It was a record-breaking day at Gigg Lane on Saturday as Bury beat visitors Skelmersdale United 10-1 and smashed the club’s record league score in doing so.

The Shakers were playing their first match in two weeks due to the inclement weather and while Bury were in a rich vein of form before the unplanned break would the delay cause complacency in Dave McNabb’s side? The answer to that was an emphatic ‘No’.

Bury’s first goal took all of seven minutes to arrive and came from a familiar source. The Shakers had already tested the Skelmersdale defence through Connor Comber and Tom Moore before top scorer Andy Briggs broke the deadlock. After an initial attack by Dec Daniels was thwarted the ball was passed out to Comber. His deep cross found Briggs at the far post who was able to head in from close range.

Bury did suffer a setback as captain Tom Moore appeared to injure his ankle. Skelmersdale had already been forced into an early substitution withdrawing their leading goalscorer Mark Bollongino, now it was Bury’s turn to make an early sub. Oli Kilner was brought on and the captain’s armband was handed to Charlie Doyle.

The loss of the captain didn’t stop the momentum. On 18 minutes Connor Comber attempted a long-range strike on goal that Skem keeper Ben Barnes seemed to have well in hand. The shot somehow managed to trickle underneath the Blueboys stopper and crawl over the line into the back of the net.

Skelmersdale United had been the last side to beat Bury in the league and in the away fixture Barnes had been almost unbeatable but at Gigg Lane it was a different story. Fans had only just sat down from the last goal when a defensive lapse allowed Andy Scarisbrick through one-on-one with Barnes, he calmly picked his spot and made it 3-0 to Bury with barely 20 minutes played.

Injury struck Bury again as Doyle fell awkwardly from a challenge and stayed down clutching his shoulder. It was clear the midfielder could not carry on and he was replaced by debutant Jacob Holland-Wilkinson. The armband was passed to Scarisbrick who might have worried about following in the footsteps of the previous two wearers.

The rest of the first half passed with Bury very much in control. The visitors did have chances with Bebeto Gomes proving to be a constant threat down the wing, Yasir Salim seeing a shot fired over the bar and Abdullahi Ahmed had a certain chance to score saved brilliantly by Harry Wright. But it was the Shakers who always looked like they would score next. A Gaz Peet free kick was just a whisker over the bar, Briggs had several chances to add to his tally most notably a cross from Daniels he just couldn’t connect with while Scarisbrick had a couple of shots both saved by Barnes.

Bury grabbed a fourth just before the break. In stoppage time another defensive howler allowed Dec Daniels in on goal, the striker scored his seventh goal in seven matches for Bury and took his personal tally to 40 goals for the season.

The second-half picked up where the first-half left off Daniels seeing his effort saved by Barnes, Holland-Wilkinson forcing a corner with a rasping shot that was deflected, and from the corner Briggs headed just over the bar. At the other end Skem thought they may have had a penalty. Scarisbrick was booked for his rash challenge but the referee ruled he had committed it just outside the Bury box. Harry Wright still had to be alert to save the set piece.

Bury got the fifth goal they had been chasing after the hour, Jacob Holland-Wilkinson had proven to be an asset on the right wing creating many chances for his new teammates but it was the Bury-born midfielder’s turn to get on the scoresheet, slipping past the defence and thumping the ball into the bottom corner.

He was not alone in making a perfect start for the Shakers. Fellow new arrival Arthur Lomax-Jones had only been on the pitch a few minutes when he grabbed Bury’s sixth goal slamming home a volley from a Briggs cross.

At the other end Skelmersdale did manage to put an end to Bury’s perfect defensive record. More than seven hours of play had passed since Bury last conceded a goal however a poor pass out the back allowed the Blueboys to claim a loose ball deep in Shakers territory and Jack Grimshaw slammed home a consolation goal for the visitors. Skem could have scored another as a cross flashed across the Bury penalty area with a visibly frustrated Harry Wright left to fend off another Skelmersdale attack.

It wasn’t long however before Bury restored their six-goal advantage, Holland-Wilkinson curiously both the provider and the finisher. Having broken in behind the visiting defence Holland-Wilkinson pulled the ball back towards the oncoming Billy Reeves. The pass was blocked by a defender but the free ball returned directly to Bury’s new man who scored on his own from very close range.

Skelmersdale United were able to hold out until the 85th minute when a scuffle broke out in their own penalty area. After discussions with his assistants the referee booked Bury’s Oli Jepson, Skem keeper Ben Barnes and sent off Skem defender Claudio Da Costa awarding Bury a penalty. With a debut hat trick at hand Holland-Wilkinson took the spot kick and made no mistake scoring the Shakers’ eighth goal and his own third. Remarkably he is the second Bury player to achieve the feat of a treble on debut this season.

The Shakers were not done yet. The club’s record league win was an 8-0 demolition of Tranmere Rovers 54 years ago but with a ninth goal Bury could eclipse it. This arrived through the welcome return of mercurial talent and fan favourite Benito Lowe. The forward hadn’t featured for Bury since his injury away to Skelmersdale two months prior so it was a fitting reward to mark his return. A slick passing move between Holland-Wilkinson and Lomax-Jones fed the ball to fellow substitute Lowe to cannon the ball past Barnes and into the waiting net.

Finally, deep into stoppage time, Bury got into double figures thanks to another penalty. A Lowe cross was handled by a Skem defender and the referee again pointed to the spot. Another substitute returning from injury Sam Burns was given responsibility for the spot kick and he delivered Bury's tenth goal of the day with aplomb.

The final whistle rang out to round off what had been a momentous and historic day for all in attendance. Ten goals from eight different goalscorers, Bury more than made up for their defeat away to Skelmersdale and completed a remarkable victory that will linger in Bury fans’ collective memory for years to come.