A FORMER Bury ace did it in midweek and tomorrow it's the turn of the players he left behind to stop Bryan Robson's Middlesbrough hitting top of the division!

David Johnson's last gasp equaliser for Ipswich at Portman Road on Tuesday evening, his third in a Town shirt, foiled Boro's hopes of going top and Stan Ternent's men are determined to put a spanner in their works once again.

But, as Ternent admits, with the myriad of star names in the Teesiders' line up it's a stiff task.

"It'll be a tough game but that's the price you pay for the progress we've made and we wouldn't have it any other way," he said.

"The players have proved they can compete with the best in this division and this game is another chance to prove it."

"We won't be making special plans for the likes of Paul Merson and Emerson because they have lots of other quality players such as Andy Townsend and Mikkel Beck.

"We'll just play our own game which is what we do best."

Ternent goes in tomorrow's game with the same squad that lost 2-0 at Huddersfield last weekend while Boro have injury doubts about Craig Hignett (shoulder), Gianluca Festa (back) and Neil Maddison (dead leg).

David Johnson's last gasp equaliser for Ipswich at Portman Road on Tuesday evening, his third in a Town shirt, foiled Boro's hopes of going top and Stan Ternent's men are determined to put a spanner in the works once again.

But, as the Bury boss admits, with a myriad of star names in the Teessiders' line up it's a stiff task.

"It'll be a tough game but that's the price you pay for the progress we've made and we wouldn't have it any other way," he said.

"The players have proved they can compete with, and beat the best in the division and this game is another chance to prove it." "We won't be making special plans for the likes of Paul Merson and Emerson because they have plenty of other quality players such as Andy Townsend and Mikkel Beck.

"We'll just do what we do best and play our own game."

Ternent goes in tomorrow's game with the same squad that lost 2-0 at Huddersfield last weekend while Boro have injury doubts about Craig Hignett (shoulder), Gianluca Festa (back) and Neil Maddison (dead leg).

Two trialists are being put under the spotlight by the Shakers chief as he looks to bolster his injury and suspension hit squad.

Brian Christiansen, a Danish striker, and much-travelled former Manchester City and Norwich ace Darren Beckford both played in the reserves' 1-0 Pontins League victory at Hull on Wednesday evening when Martyn Forrest grabbed the winning goal.

Last season was something of a nomadic one for 30-year-old Beckford who turned out for Hearts, Preston North End, Fulham and Walsall in the space of a few months.

Back in the 1985-86 season, as an 18-year-old Manchester City starlet, then manager Martin Dobson brought the Longsight-born striker to Gigg Lane on loan.

He played twelve games for the Shakers, scoring five goals, but City's asking price of £50,000 proved too much for the Gigg Lane coffers.

He subsequently spent four years at Port Vale after a £15,000 move before moving to Carrow Road for £925,000 in June 1991, eventually moving to Oldham after an injury-hit stay in East Anglia.

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