Bury take spoils with second period dominance

The Bulls fell to a pair of Ryan Lowe second half goals after a first half that was evenly contested and had seen strikes from both sides. The late sending off of defender Ryan Valentine added to a sorry evening for the home side.

Manager Trewick made changes from the Cheltenham line-up with Marc Pugh making a welcome return from illness while Keith Lowe started alongside Dennehy and Glen Southam replacing McQuilkin in midfield. For Bury, former Bulls stopper Wayne Brown received generous applause on his return to Edgar Street.

Hereford started brightly attacking the Meadowend with Brown brought into action just seconds after the kick-off. Lunt fed Constantine whose crisp effort was gathered safely. Shortly afterwards, Pugh burst down the left before crossing to Constantine. The big striker laid it off to Godsmark whose snap shot was parried wide by Brown for a corner.

At the other end, Worrall made a run into the danger area but his dinked ball into the box only found Bartlett who was quickly out to gather. A Morris, Constantine combination almost produced a chance for Pugh but the ball skidded through to Brown.

Then with the game just over ten minutes old, Dennehy was penalised for what seemed a high boot on the edge of the area. Michael Jones stepped up to curl a shot over the wall and into the top corner of the net to give Bury a flattering early lead.

Undeterred, The Bulls immediately went back on the attack with Green and Southam prominent in several neat moves down the right flank. One such interchange producing an opportunity for Godsmark whose low strike was deflected for a corner. Then another sweet move from Green and Southam found Constantine on the edge of the box and the striker found the net with a low shot that cannoned in off the upright. A similar move saw Green’s shot scrambled clear before a let-off when Bury fullback Buchanan headed wide when well placed at the back post.

Just after the half hour mark, a much-improved Constantine released Pugh whose early cross was cleared by Futcher with Morris waiting inside the six-yard box. Morris again came close when Ryan Green's clipped through ball found the striker but his shot missed the post by inches with Brown at full stretch. As the half-time break approached, Constantine was on the receiving end of a robust Sodje challenge but the resulting free kick was cleared up field.

HT HUFC 1 BURY 1

While the first half had produced plenty of decent play with The Bulls looking the most likely to go on to win, the half-time dressing room talks clearly had more effect on the Lancashire side. The second period saw the Shakers produce a far more workmanlike performance as they quickly closed down the Hereford possession and grabbed control of the game. Trewick had withdrawn Morris at the break moving Marc Pugh to a central striking role while Matty Done joined in his customary wide left position. Whilst there seemed logic to adding pace to the strike partnership, the change failed to produce anything like a positive response. Constantine, who had caused problems in the first period appeared to go back into his shell and Matty Done didn’t have the space afforded earlier to Pugh. In midfield, Bury showed more urgency going down the slope. Ryan Lowe's movement created space for him to test Bartlett who held a sharp drive but soon after, Lowe came off his marker to play a wall pass on the edge of the box. The return ball found him unmarked 12 yards out and he calmly fired passed Bartlett to give Bury a deserved lead.

Although The Bulls continued graft away, the swift pressure of the Bury unit restricted the home side to far too much sideways and backwards passing. The increasingly desperate Bulls collected bookings for Southam and Valentine as Bury continued to attack. Lowe was lucky when his gift to Lowe was lifted over the bar but the striker made no mistake when cleverly beating the offside trap and firing home from inside the box.

Constantine had been replaced by Jamie Tolley in a reshuffle that saw Southam move to the right, and Jonny Godsmark join Pugh up front but Futcher and Sodje were not undone as they continued to lap up Hereford’s lofted forward balls. The one real chance to fall to The Bulls in the second came when a lapse of concentration saw Southam ghost in from the right but Brown was alert to the danger and was quickly out to clear. Valentine received his second yellow and a swiftly followed red for a needless tug on his wingman to bring the final woe to a poor result.

FT HUFC 1 BURY 3

After a first half that promised much, the second period display did little more than emphasise the lack of attacking options available and The Shakers ran out comfortable winners in front of 2321 including 217 from the north.

HUFC: - Bartlett; Green, Lowe, Dennehy, Valentine; Godsmark, Southam, Lunt, Pugh; Constantine (Tolley, 70 min), Morris (Done, 46 min).
Subs not used: Adamson, Rose, D Jones, Gwynne, McQuilkin.

BURY: - Brown; Scott, Futcher, Sodje, Buchanan; Worrall, Dawson, Barry-Murphy, Jones (Racchi, 84 min); Lowe (Johnson, 88 min), Rouse (Morrell, 73 min).
Subs not used: Cresswell, Baker, Belford.

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