changes to their side at the break despite two changes coming from the Gills bench. Gillingham were quick out of the traps, and soon got their reward.

GOAL! Gillingham pulled a goal back soon after the restart after Bury failed to deal with a loose ball as it bobbled around the area after being supplied by Stefan Payne; an initial header clear from Efe Sodje soon fell to Adebayo Akinfenwa at the near post who finished from close range.

Bury 2 Gillingham 1

GOAL! Bury restored their two goal lead on 50 minutes after Ryan Lowe kept the ball on the left hand side before crossing to Andy Bishop at the near post who managed to flick the ball past Cronin.

Bury 3 Gillingham 1

Stefan Payne tried his luck from distance on 57 minutes, and his curling effort seemed to take Cameron Belford by surprise as he cleared it away for a corner.

GOAL! The resulting corner proved to be dangerous; sent into the box from the right, it reached the head of Akinfenwa who powered the ball into the back of the net.

Bury 3 Gillingham 2

GOAL! The Gills kept on with their momentum by drawing things level moments after their second goal; Danny Spiller got onto the end of the ball outside the box and his powered shot found its way into the bottom right hand corner despite Belford getting a hand to it.

Bury 3 Gillingham 3

GOAL! Bury restored their lead just after the hour after a curling free kick from Andy Haworth was sent to the far post where Efe Sodje was waiting to claim his first goal of the season; heading the ball across the keeper, Cronin seemed to let the ball slip through his grasp and into the back of the net.

Bury 4 Gillingham 3

GOAL! Chris Palmer made no mistake when he got hold of the ball on the left of the box on 65 minutes; shooting low and hard, he powered the ball into the bottom corner of the net to bring the Gills level once again.

Bury 4 Gillingham 4

GOAL! Bury took the lead again on 73 minutes after a neat pass from Haworth was perfect for Ryan Lowe to latch onto as he paced forward; he curled the ball past Cronin to the elation of the home fans.

Bury 5 Gillingham 4

Substitution for Bury on 74 minutes - Ben Futcher on for Phil Picken

The tension was mounting with every Gillingham attack, but it turned to excitement every time Bury took the ball forward. After a good first half for the Shakers, Gillingham had more than got themselves back in contention.

Substitution for Bury on 80 minutes - David Worrall on for Andy Haworth

Substitution for Gillingham on 84 minutes - Luke Rooney on for John Nutter

Four minutes of added time were indicated as Bury made a change.

Substitution for Bury on 90 (+1) minutes - Lenell John-Lewis on for Andy Bishop

Despite a late scare from Gillingham after they were awarded a free kick on the left of the box, the referee eventually called time on an unbelievable afternoon at Gigg Lane.

After Bury took a two nil lead into half time, nobody could have predicted the events that followed. A grand total of seven goals in 26 minutes of the second half saw the score line pivot from a Bury win to a draw and back again before ending with Bury taking all three points.

Some credit must go to Gillingham who came back fighting after the break and played their part in a nine-goal spectacle that won't be replicated for some time.

Full Time - Bury 5 Gillingham 4

Attendance - 2700 (199 visitors)

From the press room..

Second half substitute Ben Futcher said after the game: "I'm sure we have the fans on side after that, nine goals in one game already justifies the entrance fee"

Manager Alan Knill said: "For us to score five against them is fantastic, but we need to keep those four out"

"Set plays are massive and we didn't deal with it. The good thing is that even though they scored four, we scored five"

"I'm pleased for Bish getting two goals, but he could have had three"

"I think we should have been in 7th position before today because we've dropped points, but let's see where we are at the end of the month"

"I have to say I was pretty happy when the referee blew that whistle at the end"

And one last thing.. The last time Bury scored five goals at home was in November 2004 in the first round proper of the FA Cup against Vauxhall Motors, when it ended 5-2. Bury last scored five at Gigg Lane in the league in August 1999 when they played Colchester; the game also ended 5-2, complete with a hat trick from Ian Lawson.