Watford 0, Bury 0

STILL no away win, but the Shakers leapt two places and out of the drop zone courtesy of their fifth draw on the bounce.

Another cool, calm, controlled performance against yet another promotion-chasing side deserved more than a point and had Paul Barnes connected with Carl Serrant's 92nd minute cross, that's exactly what they'd have got.

But the former Huddersfield striker, looking more than comfortable in only his second Bury outing, swung and missed, to the horror of the small band of visiting supporters gathered behind the goal.

It would have been the icing on top of a quality performance from Barnes, but, as he will quickly learn, such luck rarely falls the way of the Shakers who have now failed to win in 17 outings.

The mood in the camp, however, remains upbeat with eight nail-biting matches to go.

After the game, manager Neil Warnock, clearly excited by the team he has assembled, declared: "I wish we were starting the season again!"

After last week's £40,000 capture of Barnes, he believes he at last has 11 men capable of matching any team in the division.

"The quality we have brought in has added another dimension to our game. We just need that bit of luck to go our way in the last few games," he said.

The Shakers could have done with a slice of that luck 10 minutes from half-time when the tricky Paul Hall appeared to be hauled down inside the Watford box, but referee Mick Fletcher ruled first contact was made outside the area and awarded only a free kick.

"My heart was in my mouth - I thought it was a penalty," shrugged Warnock.

"We definitely had the better chances. I felt we were in charge in the first half and we tried to raise the tempo in the second to grab a goal. They had a good spell in the second half but we came good at the end. "We were a nat's breath from getting the three points."

Bury's other big scoring chance was the first of the game when skipper Chris Lucketti, the usual rock in defence, watched his header from Serrant's cross palmed over the bar by Alec Chamberlain.

It signalled Bury's intention to go all-out for victory and they held the upper hand for much of the game, particularly the first half in which the Hornets created only a handful of serious attacks - Johann Gudmundsson blasting wide and debutant Guy Whittingham being denied by Dean Kiely.

Sandwiched in between, midfield rock Darren Bullock neatly brought down Serrant's cross but fired over the cross bar.

Warnock switched strikers at the break, trying Adrian Littlejohn alongside Barnes in place of the returning Lutel James.

The substitute had few chances to make a mark, but Barnes saw plenty of ball. In the 64th minute his shot was well blocked by Chamberlain and he frustratingly fired over the bar six minutes later.

Watford came closest through Tommy Mooney, whose 83rd minute header struck the cross bar, outstanding full back Darren Bazeley, who was twice denied by Dean Kiely, and Richard Johnson, whose 66th minute effort curled round the left hand upright.

Special mention to Bury's rejuvenated Steve Redmond who saved a certain goal-bound shot in the closing seconds with a brave sliding block.

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