A goal by Thompson and a brace from Hatcliffe saw Bury edge away with an exciting 3-2 win over Tranmere.

The match started at a fast pace after a fantastic outside of the box strike from Williams, which gave Tranmere a 1 goal advantage after just 4 minutes of play. Bury then began to pile on the pressure in their search to find an equaliser, winning multiple corners and free kicks.

After all this hard work to find a goal, some lovely link up play between Metcalf and Ainsworth on the right hand side saw the ball eventually find Thompson, who expertly struck the ball into the far side of Tranmere’s net in the 18^th minute. Shortly after this, Tranmere had a great chance to regain the lead after Shannon used her pace to get in behind Bury’s defensive line but ultimately scuffed the shot when 1 on 1 with Groves.

Chances then began to dry up slightly as the game progressed, however 5 minutes before half time Ainsworth threaded the ball through to Hatcliffe on the left wing who then carried the ball into the box and confidently beat size at the near post. The half then came to a close which saw Bury leading by 2 goals to 1 at the break.

As the 2^nd half began it was clear that both teams were desperate for another goal as numerous shots were taken at both ends in quick succession. This end-to-end action had to result in a goal sooner rather than later, and it was Bury who ended up having the more clinical edge. In the 62^nd minute, Harding produced an inviting corner whipped in at the near post which was quickly met by Hatcliffe who headed it over Size, giving Hatcliffe her 2^nd goal of the game.

However, Tranmere replied just three minutes later as the ball was intercepted in the midfield and fed to Stratton who slotted the ball into the bottom left corner from outside of the box. This goal resulted in both sides again trying to quickly find the back of the net. Bury managed to do just that as they scored in the 78^th minute after a deflected shot from Hatcliffe found its way into the feet of Alldread who stroked it home. Unfortunately, the referee deemed the goal to be offside and the game continued with Bury leading by a single goal.

When the game started to come to a close, Bury showed a remarkable calmness in their defence as every possible Tranmere attack was dealt with efficiently and effectively by the back 4. This defensive resilience resulted in the hosts taking away all three points after an exciting first win of the season in the North West Women’s Regional League.

Right winger Natalie Ainsworth earned player of the match after a brilliant creative display, which saw her grab 2 assists in the game as she was one of the main focal points throughout the match.

After the game, Bury Manager Jason Jarrett stated “Overall, I think we made hard work of it, I’m happy with the 3 points but I think there’s more to come”. “They’ve not been together long but they’re going to get better week in week out”.

Bury will hope to replicate this win in their next outing against Fleetwood Town Wrens on the 28^th August in their hopes to climb up the table.