BURY 2 DARLINGTON 2: IT WOULD be interesting to know just how many Bury fans actually saw the two goals that earned their team a draw on Saturday writes Phil Thorp

At 2-0 down with three minutes remaining there was a steady stream for the exits as Andy Preece's side looked like chucking away three more valuable home points for the second successive week.

However, a late, spirited fightback sent the Darlington fans home distraught while the Bury ones, those who had stuck around for the conclusion, will have watched the England v Slovakia game later that evening in better heart than they'd have imagined ten minutes before the final whistle.

Mundane

While England's manager has former lover Ulrika Jonsson's tawdry revelations in the tabloids to occupy his mind off the field, his Bury counterpart Preece has more mundane matters to concern him.

Like when are his side going to start punching their weight in this division.

For the umpteenth time this season the Shakers dominated the opposition only to find themselves trailing thanks to self inflicted wounds.

It was an attacking line-up that took to the field with former RAF striker Gareth Seddon joining Jon Newby and Pav Abbott after some prolific scoring in the reserves.

And it looked to be a move that would bear fruit immediately as the home side ripped into Darlington from the off.

They could have been three goals up inside the opening minutes when the on-loan Terry Dunfield - who was being watched by his Manchester City coach Derek Fazackerley - Abbott and Chris Billy all went close and their domination continued throughout the half.

But in throwing men forward they left themselves vulnerable to the counter attack and the Quakers took the lead in one such break.

Former Manchester City striker Barry Conlon took three Bury defenders out with a neat turn and slipped the ball inside for young Welsh full-back Ryan Valentine who had time and space to fire past Glyn Garner from the edge of the box.

Chris Billy remonstrated with referee Fraser Stretton claiming Conlon handled the ball in the lead up to the goal and duly became only the second Bury player to earn a yellow card for dissent this season.

After the interval 17-year-old Dave Nugent entered the fray for the injured Lee Unsworth to give the side even more attacking options.

Andy Collett in the visitors' goal was in fine form and he continually foiled the Shakers with a series of superb saves.

Once again, against the run of play, it was the visitors who were next to find the net when Matt Barrass's weak back header to Garner was intercepted by Mark Ford.

Ford was hauled down by the Shakers custodian and from the subsequent spot kick Ian Clark doubled the deficit.

At 2-0 up from their only two attempts on goal the travelling Darlington fans couldn't believe their luck and began goading those Bury supporters heading home for an early tea.

They were to have their taunts unceremoniously rammed down their throats in a whirlwind final few minutes.

Preece introduced himself into the fray for the finale and his aerial presence began to pay dividends.

Consolation

Nugent grabbed his first goal in league soccer with a fine header from a Jamie Stuart cross three minutes from time and the Shakers were determined that goal wasn't to be just a consolation.

They bombarded the visitors goal for the remainder of the match and deservedly levelled when Preece got on the end of a Newby cross from the right, Collett pulled off another fine save but watched in agony as the ball broke to

central defender Michael Nelson who capped off a man of the match performance with a second goal in two weeks.

"It's the same old story," said Preece. "It's so frustrating. We were never in any danger throughout the match. I can't believe how we are dropping points in these games when we are so much on top and creating chances.

"Darlington will be gutted not to have won the game but in truth they should be going home with nothing.

"Both our last two games have been disappointing, we should have picked up six points from them not one, we need to be more ruthless.

"The players have shown they can do it against the likes of Bolton and Stoke but they need to be doing it in the league.

"Based on our football, we deserve to be higher in the table, but we need to find an extra five per cent and be mentally tougher."