Palmer’s late strike frustrates boss Lowe

BURY 1

Maynard 83

BURY: Murphy 7, Aimson 7, Thompson 6, Wharton 7, Nicky Adams 6, O’Shea 6, O’Connell 5 (Rossiter 46, 7), McFadzean 7, Danns 6 (Moore 63, 6), Telford 6 (Lavery 81, 6), Maynard 8. Subs not used: Stokes, Cooney, Omotayo, Malone.

CRAWLEY TOWN 1

Palmer 87

CRAWLEY: Morris 7, McNerney 7, Francomb 7, Dallison 7, Young 6, Morais 6 (Nathaniel-George 84, 5), Payne 5 (Bulman 66, 6), Camara 7, Sesay 6, Gambin 8 (Poleon 88), Palmer 6. Subs not used: Mersin, Maguire, Willock.

Att: 3,625 Rating: ★★★★★ Ref: Neil Hair 6/10

MANAGER Ryan Lowe lamented two missed points as his Bury team were held at home by Crawley.

The promotionchasing Shakers looked as though they were set to nick another precious victory when Nicky Maynard scored in the 84th minute, only for Ollie Palmer to stun Gigg Lane with just two minutes left.

Lowe said: “It’s a hard one to take, undoubtedly.

“The performance levels throughout the team just weren’t there and in the end we’ve thrown away two points.

“On the back of the 3-3 draw with Lincoln last week it’s probably been a case of ‘after the Lord Mayor’s show’.

“I was really pleased when Nicky scored so late and it looked as though we were going to nick the win, but stupid errors at the back have gone and cost us in the end.”

Bury wideman Nicky Adams forced Crawley keeper Glenn Morris into a terrific save early on after he had played a neat one-two with Maynard.

The same pair combined when Maynard glanced a header wide after rising to meet Adams’ out-swinging freekick.

Three minutes after the restart, Maynard dragged a shot narrowly wide after latching on to Jay O’Shea’s throughball.

Callum McFadzean also went close for the hosts, before Maynard converted Adam Thompson’s knock-down with six minutes left.

However, Crawley were not to be denied.

With two minutes remaining, Palmer squeezed home a shot from the tightest of angles, leaving boss Gabriele Cioffi proud of his players.

He said: “I was really pleased with the mentality shown by the players again.

“The reaction I’ve seen over the past couple of weeks has been great and I am really proud of them all.

“That strong mentality is a quality you need when you come to a place like this.

“We knew we would be in for a tough afternoon, so to leave with a point is a big plus for the team.

“We were definitely still in the game right until the very end.

“The players have worked so hard and nobody can deny that we deserved something from the game.

“It looked as though the match had slipped away from us, but that was a great finish from Ollie and our journey home should be happy.”