Stoke City 3 Bury 0 By STEVE BOTT at the Britannia Stadium THE gap in class between the haves and the have nots in Division Two was never more starkly highlighted than in this demoralising defeat.

Bury were never going to have more than a walk-on part in this play-off drama as Stoke went full out for an escape route out of the Second Division.

But things started to go wrong at the dress rehearsal when the Shakers discovered they had brought the wrong kit with them.

Their normal away strip of red and black striped shirts clashed with Stoke's red and white stripes and so they were forced to borrow a set of green tops from their hosts.

Stoke's sponsors Britannia must have been delighted at the double exposure, though I hate to think what Birthdays must be thinking. Let's just hope they don't consider crossing Bury off their list.

Those that did witness this dreadful spectacle must be considering it. Not watching Bury anymore, that is.

They simply didn't have anything to offer as an attacking force and, sadly, their normally reasonably reliable central defenders chose to have a joint off-night.

Chris and Danny Swailes were hit by a bad case of the jitters that materialised as early as the fifth minute and led to two goals for Stoke's hat-trick hero, Peter Thorne. The worrying thing is that while Stoke were good, I have seen better in this division. And while their fans celebrated long and loud at the end, they aren't promoted yet, in fact they still need one point to guarantee that play-off place.

So where does that leave Bury? Aiming at survival again next season, I reckon, unless a wealthy guardian angel wings in from above.

Thorne first cashed in on a mix-up between Chris Swailes and the otherwise outstanding Paddy Kenny to slide in his first in the 11th minute.

A neat bit of control and smart finish on the far post brought him a deserved second ten minutes after the break. But his third, even he admitted, was due in no small part to strike partner Kyle Lightbourne.

The big Bermudan's header from Arnar Gunnlaugsson's corner did the damage and Thorne merely helped the ball into the net. Kenny, hot favourite for the Player of the Year award at next Monday night's Supporters Club event at Gigg Lane pulled off a string of fine saves, including one stupendous, one-handed effort that pushed a Graham Kavanagh shot away as it headed for the top, right-hand corner.

There weren't too many other things to shout about, although young Nicky Hill again did reasonably well and looks to be well on the way to making the left back spot his own.

BURY: KENNY 8; Bryan 6, C Swailes 4, D Swailes 4, Hill 6; Littlejohn 6, Billy 5, Daws 5, Reid 6; Preece 5, Bhutia 5. Substitutes: Avdiu (for Littlejohn, 59 mins) 5, Barnes (for Bhutia, 75 mins), Challinor (for D Swailes, 84). Not used: Forrest, Barrass.

Referee: Mr M Cowburn (Blackpool).

Attendance: 14,792.