A BRACE for a Burnley striker secured victory at Radcliffe Borough yesterday afternoon - but sadly he was playing for Bury.

Gareth Seddon, the "Hapton Hitman", twice rose well to head home from set-pieces to beat the club he supported as a boy.

But despite the defeat it was a promising display from a young Clarets side that showed both ability and determination as they pushed a far more experienced Bury side all the way.

Not for the first time this season, Ronnie Jepson's side did not have a single League appearance between them. There had been a suggestion that Stan Ternent might use the match to give a couple of his older players a run-out but once again he opted for a safety first policy of not risking his limited first team resources.

Injury meant that Joel Pilkington and Paul Scott were not available but Jepson did give a debut for young Welsh striker Rhys Carpenter who is trying to put last season's injury misery behind him and make an impact at Turf Moor.

In stark contrast to the Clarets, the Shakers had the likes of player-manager Andy Preece, veteran defender Steve Redmond and last season's top scorer Seddon in their side.

It was Seddon who opened the scoring in the 14th minute when he was simply too strong in the air as he converted a free kick from the right.

Having gone behind so early it would have been easy for the Clarets to crumble but the youngsters stuck to their task although it was not until after the break that they got their passing game really flowing.

One flowing move before the break did end with a clumsy challenge on Andrew Waine that might have brought a penalty on another day.

But Burnley improved after the break and their goal was the type all manager's and coaches dream of - a training ground move coming off in a game.

A short corner saw the ever dangerous Matty O'Neill collect the ball, leave a defender on his backside and then supply the cross that skipper Earl Davis headed home.

"That is something that we work on in training, a short corner routine, and we had gone through it the morning before the game," explained Jepson. "It is very nice when it comes off."

At that stage it was anyone's game and Burnley continued to give as good as they got until they were caught out by an almost identical goal to the Shakers' opener.

Once again a free kick into the box was met by Seddon's head and the ball flew past James Salisbury in the Burnley goal.

"It was a shame that we let in two goals from set-pieces but that is something that the young lads will have to learn from," said Jepson.

All but three of the side that played yesterday, Davis, Waine and Andrew Leeson, are eligible to play for Terry Pashley's youth team against Preston on Saturday and they will hope to make experiences in the reserve count at youth team level.

Bury: Rowe, Connell, Hill, Redmond, Evans, O'Shaungnessy, Kilford, Borley, George, Seddon, Preece.

Burnley: Salisbury, Leeson, Davis, Carter, Eves, Rasmussen, Waine, Chaplow, O'Neill, Carpenter, Hindle.

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