Oxford United...1 Bury...1 WHILE Paul Scholes and England were grabbing all the glory at Hampden, Bury were putting in another performance to the Manor born at Oxford.

They picked up their fifth away draw in nine trips with another gritty show - and my apologies to all at Gigg Lane for forgetting that 5-0 hammering of Blackpool at Bloomfield Road when I said they would be chasing their first away win of the season at Oxford.

It's just that having witnessed the performances at Luton and Bristol City on my previous two trips with the Shakers, and now this one at Oxford, Bury and drawing away seem to be synonymous.

They didn't let me down - or themselves - with another impressive performance that, like those I saw before, deserved more than a mere point.

John Wayne was riding the range in yet another showing of True Grit on the box on Sunday afternoon and as I lay recovering on the settee after my 11-hour marathon to the Thames Valley I couldn't help drawing the comparison between the Duke and one or two of the Shakers.

Trailing 1-0, down to ten men and riddled with injuries, they did indeed show True Grit themselves to battle back and snatch a point from the jaws of defeat.

Indeed, they looked good for all three on their second half showing and showed plenty of adventure, manager Neil Warnock bringing on winger Adrian Littlejohn for defender Paul Williams at half-time and Indian striker Baichung Bhutia for Lutel James in the 74th minute.

It was just what the doctor ordered after abject displays against Tamworth and Stoke and should give them the boost required for a taxing programme next week which sees them take on Cardiff in the FA Cup and local rivals Wigan and Preston in crucial Division Two clashes.

Just how important those three games are cannot be over-emphasised. With Bury's finances in an extremely parlous state, progress in the FA Cup is vital with the prospect of a money-spinning tie against a Premiership glamour side within touching distance now.

Defeat against Wigan and Preston would virtually condemn Bury to a season of slog with only an outside chance of a play-off place at the end of it.

Victory in one or both, while avoiding defeat would put them right back in the promotion frame, while merely avoiding defeat over the two games would merely keep them ticking over in their present position. Not satisfactory, as Bury need to step it up at home and away by stringing two or three consecutive victories together if they are to convince people that they are serious contenders for an immediate return to Division One.

It didn't look like they were going to step anywhere but backwards when Jamie Lambert shot Oxford into a tenth minute lead on Saturday evening.

Phil Whelan's misdirected header from Joey Beauchamp's right wing corner fell for Lambert and he turned sharply to fire in.

Things went from bad to worse for Bury when Paul Reid was forced off ten minutes later with a hamstring injury and Steve Redmond took his place. But the Shakers, while offering little up front, held their own in a dour first half to go in trailing by just that single goal at the break.

With Littlejohn on for Williams, things livened up in the second half - in more ways than one.

Bullock was booked for a rash challenge on Neil McGowan and Andy Woodward saw a speculative 40-yard shot bounce off keeper Paul Lundin's chest before he gathered it at the second attempt.

The fireworks really started in the 65th minute when the linesman on the far side drew the referee's attention to what appeared to have been an off-the-ball tussle between Andy Preece and Mark Watson.

Both men were booked and two minutes later Preece paid an even heavier price when he dived in on McGowan, giving referee Steve Tomlin no option but to show Preece a second yellow card, followed immediately by a red.

That seemed to put Bury up against it and when Pat Kenny was forced into action to stop a header from Watson and a shot by Whelan, things looked ominous.

But Bury battled back and Lawson, struggling with a knee injury, turned onto Littlejohn's low cross from the left to sweep in his 10th goal of the season.

The Shakers finished strongly and felt hard done to when one of two theatrical dives by Bhutia - the little man is picking up the tricks of the trade fast - didn't earn a penalty.

He also sent in a shot that hit Lundin on the legs as Bury ended on a high note, raising hopes for the challenging times ahead.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.