Fleetwood...38pts Bury...18pts - WHEN Fleetwood visited Bury earlier in the season they soundly beat their hosts with no reply from the home side.

So it was with a sense of foreboding that Bury ventured into the lions' den that was Fleetwood on Saturday.

As expected, there was an early score. However, this was to the visitors, converting a penalty from 20 metres.

This merely served to light the touchpaper on Fleetwood, who, in a burst of threequarter and back row play, ran in four tries in the space of 12 minutes, three of which were converted.

The home spectators would have given you odds that the margin could treble before full-time, but in an almost bizarre twist, Bury, facing up to what was looking like a humiliation, awoke from their trance and, urged on by their self-appointed Messiah, chairman Chris Caloe, remembered that while Fleetwood can play open, attractive rugby, when it comes to forward play, Bury can match and better any side in the league.

Some of the Bury pack are probably nearing or past their sell-buy date, but experience and technique, probably coupled with a sense of pride to retrieve what seemed a lost cause, compensated for youth.

The Bury pack machine set about Fleetwood and simply outrucked, outmauled and outscrummed the home side with complete domination in the line-out.

Bury's first riposte came in the 20th minute when blind side forward Nick Smithson rolled off the side of the maul to score an unconverted try.

Fleetwood replied ten minutes later with a try from the openside flank, Stephenson, a class act, his only downside being he is probably not big enough to compete in senior rugby.

Martin Freschini, at No 8, had been carrying a back injury from the opening minutes that probably would have sidelined most other players. But, to confound both spectators and the opposition, he was to score tries in the 32nd and 40th minutes, picking up from the back of the set scrum as Bury marched Fleetwood back towards their try line.

After the restart, Bury, some 15 points in arrears and now facing a strong downfield wind, had at least subdued the Fleetwood spectators, who fell silent as the Bury pack controlled and subdued the opposition.

However, try as they might, they could not convert possession and territorial advantage into points.

Lock forward Rick Roberts retired injured in the 65th minute to be replaced by Mick Holland.

Bury have been guilty of late of dying in the last 15 minutes, but not on this occasion.

With one minor gliche, having denied Fleetwood any score for 55 minutes, their left wing was to pick up a loose ball and make 40 metres, only to be brought down by an ankle tap and he went to ground.

His pass to the inside centre backing up while he was still on the floor was legal, he having not been tackled and held, however, it was five metres forward!

Prop Dave Shimmons retired in the closing minutes to be replaced by Jason Bunce.

It would be unfair to the team, with the exception of mentioning the try scorers, to single out any individual as Bury fashioned respectability in what was a concerted team effort.

Bury may not avoid the drop this season, but matches such as this bring them much credit.

BURY: Smyth, Whitehead, Shimmons, Roberts, Kennedy, Westwood (cpt), Freschini, Smithson, Smith, Webb, L McDougall, Robinson, C McDougall, McGarraghy. Replacements: Holland (for Roberts 65 mins), Bunce (for Shimmons 76 mins).

Tomorrow Bury entertain Eccles in a friendly at Radcliffe Road (kick-off 2.30pm).