Bury 1` Stoke 0

IT'S great to be a Bury fan right now but Andy Preece just wishes there was more of them to share in the Shakers' renaissance.

Preece's men avoided a hat-trick of first-round Worthington Cup exits with this stunning upset of first division Stoke. And, make no mistake, there was nothing fortuitous about this unexpected win - Bury's sixth game without defeat.

There were a couple of first half scares when Pawel Abbott and Terry Dunfield headed Sergei Shtaniuk's headers off the line. And Glynn Garner produced a brilliant save from a close-range Chris Iwelumo header two minutes from time.

Bury scored the winner through the outstanding Jamie Stuart after 56 minutes and were on top for much of the second half. It's difficult to believe Stoke beat the Shakers twice last season in Division Two.

Failure to win what they believed was a straightforward tie against 1000-1 Worthington Cup outsiders led to frustration. So, it was no surprise when their ranks were depleted by the dismissal of Brynjar Gunnarsson for a reckless two-footed tackle on the excellent Michael Nelson.

On a run

Bury progress into Saturday's second round draw and Preece said: "I've never had a cup run since I've been at Bury because we've usually been out in the first round.

"Hopefully we can get a good tie but if we want to make some money it will probably have to be away. The crowd was disappointing and those who didn't turn up missed a great performance.

"I don't know what they want. We're scoring goals and giving them good attacking football.

"Stuart's winner was a beauty. I don't know how many passes were involved and if it's shown on television I hope they show the whole build-up."

Martyn Forrest and George Clegg were involved in the move while Jon Newby's cross was perfect for rampaging Stuart.

Danny Swailes crashed a header against the bar and Clegg, very quiet in the opening 45 minutes, was denied a sublime solo strike by a goal line clearance.

Referee Salisbury added on five minutes of injury time but this time there were no late slip-ups and Bury got that elusive first clean sheet.

Can you understand Preece's frustration with the fans? Have your say

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