NERVOUS Bury lacked the cutting edge to lift themselves clear of the relegation scrap.

Chris Casper s side did manage to end Chester s five-match winning run, but never really threatened to pick up all three points.

Shakers assistant boss Ian Miller said: The players looked nervous for the first time today, and that s understandable.

The players feel the situation more than anyone, after all they re playing for their futures.

But now they have to stand up and be counted, and that s all the players not just the experienced ones.

Chance

We had a great chance early on with Jon Fitzgerald but those are the margins you are working to. We just need a break.

On the positive side we have kept a clean sheet. We look strong and secure at the back, but we don t score enough goals.

You have to be happy with the point. There are so many teams still involved in the relegation battle. The pitch doesn t help, it s rock hard and it doesn t help us play football the way we want to play it.

Fitzgerald s header in the first minute from Barry-Murphy s free-kick went wide of the target and the defender was flagged offside.

Barry-Murphy livened up a cagey start by both sides when he gathered a Jon Daly flick-on and rifled a shot from 30 yards over the Chester bar.

The ball came straight down to the Bury box and Derek Asamoah tried his luck with an overhead kick which Kasper Schmeichel saved well.

A Barry-Murphy corner from the right reached Mark Pugh in the box, but he lifted his shot over the bar.

Dangerous

Asamoah, who had scored seven goals in his previous five games, showed why he is so dangerous in the 41st minute when he used his speed to get past Dave Challinor and struck a looping shot into the side-netting.

At the end of the first-half a trademark Challinor long-throw had Chester keeper Chris McKenzie struggling to turn it behind. From the resulting Barry-Murphy corner Daly had a shot saved on the line by defender Carl Regan.

A ball over the top from Stuart Drummond beat the Bury offside trap at the start of the second-half, but Jon Fitzgerald recovered in time to force Greg Blundell to shoot wide.

Ian Ross was unfortunate to see his shot from the edge of the area accidentally blocked in front of goal by his teammate Mark Pugh.

Asamoah continued to pose the biggest threat to the Shakers and he was only prevented from breaking the deadlock in the 73rd minute by Chris Brass s goalline clearance after the striker s angled shot had beaten Schmeichel.

Bury rarely threatened, but Dwayne Mattis wasn t far off with a 25-yard drive late on.

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