Bury are Champions of the North West Counties Premier Division. After a 46 match league campaign pushed all the way to the very end the Shakers secured the title all the hard work and hard days were in aid of. Unlike many Bury promotions of the past this required no late miracle goal or penalty save drama. In a match where the hosts needed only a point they comfortably brushed aside ten-man Burscough and emerged 4-0 winners.

Crowds had already started to arrive at Gigg Lane hours ahead of kick-off, long queues snaked across the car park waiting for the turnstiles to open. Pre-match tickets alone guaranteed the biggest crowd at Gigg Lane in the 21st century, in all 8,719 spectators took in a match at the ninth tier of English football.

The party atmosphere started early as even players coming out for warm-ups were roared on by an excited crowd. The Bury team was largely unchanged save for the inclusion of talismanic top scorer Rustam Stepans chosen to start on the final day of the season.

In amongst the carnival, there was also a chance to reflect, as passed members of the Bury family who would have loved to be there were remembered ahead of kick-off. Most notable was former player Joe Thompson, who passed away on Thursday at the age of only 36. This was closed with opera tenor Joe Buckmaster’s rendition of Nessun Dorma.

The teams came out for one last time this season and the match began. The early possession belonged to Bury. Seldom this season have the Shakers not dictated the play and today was no exception. The hosts tested the visitors with some early corners and a long throw that Burscough had to work hard to clear away.

The away side had already made some rougher challenges in the opening exchanges but midfielder Sam Sheen’s lunge on Bury captain Bobby Carroll crossed the line in the referee’s eyes. The red card was drawn and after only 15 minutes Burscough would face the rest of the match with ten men.

The advantage to Bury didn’t take long to reap its reward. Winning a corner, Bryan Ly’s effort made its way through the Burscough box and landed at the feet of Aiden Walker at the far post to tap home the first goal.

Soon, the Shakers' advantage was doubled. The Linnets' defence was overwhelmed, and when DJ Pedro made a smart cross, Tyler James finished well.

The home side were in cruise control and barring a heart-in-the-mouth moment when goalkeeper Mitch Allen was nearly charged down by an opportunistic Burscough attacker the Shakers were comfortable.

Bury ought to have scored more. Pedro attempted a wild shot that went wide when squaring to a teammate would have likely been the better option. Tyler James nearly scored a second as he rounded Burscough keeper Ben Barnes and shot towards the open goal. The last defender did enough to clear off the line. Just before half-time James again came close from a counterattack but the away side defended well to force him away from goal.

Into the second half, Bury’s control remained constant. Defender Josh Gregory attempted a long-range shot that narrowly missed the far post as the Shakers refused to allow Burscough out of their own half at times.

On the hour, Nicky Adams was introduced and handed the captain's armband on his last appearance of an illustrious 20-year career that started and ended at Gigg Lane and included four separate spells at Bury. He had won promotion twice with the Shakers and soon the tentative third became a mere formality.

Tyler James, first denied with a defensive block, followed up to blast in the rebound scoring his seventh goal in three matches to bolster Bury’s lead.

Only a few minutes later, beating the offside trap with a slide rule pass, James was presented with a one-on-one chance. The in-form Bury attacker was always going to win, finishing well into the top corner to grab his second hat-trick in successive home matches. The day was won, and so was the season.

Bury could have added further gloss to their win. Pedro shot just wide of the goal while substitute Ruben Jerome got on the end of crosses from Connor Pye and Aiden Walker to come close to scoring again. A Nicky Adams free-kick fell to Josh Gregory, his bobbling attempt bounced wide of goal with the Burscough keeper well beaten.

Joshua High fired a tame shot directly at Mitch Allen which represented the visitors' first attempt on goal of the day, it took until the 88th minute of the match. Bury were happy to keep the ball and run the time down as the last few seconds of the season slipped away.

After four minutes of added time, the whistle was finally blown and the party in the stands spilled out onto the pitch. The team held aloft the trophy from the Main Stand and took a well-deserved lap of honour with their silverware. Bury fans took their celebrations out into the streets while the team could look back on their accomplished mission.

Promotion had been won, but it took a club record number of wins, points earned, and goals scored in order to achieve it. An incredible 15-match winning run, another record, had to be maintained to keep their slender lead at the top. It was a fairytale season for the Shakers and, fittingly, it came with a fairytale finish.