Oldham 2 vs Bury 0
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Bury can have few complaints about the result of a derby match in which they failed to lift themselves out of second gear for much of the game. The Shakers had started brightly enough with both Lutel James and Adrian Littlejohn menacing down the wings, but the presence of Andy Preece was missed in the middle. Bury lost much of their balance when James went off injured after 30 minutes and thereafter Oldham had the better of things, as the Shakers midfield failed to win enough of the ball, and on treacherously greasy surface, a defenders nightmare, the forwards were unable to run at the home defence. The Shakers midfield were too often second best and out of sorts skipper Nicky Daws missed two glorious chances which could have brought about a different outcome. Mark Allott put the home side in front with a magnificent strike after some hesitation between Bury's centre halves, before Lee Duxbury sealed the issue with a late second goal.

Report by Paul Forrest.

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You could have written the script before the event. As always seems to be the case, Bury threw away a game to lowly opposition without a single league point and only one goal to their name. Neil Warnock’s pre-match comments about not taking anything for granted obviously counted for nothing as the team capitulated to a strong second half showing from Oldham.

The early play was pretty much one-way traffic towards Gary Kelly’s goal and the Oldham keeper must have wondered what had hit him after his standing ovation from the Bury fans prior to kick off. Slick passing and good wing play from Adrian Littlejohn looked like causing problems for the home side and it was from the left that most of the Shaker’s first half attacks came. Despite their early pressure, Bury did little in front of goal and it was the final ball which was sadly lacking, a theme which ran through the whole match. Littlejohn was the main culprit, several attempted crosses finding their way into the Bury fans massed behind the goal, although the central midfield pairing of Daws and Richardson didn’t do much better. In fact, the lack of a solid midfield was probably the main cause of Bury’s downfall, as John Sheridan was given far too much time to spray the ball around without ever really being closed down. Daws had probably his poorest game in a Bury shirt, with nothing he tried to do actually coming off. Many passes found Oldham players instead of their intended targets and with Lee Richardson making little or no contribution on his return to his former club, the first half threatened to fizzle into nothing after a promising start. The referee controversially waved away Bury appeals for a penalty when Littlejohn was bundled over in the box, but with Oldham beginning to gain a foothold in the match, the half time whistle was a welcome break. The highlight of the half was Neil Warnock’s introduction of Kemajl Avdiu in place of the ineffective Lutel James. Whether the switch was tactical or injury induced, it raised the biggest cheer of the afternoon from the traveling fans.

The second half began with Bury seemingly still in the dressing room, as Oldham played the ball around at will, making a mockery of Bury’s attempts a the passing game. The unfortunate return of hit-it-and-hope was the result, and any composure that the Bury players had shown before the break went out of the window as long balls were pumped aimlessly towards Ian Lawson, who was having a rare off-day. The alarming lack of passion shown by the Bury players prompted calls for the managers head from an increasingly agitated crowd, sections of the Oldham supporters taking great delight in joining in with the chants.

The first Oldham goal had been on the cards for a while when Mark Allott smashed an unstoppable shot into the net, burning Kenny’s fingertips on the way. The Bury defense allowed the Oldham man to find space on the edge of the box and were punished when the ball sat up nicely for him to dispatch it past the despairing dive of Paddy Kenny. Andy Preece came on for Steve Redmond as Bury stepped up the search for an equaliser, and Nick Daws almost came up with the goods as he was played through one-on-one with Gary Kelly. The Shaker’s fans were on their feet celebrating a goal as Daws’ shot, which was parried by Kelly, bounced towards goal, only to be cleared for a corner by the Oldham defense. Carlos Rocha replaced Lawson as the last throw of the dice, a move which brought even more chants of "Warnock Out". The substitution was to no avail when Lee Duxbury slipped behind the Bury back line and poked the ball over the advancing Kenny and into the goal, Bury fans streaming out by their hundreds as the Oldham fans celebrated.

As for the last few minutes of play…I have no idea as I was one of those who left, disgusted at the gutless performance of a bunch of players who seemed to have no pride or passion for a local derby. It would be an insult to a workmanlike Oldham team to suggest that they only picked up three points due to a poor Bury showing, but the lack of commitment shown by the men in white shirts goes some way to provide a reason for the Latics first win of the season. Anyone who listened to the phone in on GMR on the journey home will have heard the stream of calls from disgruntled Bury fans, and only the equal number of calls from fed-up Winkies could have been any consolation.

Warnock Out? The knives are sharpening!

Report by Craig Morley

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If this outing to Oldham wasn't the place to start wining away then it's uncertain as to where the first win away from home for Bury will come from. Before the match Oldham we bottom of the table with no points to their name and one goal in 5 outings. But as the final score says this game was deserved of Oldham with Bury appearing lacklustre in the second-half and content to let Oldham wash over them.

It looked as if two different Bury's played today, a team that looked as if they might get a win in the first half contrasting to a team who looked as if they would never get a win. Although full credit must go to Oldham for stepping up their game in the second half Bury really looked about a week behind in every department. Signs of a second half obituary did appear late on in the first half however.

With Bury starting bright it wasn't too long until the chance of the game occurred which involved Collins shooting from distance. His effort lacked direction and failed to trouble Ex Shaker Gary Kelly in goal. The signs were there from the start, Bury lacking the finishing touch and general spark. Infield Bury managed to pass the ball around at ease and it was Oldham who looked a tad uneasy, Littlejohn creative on his wing until he reach the danger area where he fell apart and splayed his balls behind the goal of Kelly on most occasions. This must have been a welcome gesture to the Oldham players who before the match must have been hoping that the danger man was having one of his "off" days. Armed with this knowledge as well as the fact that the whole midfield was finding it difficult to find players up front with enough accuracy to cause trouble Oldham were well equipped to really go to town in the second half. Strangely the biggest threat in the first half against the Oldham goal came not from a Littlejohn pass but rather from him keep hold of possession and running into the area. It was late on in the half, about the 36th minute and after working the ball into the danger area Littlejohn was quite blatantly pushed over by Rickers. To most it looked like a definite penalisation for Oldham but the Ref, Mr Pugh, waved play on and so ended Bury's hopes of going in at half time with a lead. Apart from a 30 yard drive from Lawson that just about sums up the first-half in terms of chances for Bury. A prominence point in the half for most of the fans was the belated introduction of Avidu for a poor looking Billy on the 32 minutes. Although he, Avdiu, did very little to brighten up the game it was still a relief as Billy looked very dire and his slip-up gave Oldham their best chance of the first-half. On 21 minutes Kenny was forced to dive low and stop the effort from the Oldham player who pierced through the defence due to Billy's error. As the half came to an end the tide was turning and Oldham were on the crest of the wave which would take them to victory.

For the second both teams made no substitutes until the 1st goal. And quite a nice shot it was too, a well hit drive from Allot from about the edge of the area. After fooling around with the ball still in the danger area Allot received the ball and as it sat nicely for him he opened the account for Oldham to which Bury were never to reply. Warnock tried to inject spice into the team by pulling off the ineffective looking Redmond and bringing on the big man Andy Preece but all to no avail. About the closest Bury came to equalising was through Daws but his one on one was cleared off the line. After been played through, Daws drove his shot towards goal. Kelly blocked the shot well but it spilled away from him and bounded towards goal. Unfortunately the Oldham defence was on hand and cleared it away for a corner. The late introduction of Rocha might have been deemed as a final attempt at a trump card but he failed to add anything to the game. The moment had passed and this was confirmed with a Duxbury goal on the 81st minute. But by this time the majority of the travelling fans had already filed out of the stadium, hands very much deep in pockets.

Report from the official Bury Site www.buryfc.co.uk