A late volley from Lewis Alessandra gave Bury a 2-1 win over Oldham side Avro to secure the Shakers' place in the next round of the FA Cup.

For the second time in this season’s FA Cup Bury were drawn away in a tricky tie against a higher level NPL West side. Avro represented a tough opponent boasting former Shakers Benito Lowe and Max Harrop in their side as well as former Ramsbottom United goalkeeper Grant Shenton and ex EFL player Deane Smalley.

Bury however entered the match on a high from their convincing midweek win over Abbey Hey and Shakers gaffer Dave McNabb named an unchanged starting lineup but had space to include Bryan Ly on the bench.

From the outset the visitors were in a battle. Both sides had spells of possession and both sides struggled to break down a stubborn defence.

The first chance of the match fell to Avro, an attempted clearance by Efe Ambrose deflected off Bobby Carroll leaving the hosts with the ball inside the Bury penalty area. The cross from AJ Warburton flashed across the box but no Avro man could steer the chance home.

Bury returned in kind, Ruben Jerome chasing down a bad pass won the ball in the final third but as the ball travelled along the Shakers forward line no one could find a way through the defence. Eventually Alex Cherera sent a hopeful cross that just lacked a final finish at the far post.

Avro striker Liam Ellis saw a scuffed shot go wide from a promising position while a Benito Lowe cross nearly gave the hosts the lead as Bury keeper Tom Stewart put in a last ditch block to keep Avro out.

Gradually Bury began to take charge of the match. Bebeto Gomes had a long range shot saved by Shenton. Rustam Stepans and Ruben Jerome had decent attempts blocked by the tight defence while Cherera and Stepans just missed a connection on a deep cross.

Just before half-time the Shakers made the breakthrough. Good work down the right side by Stepans set Gomes free down the Avro byline. Slipping the ball past his marker Gomes pulled the ball back to Cherera and, at the second attempt, Cherera found the bottom corner scoring his fourth goal of the competition.

After the break Avro came out of the blocks quickly pushing hard for an early equaliser. As a result left gaps for Bury to exploit and counter-attack. Cherera won the ball on the left wing and played the ball onto Jerome. He squared the ball to the open Stepans who forced Shenton into a great save and followed it up with a long range curled effort blocked by the Avro stopper and a cross that couldn’t find an open man when he could have taken a shot himself.

Those missed chances would come back to haunt Bury as Avro grabbed the equaliser. Gifted a free kick in a dangerous area Sam Davidson stepped up and sent his effort round the wall and into the top corner.

Bury brought on Alessandra and Ly to revitalise the attack and both worked together to send a cross into the Avro box. The second half was a far more open contest with Jerome forcing another good save from Shenton and Ly seeing an on target shot blocked by a tangle of Avro limbs. At the other end Kershaw struck the post and former Salford City forward Mike Phenix fired the rebound wide with the goal gaping.

It was looking likely that a replay at Gigg Lane would be required but in the 87th minute a winning goal was found. A long ball forward found Bryan Ly on the right wing, his cross to Jerome was perfect and with Avro defenders heading towards Bury’s forward the number 9 pulled the ball back to the unmarked Alessandra. The former Oldham Athletic forward unleashed a fierce volley into the bottom corner to send the Bury fans behind the goal into raptures.

Avro saw little opportunity to break back into the match though Kyle Hawley sent a shot high and wide that he ought to have done better with. A final Avro corner in the last minute of added time saw everyone on both sides in the Bury area including home goalkeeper Grant Shenton but Tom Stewart rose highest to claim the ball and the full time whistle blew confirming Bury’s place in the first qualifying round of this season’s FA Cup.