The Shakers booked their place in the next round of the FA Vase after beating Sefton side Maghull 3-1 at Gigg Lane.

Nominally the away side and sporting their yellow away colours Bury was a much changed team from the one that beat AFC Liverpool on Tuesday night. Eight changes were made in total, goalkeeper Mitch Allen was handed his debut, Iyrwah Gooden returning from injury made his first Gigg Lane appearance and Under 23s player Alik Babayan was listed among the substitutes. One of the few to keep his spot Efe Ambrose had announced he was leaving the club and was handed the captain’s armband for the day.

The match started sluggishly, perhaps a reflection of the number of changes made. Bury enjoyed most of the possession and spent much of it in Maghull’s half of the pitch but real chances eluded them. Frustrated by a stout defence what few chances they had came from set pieces. One Connor Pye corner flashed across the face of goal while another from Lewis Alessandra reached Lewis Earl at the far post but his volley was blocked.

Any concerns that Bury weren’t able to create chances were soon dispelled after the break. Early in the second half the deadlock was broken, a long ball forward by Pye was knocked down by Rustam Stepans for Gooden. His shot from outside the box was drilled into the bottom corner giving the winger a goal on his return from injury.

Following the goal the second half was a much more open contest. Bebeto Gomes had already seen a shot blocked by some last ditch Maghull defending before the home side for the day countered. First forward Jacob Till struck the post with a firm shot that had Mitch Allen beaten. Shortly afterwards Harrison Worden repeated the feat. His initial shot was well saved by Allen but the ball popped up for the Maghull defender, his header clattered against the crossbar and was cleared away.

The Shakers were in need of a second goal to secure their lead and got it from Gomes. Latching onto a great pass by Josh Gregory Gomes skipped past three Maghull defenders before beating goalkeeper Callum Lenton with a shot that crashed in off the crossbar to double Bury’s advantage.

In the closing minutes the match became faster and more urgent, one side searched for a knockout blow the other for a way back into the match. Till saw another fine shot denied by the woodwork, the third time it had happened to his side as Bury had separate penalty shouts after both Pye and Gooden went down in the box but the referee waved away both incidents. Substitute Bryan Ly forced a good save out of Lenton before Maghull grabbed a lifeline.

Handed a free kick in a dangerous area Maghull substitute Adam Hammill stepped up and curled a beautiful shot into the top corner that beat Allen and halved the deficit just as the match went into added time. The Sefton side then could have grabbed a quick equaliser, Kieran Halligan left all alone on the edge of the box had the goal at his mercy but his shot very nearly cleared the Cemetery End roof it was so high.

The match was settled in the fourth minute of added time. Youth player Alik Babayan curled a great effort from the edge of the box just out of reach of Maghull keeper Lenton that softly landed into the far corner for a debut goal for the teenaged midfielder.

The FA Vase victory sees Bury into the next round where they face Burscough on 21st September.