SWINDON TOWN 3 BURY 1

BAFFLING Bury proved they can live with the best but only after shooting themselves in the foot . . . again!

High-flying Swindon moved to within a point of the First Division top spot as the sliding Shakers slumped to their fourth successive defeat.

Yet there was nothing to choose between the two sides after a disastrous opening 15 minutes in which the home side had virtually been gifted the three points.

Steve Morgan's dallying and Paul Butler's poor clearance gave Mark Walters a shooting chance which was blocked into the path of the clinical Chris Hay for a stunning fourth minute opener.

And Bury also contributed heavily to their own downfall for the second. The usually dependable Butler was first turned then felled by Wayne Allison before Ty Gooden's low shot was half saved by Dean Kiely, only for the ball to skid through his grip and invitingly across the line where Hay gratefully poked home.

Boss Stan Ternent had seen enough. He gave it another six minutes before taking the drastic measure of a double substitution, debut boy Jason Peake and Tony Rigby - making his first appearance of the season - replacing Ian Hughes and Lenny Johnrose.

Peter Swan's switch from defence to attack served notice of Bury's determination to climb the mountain they had given themselves and suddenly they looked a different side.

Swan's ample presence ruffled the previously comfortable Swindon back line and he came within inches of pulling one back with a ferocious low drive on 29 minutes.

It's a pity it took the early setback to spark Bury into life but their recovery left Swindon thoroughly grateful for those early gifts.

The increasingly threatening front three had the measure of a home defence desperate for halt-time and fresh instructions from boss Steve McMahon.

Tony Battersby met David Johnson's cross with a crashing 37th minute volley he was unlucky to see deflected over before the front trio combined to greater effect three minutes later.

Target man Swan's textbook lay off invited Johnson to use his power and pace to leave Chris Casper standing before pulling his drive across the face of goal for Battersby to side-foot home his third of the season. Only heroics from Craig Taylor denied Swan an equaliser when he somehow hooked the ball off the line at full stretch after the Bury striker had poked his shot past the advancing keeper Fraser Digby on the stroke of half time.

Town manager McMahon admitted Bury's comeback had given his side the shock of their lives.

"They changed their system three times and we found it difficult to come to terms with big Peter Swan up front," he reflected.

"It was anything but easy for us because of the way Bury battled. All credit to them because a lot of teams would have folded after that bad start but that is not their way.

"We had to stick at it and fight all the way because of the determination and commitment they showed which is what Bury are all about."

Swindon recovered their composure after the break and Bury were forced to survive a string of narrow escapes.

Almost immediately the referee came to the Shakers' rescue when he surprisingly decided Steve Morgan's trip on Walters was on the edge of the box.

"Everyone could see it was inside the box," stormed McMahon. "They couldn't believe it and neither could we when he gave it outside."

Taylor should have made the decision irrelevant when he headed the resulting free kick wide of a gaping net.

Hay's finishing touch eluded him on a couple of occasions and the classy Swindon striker was denied by a magnificent last ditch tackle from Chris Lucketti after Kiely had parried Scott Leitch's thunderous drive.

Lucketti was again the saviour when Allison suddenly raced through in acres of space but Swindon didn't have it all their own way.

Bury matched them for possession if not goal chances although the outcome could have been different had the eye-catching Andy Gray produced the accuracy to match the power in his 18-yard volley or if Digby had failed to summon up such razor sharp reflexes to parry Battersby's close range volley to safety after Lucketti had headed on Andy Woodward's cross in Bury's best move of the half.

It wasn't to be, although after Gooden mesmerised Morgan before ramming home the killer 78th minute third, Swan almost had the final word with a towering header which Digby acrobatically tipped over.

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