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Bury 1 Luton Town 1 Back at Gigg Lane and back in the points - Bury's October nightmare is over and they have a lot of catching up to do. As the season moves into the uninspiring autumn period, so Bury's promotion hopes have recently been changing from the vibrant green they were in the early exchanges of the term to a withering, dying brown. So however small a comfort a single point from this easily winnable home game is, it is better than a defeat and signals the first step on the road to recovery for the Shakers. Still, bittersweet is how the outcome of the game will be viewed by the Bury players and supporters. Adrian Littlejohn's fourth goal of the season was "October was a nightmare month for the Shakers" Dean Barrick won a tussle on the left touchline before feeding Littlejohn a good pass into the penalty area which was fired emphatically home to fire up the home side. However only minutes later and Helin was allowed space to turn in the box before dispatching his effort past Patrick Kenny. The Shakers were near to winning the match in the closing stages though, as Bhutia and Redmond went close. Yet while a draw does little to boost either side's currently flagging fortunes - Bury slip to tenth position while Town are second bottom after this result - the visitors deserved a share of the spoils, if only to justify all the hard work done by their young goalkeeper Nathan Abbey in a first half packed with goalmouth action. "Reid's shot was turned onto an upright by an elastic Abbey" Nonchalantly brilliant, Abbey pulled off save after stunning save in the first period, denying Bury and making the Hatters' club record payout of £425,000 for Mark Ovendale, another goalkeeper, in the summer seem an expensive and unnecessary blunder. First Nick Daws flicked a header goalwards after meeting Sam Collins' long throw into the area, only for Abbey to palm the ball away to safety after an acrobatic dive to his right. Then Daws again hammered a low volley from the edge of the box towards the bottom corner before a sliding fist turned it into the path of Paul Reid, whose shot was amazingly turned onto the upright by an elastic Abbey. It was breathtaking to watch, but did little for the Shakers hopes of both boosting their confidence and their goal difference with a first half rout as the Hatters struggled to make an impact. Shakers Team: Patrick Kenny, Chris Swailes, Steve Redmond, Sam Collins, Lee Unsworth**, Chris Billy, Paul Reid, Nick Daws, Dean Barrick*, Adrian Littlejohn, Andy Preece. Baichung Bhutia*, Lutel James**, Martyn Forrest, Jason Jarrett, Paul Barnes. Attendance: 2,861
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Match Report
a mouthwatering drilled shot into the top corner straight after the break. Yet Luton's Finnish international Petri Helin's debut goal was the stabbing, sour aftertaste only minutes later as Bury let the lead slip.
