A DJ Pedro hat-trick gave Bury all three points in a top-of-the-table clash against Liverpool side Lower Breck that could have huge ramifications come the end of the season.

The Shakers went into their first home match of 2025 with a stern test against the side that gave them their first league defeat of the season. The result set the Breck on an unbroken ten-match winning run entering the day while the home side have occasionally faltered over the same period but still maintained an unbeaten record at Gigg Lane.

Bury made the worst start possible to such a key match. Barely a minute into proceedings Bury goalkeeper Mitch Allen spilled a shot directly to the feet of Thomas Mitchell who scored easily and gave the away side the lead. The Shakers had been made to change ends prior to kick off and with the low sun shining into Allen’s eyes the Shakers were at an immediate disadvantage. Regardless just as in the away tie a calamity at the back had gifted Lower Breck the lead.

This lead however was not to last for long. On ten minutes Tyler James flicked the ball onto DJ Pedro who burst into the box and blasted a shot that beat keeper Theo Roberts at his near post to grab the equaliser for the hosts.

The match stayed finely poised and open. Former Bury man Sam Burns missed a golden opportunity putting a free kick wide of the mark with Allen still struggling to see while Rustam Stepans fired a shot just wide of the Lower Breck far post having cut in from the right to shoot.

Bury then had the chance to take the lead from the spot. Nicky Adams making his 200th appearance for the Shakers crossed to Cam Fogerty from the right. The Bury midfielder was cut down by Burns who missed the ball but caught the man and the referee pointed to the spot. Pedro stepped up to take responsibility and slammed his effort into the top corner to give the home side the lead.

Pedro’s third goal followed only five minutes later. Strike partner Ruben Jerome showed his pace to get to a long ball forward, his skill to outmanoeuvre his marker on the left wing, and his vision to send a cross to the waiting Pedro at the far post who gladly accepted the assist and completed a seventeen-minute hat-trick.

The match was far from over though. Lower Breck responded and after Louis Jeanne was dispossessed in his own area Allen had to come to the rescue making a brilliant reflex save to deny Elliott Hughes. The same man went close moments later curling a shot that only just cleared the Bury crossbar. Just before half-time, Pedro came close to scoring a fourth of the first half but his shot from outside the area missed the post by a whisker.

With the roles flipped from the reverse tie and Lower Breck now the side chasing a 3-1 deficit, the Liverpool club pushed hard for the next goal. The Bury defence however was well up for the task and held firm. Numerous free kicks and corners were punted into the Bury box but Allen was equal to them all. Tom Douglas tried a shot from some way out that required a save at full stretch from Allen while Hughes had a shot on goal that was far too tame to trouble the Bury number one.

At the other end, Bury could have made the comeback effort harder. DJ Pedro chasing a fourth goal put a poor shot wide of the mark when he should have squared the ball to the open Stepans while a Pedro cross was too far ahead for Tyler James to make contact.

Lower Breck had the best chance of the half after the home defence failed to clear their lines. Played in with a chance to shoot on goal from six yards out Sam Burns somehow could only hit the post and Bury escaped. The ex-Shaker could not be denied forever though. Having scored in seven of his last eight outings including four goals in midweek the Breck number ten finally got one over his former side feathering a header past Allen from a great cross by Daniel Lowey.

With a little under ten minutes plus stoppage time remaining Bury had a nervous grandstand finish to come and with a history over the past couple of seasons of surrendering leads to promotion rivals late on in matches. Every Bury fan had one eye on the clock.

The push for an equaliser rolled on but the Bury defence repelled every attack, but for the opening minutes of the match, the home goalkeeper and defence had an excellent performance. In the closing minutes of the match each time Allen claimed the ball out of mid air and safely landed with it he was cheered loudly by a raucous home crowd. The Shakers may yet have had another penalty in the last minute of the match with Pedro brought down six yards out from goal following a late counter-attack but the referee waved away the appeals that might have made the match safe for the home side.

Time eventually expired giving Bury a precious three points and continued a pattern of Bury always beating Lower Breck at home and losing to them away. Combined with results elsewhere a points gap has started to emerge separating the top two in the table from the rest of the chasing pack. Yet with 13 league matches left to play Bury will have to stay at their sparkling best to keep their promotion hopes alive.