STEADY FC TOO STRONG FOR THE SHAKERS

FC Buxton continued their strong start to the season with an away win against an in-form Bury B side on Saturday morning.

With the miserable weather a stark contrast to the heatwave of the previous weekend, the match was always going to be a battle on a tight pitch.

After the impressive second-half performance against Stoke City the previous week, manager Taylor kept the same shape for this one, with two lines of four operating behind Drennan in the hole and Hollins as the lone front man. The full line-up read as follows: Redburn. Staff. Corbett. A Gould. Taylor. D Gould. Keane (c). Hill. Sheppard. Drennan. Hollins. Substitutes for this one were the hard-of-hearing Stewart Davies and Jimmy JLS Wright, who declared that he regularly 'sold love to other men' in the car on the way up - unsurprising really.

After the goalposts had been put up (with goalkeeper Redburn looking on nervously after one had initially fallen straight back down) the teams were ready to begin, and it was FC who got out of the blocks quickest. Seemingly intent on making up for the 1-0 last-minute home defeat suffered to the same team on the opening day, FC started with a tempo which the home side struggled to deal with. Hollins and then Sheppard should have perhaps both done better when left with a clear attempt at goal, but the slippery conditions were making it difficult to get a clean contact on the ball.

This held true even when FC Buxton grabbed the first goal, as a weakly hit Drennan effort was misread by the goalkeeper as it rolled into the bottom-left corner. 1-0.

FC had got their just reward for their early endeavours and the home side were clearly shell-shocked. Ever-improving on the left wing, Sheppard was giving the Bury right full-back a torrid time, and Buxton were looking good for their lead.

The hosts began to awaken midway through the half, however, and started to put some pressure on the FC back-four. Despite this, Redburn was rarely tested, with the blossoming centre-half partnership of Corbett and Gould again proving difficult to penetrate (ooh err!), and Staff and Taylor offering able assistance at full-back.

Fortunately for Bury though, lady luck was on their side to hand them a way back into the match on the half-hour mark, as a low shot from the edge of the area was deflected by Gould past the unsighted Redburn, who did his best to keep the ball out but to no avail. 1-1.

The remainder of the half was a more even affair, with both teams seemingly happy to go into the break level.

A simple message from Merse at the interval - "keep battling!". It was clearly a game that could go either way, with Bury coming more into the tie prior to the half-time whistle. However, whenever there was a battle to be had, FC were rarely found wanting. Their was an air of confidence about the team as they lined up for the second half.

The second period started similar to how the first had ended, with neither team really wanting to make the first move. The incessant rain (that fine drizzle that gets you wet) was making the surface difficult to play, and mis-placed passes and mis-timed challenges were becoming more and more a feature as the game wore on. Bury wasted a clear attempt on goal of their own when an attempted lob beat the advancing Redburn but went over the crossbar.

FC were continuing to have a lot of joy down the left side, however, with Sheppard's confidence growing by the second. His increasing willingness to run forward with the ball into the corner rather than coming inside into trouble was a welcome outlet for the FC Bucks, as they looked to summon mometum in front of the Bury goal. The 'fresh' legs of Stewart Davies were brought on to replace angry Dangry Gould - who hadn't had the best of days after an early two-footed tackle had left him close to tears - on the right.

As the match entered the final quarter, there was an increasing feeling that a goal would come, and when it did, what a nice goal it was. After Sheppard had received the ball on the left, his lay-off to Merse was quickly moved into the feet of Big Berba (BB) up front. Holding the ball up brilliantly like he'd been doing for the past 70 minutes, his lay-off found captain Robbie Keane on the edge of the area. The skipper didn't need asking twice as he arrowed a fizzing drive into the bottom left of the goal. A team goal if ever there was one, although it was finished off rather splendidly too. 2-1.

The goal appeared as though it would be a crucial one as the match entered it's closing stages, and although Bury pushed on as expected, Redburn was only called upon once, doing well to tip a well-hit 25 yard effort over the crossbar.

The deserved victory was sealed shortly after, when Hollins found himself bearing down on the home penalty area only to be clumsily brought down by the Bury centre-half, who looked like he'd been taking lessons from Sheppard's antics in the previous fixture. Up stepped Drennan to send the goalkeeper the wrong way from the spot. His fifth goal in six this term. 3-1.

FC Buxton had inflicted Bury B's first defeat of the season.