BURY 1 SHEFFIELD UNITED 2

TOO many people are saying too many nice things about Bury.

When you start getting the sympathy vote you know you've got problems.

Blades boss Nigel Spackman and goal hero Dean Saunders were oozing in their praise of the Shakers. They also made it clear they never felt seriously threatened by Stan Ternent's men.

Bury have heard it all before on their way to second bottom of the First Division with 20 games left. And there will be more empty words of tribute on the way unless they get back to upsetting a few people.

"We had to dig deep because Bury work so hard," said Spackman. "But the only time they put us under any pressure was in the last 10 minutes."

"If they keep at it they have a good chance of staying in the division."

Saunders, who put United in the driving seat with his neat finish from Graeme Stuart's piercing through ball three minutes into the second half, was equally gracious. "We needed that second goal because Bury never give in.

"They are the most competitive side in the division. They compete for every loose ball. If the ball goes up in the air anywhere in the field there are always three of them trying to head it."

Talk is cheap. The facts speak for themselves and they say that Bury haven't won for 12 games, scored just seven goals in that time and only one of those has come from a striker.

Indeed, the last front man to hit the target before Andrew Gray stepped off the bench to grab the late equaliser at Reading six days ago was David Johnson two months ago - and he's scored a sackful for Ipswich since then. No wonder Ternent is desperately searching for a goalscorer. This frustrating 90 minutes summed up the need for a master craftsman in front of goal as a glut of glorious chances went begging while United pressed home the point as their three opportunities of the night brought two goals and a header against the crossbar in injury time.

"The better side won but we had three times more chances so it is quite evident where our problems lie," admitted the Shakers boss who has been busy making enquiries about a string of strikers including Barnsley's £200,000-valued John Hendrie.

"For 70 minutes we were very poor by our standards and in the last 20 minutes we created enough chances without playing anywhere near as well as we can."

Ternent accepted a share of the responsibility for the disappointing display after a tactical change involving Andy Woodward's role which he admitted didn't come off and which he changed by bringing Ronnie Jepson on for Woodward after just 24 minutes.

"We were below par for some reason and it might be down to me because the lads played the shape I asked them to," he conceded.

But it would all have been rendered irrelevent with a touch more composure in front of goal.

Lenny Johnrose was the chief culprit as he lost out in a one-on-one with Blades keeper Simon Tracey before twice poking inches wide from close range when it looked easier to score.

Peter Swan smashed an angled volley narrowly wide in the only chance of a forgettable first half and put a little too much into his lob with only Tracey to beat five minutes before Jan Aage Fjortoft capitalised on a mistake by Paul Butler to smash home the killer 71st minute second from an acute angle.

Andy Gray sparked hope six minutes from time when he bundled in the rebound after Ronnie Jepson's looping header came back off the bar and he was denied a second two minutes later when his thunderous drive brought the best out of Tracey.

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