A flurry of first-half goals secured an empathic first win for Bury on a balmy Tuesday evening away at Padiham as the Shakers routed the Storks 5-1.

Defeat against Padiham had cost Bury a shot at automatic promotion late last season and while there is a long way to go to make up for that lost opportunity this display from Dave McNabb’s side underlines how far the team has come since the end of last season.

There were a couple of changes to the side that drew with Squires Gate on opening day with Sam Coughlan replacing the injured Bryan Ly while Connor Pye was preferred to Will Calligan at left-back.

The Shakers wasted no time in taking the lead, scoring in the opening minutes of the match for the second time in succession. Right-back Bebeto Gomes latching onto an attempted Padiham clearance fired a shot from well outside the area that landed firmly in the top left-hand corner of Oliver Bellizia’s goal. Bury taking the lead emphatically in the fourth minute of the match.

There was no respite for the home side as the visitors continued to pile on the pressure, Rustam Stepans saw a shot flash across the face of goal while forward Ruben Jerome could only shoot directly at Bellizia after good footwork beat the Storks defence.

Padiham’s goal was eventually breached again with Gomes the provider. The attacking full-back breaking down the right-hand side sent a low cross through the Padiham box that fell to Iyrwah Gooden at the far post. His shot from a tight angle could not be turned away by Bellizia as the ball squeezed out of his arms and into the bottom corner of the net.

In response Padiham struggled to create much of a threat but did place a near post header wide of the Bury goal from a corner. It wasn’t long however before Padiham were handed a lifeline.

A long ball over the top was sent towards the Bury penalty area, keeper Tom Stewart came out to claim the ball but Padiham forward Joel Brownhill beat him to it. The Bury stopper clattered the forward and a penalty was awarded. Brownhill picked himself up and took the penalty sending Stewart the wrong way and halving the deficit.

The penalty proved to be merely a setback for the Shakers who continued to pepper the Padiham goal. With Storks goalscorer Brownhill serving a ten-minute sin bin for dissent Bury restored their two-goal advantage. Jerome again broke through the defence and while four quick-fire shots in a row from Jerome and Coughlan were blocked by a desperate defence the ball fell kindly at the far post to Gomes who forced home his second goal and Bury’s third of the evening.

The first half rout wasn’t yet completed. At the end of four additional minutes, Sam Coughlan scored the pick of the goals, flicking a header over his marker, and spinning around him, before burying a volley into the top corner at the stroke of half-time.

Bury added a fifth shortly after the break. While the unlucky Jerome wasn’t able to get a shot off the loose ball fell to Rustam Stepans who slammed a left footed shot into the top corner for his third goal in two matches.

Bury saw out the rest of the second half in complete control and could have further extended their lead substitute Alex Cherera went close, fellow sub Will Calligan had the best chance of all clearing the bar from inside the six yard box and Gomes continued to lurk around the edge of the box in search of an unlikely hat-trick from right-back. Padiham worked hard to try and force a way back into the match but Stewart was rarely tested and a defence criticised at the weekend saw out the match assuredly.

Full-time sounded giving Bury their first win and what may prove to be a statement performance to the rest of the league.