Bury hit Litherland REMYCA for six as the Shakers ran rampant away from home.

There was an undercurrent of bad feeling ahead of the fixture, Bury fans were attending their first match since the announcement that the Manchester FA had ordered two home matches to be played behind closed doors. While the club are appealing the verdict there was a worry that the positive feeling around the club that had grown over the past few weeks might be diminished.

The team however was unmoved. Dave McNabb named an unchanged starting eleven, though there was a place on the bench for new arrival Oli Kilner who joined on loan from Oldham Athletic. If there was a sour mood in the crowd it wasn’t shared out on the pitch as McNabb’s men put in one of the most complete performances of the season.

In the opening exchanges, it was the home side that looked the more likely to score though. Elliott Taylor fired a great chance over the bar after a cross from the right found him in acres of space while a free-kick by James Hamil looked to be heading in but for a header by Gaz Peet taking it out for a corner.

It may be that the home side were more used to the pitch quality that left a lot to be desired and largely ruled out a slick passing game with the bobbles and bumps even making dribbling the ball difficult. After a while, Bury did start to get more into the swing of things. From the corner following Peet’s clearance the Shakers managed a counter-attack Andy Briggs slipping the ball to Connor Comber, his left-footed shot on goal was well saved by Litherland keeper Kai Calderbank-Park.

Calderbank-Park had started the season on the books at Bury and had played for Ramsbottom United as well this term, now at his third North West Counties club he was by far the busier goalkeeper. First Dec Daniels just missed his connection with a low cross into the REMY box before a Scarisbrick lob found Daniels again. He squared the ball to his strike partner Briggs who saw his shot saved off the line by the Australian keeper. Following that Bury had further chances with a dangerous ball in by Daniels beating the defence while a Billy Reeves free kick nearly found Oli Jepson at the far post.

Bury did get the goal their efforts deserved. A long throw-in from the left eluded Daniels and his marker, bounced over Briggs and the rest of the home defence but fell perfectly for Andy Scarisbrick to head home into the bottom corner.

It was no less than the Bury number 10 had deserved having played so well in recent matches and Scarisbrick could have grabbed a second goal almost immediately afterwards. A long ball into the box from full-back Jordan Butterworth found Scarisbrick perfectly. He volleyed goalwards but at full stretch, Calderbank-Park did enough to palm it away.

Bury continued to pepper the Litherland goal, both Daniels and Briggs attempted long-range shots but both missed the target. The Shakers could not find a second goal before the break and had to settle for a slender lead when they ought to have been much more comfortable.

Andy Briggs made amends for this very shortly after the restart. A high ball over the top from Dec Daniels was all he needed to slip past the offside trap Litherland had set him and he was one-on-one with the keeper. Briggs placed his shot well and Bury were two goals up.

With the early goal breaking whatever second-half plans the home side had it was all one-way traffic from then on. REMYCA held out until the hour-mark when Dec Daniels was felled in the box and the referee pointed to the spot. Daniels stepped up himself and though Calderbank-Park went the right way the stopper couldn’t prevent Bury’s third goal.

The Shakers came close to scoring again as a Peet cross caused havoc in the Litherland box but the fourth goal when it did arrive came from the penalty spot again. A Scarisbrick cross was handled in the area and the referee awarded Bury a second penalty. Daniels again took the kick and went for the opposite bottom corner to his last attempt sending the keeper the wrong way and securing Daniels his sixth goal in six matches for the Shakers.

The match was well won from there but even as Bury brought off their key players in favour of a very youthful substitutes bench the desire to find more goals never faded. Joe Hobson and Luis Cantello both had good chances to find the fifth goal as did Briggs but it took until the 87th minute for Bury to find the net again. A Gaz Peet corner was whipped in and from very close range Hobson headed home. A fitting reward for the striker who turned 20 years old this week and already has earned a reputation as a player who finds himself in the right place at the right time.

The victory was complete in stoppage time. Hobson the provider this time slipped the ball through to Briggs who once again evaded the ineffective offside trap and beat Calderbank-Park one-on-one to score Bury’s sixth goal with what proved to be the very last kick of the game.

The win for Bury was a perfect remedy to a difficult week and means that since Christmas Bury have won all four of their matches scoring 13 goals and conceding none in the process.