The party's over

SEATED in the middle of a dozen Japanese sports writers, watching a spectacular firework display behind the facing stand while has-been TV personality "Diddy" David Hamilton announced the Bury team over the tannoy, there was something decidedly surreal and dreamlike about the minutes leading up to this game.

Unfortunately the would-be giant-killing Shakers were woken from their cup dream by the referee's first whistle.

Their Worthington Cup romance came to a sad, but inevitible end as megabucks Fulham made their Premiership class tell.

There was to be no repeat of the Shakers' heroics against Bolton at the Reebok last month as two goals from Latvian international Andrejs Stolcers and one from former England U-21 midfielder Lee Clark broke their hearts.

And to add insult to injury, it proved to be a night of double misery for Andy Preece's men as influential midfielder Terry Dunfield was forced to bow out of the action just after half-time with a suspected dislocated shoulder that is expected to keep out for months.

Dunfield was rushed from the ground to hospital for an X-ray after falling heavily and it appears the little Canadian's loan spell from Manchester City has ended in tragic circumstances.

Jean Tigana's 15-man cosmopolitan collective, bankrolled by Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed's millions, boasted players from 13 different countries -- eleven of them full internationals.

It was a fact that seemed to have an unsettling effect on the Gigg Lane men, who struggled to get their game going in a one-sided first half.

Player-boss Preece and co-striker Jon Newby cut lonely figures up front as their team-mates failed to provide them with any sort of ammunition.

Bury struggled to get the ball off their lofty opponents at times and Fulham gave a passing masterclass, using the full width of the Loftus Road pitch.

Despite some resolute defending from the Shakers, it was inevitable that the Londoners slick, passing game would begin to pay dividends eventually.

They began to make inroads into the Bury defence midway through the first period when twice in the space of two minutes goalkeeper Glyn Garner had to be at his best to keep out a Barry Hayles' header and a shot from Japanese superstar Junichi Inamoto -- whose inclusion attracted the large number of his countrymen in the press box.

Yet, it looked as if the Shakers would go in at the break level, until a stumble by Dunfield was punished and Hayles played in Stolcers who made no mistake from ten yards.

Bury opened the second period brightly, but were rocked to their boots in a four-minute spell that saw Dunfield stretchered off and Fulham double their account.

Just like the goal they conceded down the road at Leyton Orient on Saturday, it was a real sucker punch.

A long ball out of defence found Stolcers lurking on the left flank, but Matt Barrass and Lee Unsworth allowed the Latvian -- on loan from Spartak Moscow -- far too much space and he cut inside and drilled a low shot past Garner just inside the post.

Nevertheless, the Shakers enjoyed much more of the ball in that second half and almost pulled a goal back after 68 minutes when defender Danny Swailes hit the bar with a glancing header from Chris Billy's free-kick.

Any hopes of getting back into the match were scotched four minutes later in farcical circumstances.

A hopeful punt upfield seemed to pose no danger, but a mix-up on the edge of the Bury box between Garner and substitute Colin Woodthorpe resulted in the former Stockport man heading the ball over his goalkeeper and Clark gleefully nodded into an empty goal.

Garner redeemed himself later in the game with two breathtaking stops.

First he clawed away a close-range header from Argentinian substitute Facundo Sava, then minutes later somehow got a hand to a point-blank strike from Hayles after the tricky striker had turned the Bury defence inside out.

As the game drew to a close, the home fans made for the exits while the 600-plus Bury followers roared their approval for their brave heroes' efforts.

And in stoppage time they were rewarded by a magnificent Newby goal that extended the club's run to 18 consecutive scoring games -- equalling a record set in the 1960-61 Third Division championship campaign.

After good work from 17-year-old substitute Dave Nugent, Newby was out on the right wing faced with two international defenders in Cameroonian Pierre Wome and Morocco's Abdes Ouaddou.

The former Liverpool man then proceeded to breeze past the first and nutmeg the second before racing into the box and chipping an exquisite left-foot effort beyond Maik Taylor.

BURY:

Glyn Garner...8

Matt Barrass...6

Jamie Stuart...7

Danny Swailes...7

Michael Nelson...7

Lee Unsworth...6

Terry Dunfield...6

Chris Billy...7

Martyn Forrest...7

Andy Preece...6

Jon Newby...7

Subs: Woodthorpe (for Dunfield, 49) 7, Nugent (for Preece, 72) 7; O'Shaughnessy (for Barrass, 80). Not used: Redmond and George.

Yellow cards: None for Bury.

FULHAM: Taylor, Finnan (Djetou, 64), Melville (Hudson, 79), Inamoto (Sava, 45), Clark, Collins, Hayles, Goldbaek, Ouaddou, Wome, Stolcers. Subs not used: Boa Morte and Herrera.

Yellow cards: None for Fulham.

Referee: David Pugh (Merseyside)

Attendance: 6,700