It wasn't quite the all-star line up that most fans had anticipated, but Alex Ferguson fielded a strong Manchester United team at Gigg Lane in this money-spinning fixture for the home side.

Bury were not overawed by their more illustrious neighbours though. The opening exchanges were scrappy, with the best chance of the opening ten minutes being a Dwight Yorke free kick, which just cleared the goal.

Not to be outdone, Baichung Bhutia gave the hordes of United fans a scare in the 17th minute when he smashed a terrific shot against the underside of the crossbar.

There was no doubt who Bury's man of the match was. Paddy Kenny made some fantastic saves, particularly from Andy Cole.

The ex-England striker had nine clear-cut chances which the Bury keeper dealt with confidently.

The second half saw Bury change to a totally different outfield of trailists and youngsters.

The difference was there for all to see, and United took only four minutes to open the scoring. Bury-born Phil Neville burst through a crowd of players to squeeze the ball home.

After some frantic head tennis, Dwight Yorke scored from an easy header on the hour, and just eight minutes later a lovely flowing move started by the impressive Djordic culminated in Solksjaer having no trouble beating Kenny. There was even time for the Bury custodian to save an admittedly tame Solksjaer penalty.

After the game, Sir Alex Ferguson said: "I enjoyed it. We took it seriously and I think that showed. There was no showboating."

His opposite number Andy Preece was also pleased, saying: "Everything was positive, the lads enjoyed it and more than held their own."

STATISTICS:

Bury...0 Manchester United...3

P. Neville 49, Yorke 60 Solksjaer, 68