Bury have one hand on the North West Counties title after winning their last away match of the season. The 2-0 victory over Cheadle Town ensured that second place Lower Breck can only match the Shakers points total but not surpass it. Thanks to a Tyler James brace Bury go into their final match of the season knowing any positive result will hand the Shakers their hard-earned promotion.

Cheadle Town had switched their designated home match to the home ground of FC United of Manchester in expectation of a large crowd and they were not disappointed. Thousands of Bury fans made the short journey to Broadhurst Park in Moston ahead of the penultimate match of the season.

Bury manager Dave McNabb named an unchanged starting line-up to the one that beat Padiham the week before, though they were also boosted by the return of Rustam Stepans to the bench after he had missed the 4-0 win through injury.

Roared on by an excited and expectant crowd the Shakers made a dream start. A long throw in by DJ Pedro was spilled by Cheadle Town keeper James Hodges as he collided with one of his own defenders. Both sides scrambled to get to the loose ball but it was Tyler James who was on hand to fire in the opening goal from close range. The early goal coming in just the second minute helped soothe any nerves coming into the contest and put the away side on a sure footing.

The Shakers ought to have extended their lead shortly afterwards; Aaron Chalmers had already seen a shot blocked and turned behind. Bryan Ly delivered the resulting corner kick, DJ Pedro got a good head to it but the effort was blocked, Tyler James’ overhead kick was then cleared off the line and Aiden Walker following up at the far post flashed a shot across the face of goal.

At the other end the nominative home side for the day offered little to trouble the Bury defence. Former Shaker Sam Unwin managed to get in behind the Bury backline but his shot was well over the bar.

The first half became a scrappy affair with neither side able to create a meaningful chance. All three of Bury’s centre backs picked up bookings though Cheadle could never fashion a chance out of the many free kicks they were awarded. Whenever some skill was shown it was the side in yellow that displayed it. Pedro’s neat lay off set up Bryan Ly to shoot, Hodges got down well to make the save. There was a chance for Tyler James as he burst past the last defender, Cheadle Town captain Ben Hampson brought down the Bury forward grabbing his leg as he broke through on goal. Despite the protests from the crowd a tackle better suited for a game of Rugby was punished with just a caution.

From the subsequent free-kick, Bryan Ly lofted the ball up to Josh Gregory. The goalkeeper Hodges was late to rush out and claim the ball and got caught in no man’s land. Gregory’s header seemed destined for the empty goal but Darren McKnight throwing himself at the goalbound effort cleared the header off the line.

After the break Bury came out with renewed focus. They had the lead but wanted to secure it. Bryan Ly was the first to take a shot in the second half, cutting inside to shoot at the near post his effort was wide of the mark.

The second goal arrived soon afterwards. Again DJ Pedro attempted a long throw. It was headed back to him by a Cheadle defender, from his position on the right wing he sent in a cross that was met perfectly by Tyler James. He nodded the ball to the bottom corner of the goal to score his fifth goal in two matches and double Bury’s advantage.

From there, the Shakers looked comfortable in their lead, Aaron Chalmers troubled the Cheadle keeper getting a head to another long throw in but Hodges did enough to hold onto the ball this time. Bryan Ly slipped past the defence and slammed a fine shot into the bottom corner while Josh Gregory headed home a Will Calligan cross but both efforts were ruled out for offside. The closest Cheadle Town came to mounting a comeback was a Daniel Byrnes shot that lacked power and was easily claimed by Bury keeper Mitch Allen on his way to collecting his eighth consecutive clean sheet.

There was just enough time for Tyler James to try and complete a second hat-trick in as many matches. He got on the end of a cross from the right after a slick passing move between Pedro and Bebeto Gomes but James’ effort struck the crossbar. Substitute Lewis Byrne set up James for one last chance but his cross was just out of reach for the in-form Bury man who flung himself at the ball trying to make the connection.

The Shakers 14th consecutive win was confirmed by the final whistle. The bumper Bury crowd, vocal and in high spirits all game long, carried on long after their opponents and the officials had made their way back to the dressing room. The Bury team stayed out to show their appreciation.

Results elsewhere confirmed that the champagne would have to stay on ice for another week. Yet with this victory all at Bury know they no longer have to look over their shoulders or count how many more points they need to stay ahead. One more home match, one more strong performance and the Shakers will claim the reward all have worked so hard for over this long season.