BURY...2 BURNLEY...3: Carling Cup Round One

IT'S always said that fortune favours the brave but Tuesday night's match at Gigg Lane made a mockery of that old adage.

The Shakers bowed out of the Carling Cup at the first hurdle but they can hold their heads high after having a real go at a quality Burnley side two divisions higher up the Football League ladder.

If the footballing gods had been gazing down more kindly on Graham Barrow's men it would have been them and not their Lancashire neighbours from up the A56 that would have been looking forward to a home tie against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

An own goal and a decidedly dodgy penalty decision cancelled out two well-rehearsed set-piece goals at the interval but crucially, in the second period, they paid the ultimate price for one piece of slack defending and a lack of a finishing touch in front of goal.

After hinting he may play some of his youngsters against the Shakers, Burnley boss Steve Cotterill thought again and he must have been glad he did as the Gigg Lane men set about their more lofty opponents with relish.

"I played the full team out of respect for Bury," he said.

"We might have been turned over otherwise."

To prove the Turf Moor boss right the Shakers opened the scoring after 11 minutes when Dwayne Mattis got on the end of a pinpoint Brian Barry-Murphy corner to glance his side into the lead.

But five minutes later Mattis turned from hero to zero when he inadvertently diverted Robbie Blake's flag kick past Glyn Garner for an equaliser.

Two minutes later Bury were back in the lead when skipper Dave Challinor flicked on a Barry-Murphy free-kick into the top corner.

Just after the half hour parity was restored again when the Shakers conceded their fifth penalty of the new campaign.

It was a contentious decision, but referee Mr Miller decided Paul Scott had upended Mo Camara in the box and Blake calmly slotted home the leveller.

The second half began as the first finished with Bury on the offensive and Dave Nugent fired a powerful rising drive over the Burnley bar from the edge of the box.

But five minutes later the Clarets conjured up what proved to be the winning goal when Camara was allowed to race down the right and pull back a fine cross from the touchline and dangerman Blake hooked the ball home just inside the far post.

It was pretty much one-way traffic for the rest of the half with the Shakers driving forward, desperate for an equaliser.

A cracking low shot by Chris Porter was pushed away by Miller and Nugent was unlucky with a glancing header that just drifted wide of the post.

Burnley had the chance to seal the tie with a superb flowing move that ended with Ian Moore diverting the ball just wide before the action turned, once more, to the other end of the field with Porter a constant threat and unlucky not to get on the end of some good deliveries into the box.

"I can't believe how we haven't won that game," said disappointed Shakers boss Barrow.

"We'll never have a better chance of taking a scalp in the cup.

"We have played against a team with an excellent defensive record in the Championship and gave them a torrid time.

"We were the better team, playing the better football but man-for-man they made better decisions on the ball.

"That's down to the inexperience of our team but as long as we learn from it we'll be okay."

Although they missed the dead ball deliveries of Barry-Murphy in the second half - the Irishman suffered a tight hamstring and was taken off as a precaution - the form of his replacement Terry Dunfield was promising.

It was the first appearance of the season for the Canadian midfielder who looked very lively on the night.

"That will have done Terry a lot of good," added Barrow.

"He's been frustrated at not being involved but he did well and showed just what he brings to the team."

BURY: Garner, Whaley (Newby 74), Kennedy, Scott, Challinor, Unsworth, Mattis, Flitcroft, Barry-Murphy (Dunfield 46), Nugent, Porter. Subs not used: Duxbury, Cartledge and Smith.

ATTENDANCE: 3,648

REFEREE: Mr K. Miller