Bury caught cold!

Victory was not enough to silence a section of fans calling for the Town board to quit but some cries clearly got stuck in the throat as the home side roared into a two-goal lead after just eight minutes.

King is adamant that the players are behind him and it was hard to dispute that belief after a determined if not entirely convincing win.

With the club's cash crisis having thwarted attempts to bring in Sunderland's Thomas Butler, King stuck with the same 11 players that performed against Bournemouth on Boxing Day.

With Bury just two points behind Town at the start of play, the pressure for three points was quite intense.

Despite the numbing cold, Town took no time at all to warm up.

Eric Sabin broke through after just 30 seconds but lost his balance as he prepared to shoot and the ball was whipped away by Bury's Lee Unsworth.

But a healthy County Ground crowd did not have long to wait for the opening goal.

Referee Rob Harris awarded Town a disputed corner in the fifth minute. The ball dropped to Andy Gurney, whose fierce shot was cleared off the line by Unsworth.

Moments later Bury keeper Paddy Kenny made a fine diving save to his left to keep out a Danny Invincible header.

But Town's early pressure was rewarded on six minutes when Andy Gurney cushioned a Bobby Howe free kick and slammed a terrific shot from 15 yards into the right hand corner of Kenny's net.

The goal lifted a subdued County Ground and Town doubled their lead less than two minutes later.

Giuliano Grazioli won the ball in midfield and pushed the ball into the path of the onrushing Invincible.

The Australian hammered a low shot which Kenny managed to block but the ball spun away from the keeper.

His colleagues were quickest to react and Bobby Howe slid in to poke the ball into the net from close range.

The price for a 2-0 lead was an injury to goal-provider Grazioli and he was replaced in the 16th minute by Paul McAreavey.

Bury's first meaningful effort had come moments earlier when Jason Jarrett tested Bart Griemink with a half-volley.

Jarrett then curled a free kick straight into Griemink's arms as Town appeared to take their foot off the pedal.

The nerves began to jangle and fears of a Bury fightback were realised on 25 minutes.

Unsworth crossed from the right and as Griemink and his defenders left the ball for each other, Jon Newby stole in at the back post to reduce the deficit.

All too often, the jitters have got the better of Town and you sensed it was crucial for King's men to reach half time with their slender lead in tact.

Invincible was desperately unlucky in the 35th minute when a through ball struck the back of his heel as he looked odds on for a clear run on goal and Wayne Carlisle should have done better with a 37th-minute free kick which was headed clear by Jarrett.

Bury's Chris Billy fired over the top three minutes before the interval and George Clegg then saw his effort blocked in first-half stoppage time.

Bury made a bright start to the second half but their hopes of salvaging a point were left in tatters five minutes into the second period.

A free kick on the edge of the Bury penalty area was dummied by McAreavey and Carlisle curled a delightful free kick around the wall and into the corner of the net.

It was no more than the player deserved for a far more effective display.

The goal restored Town's cushion but they still lacked composure. Far too many passes went astray and it was fortunate that Messrs Reeves, Gurney and Heywood were in cracking form and mopped up the danger.

Kenny made a fine stop in the 53rd minute to keep out a Carlisle drive but it was far from one-way traffic as Michael Nelson headed over from a corner and Gareth Seddon missed with a 58th-minute header.

Player-manager Andy Preece decided his experience was needed to try and turn the game but the veteran striker failed to make much of an impact after replacing Seddon in the 66th minute.

Midway through the half, Bury almost pulled it back to 3-2 when Newby's cross from the right was turned over his own bar by Matt Heywood.

Credit to him for the clearance because it looked all the world as though he was going to stick the ball into his own net.

Still Town could not put their passes together and only a fourth goal looked like being enough to finally see off the Shakers.

McAreavey's tenacity was the real plus in midfield and the Northern Ireland man seemed to relish the chance of first team football at long last.

With 15 minutes remaining Howe hammered wide after Carlisle's free-kick was only half cleared.

It was another largely disappointing afternoon for Sabin who struggled to create any real openings and his frustration grew in the 77th minute when he was booked following a scuffle with Bury's Sam Collins. The Bury man also went into the notebook.

Invincible was denied a decent penalty shout moments later when he was clearly impeded in the box but his pleas were dismissed by Mr Harris.

Still Bury refused to give up and the Town wall stood up well to an 82nd-minute free kick from Newby. The ball struck Alan Reeves and looped over for a corner kick which came to nothing.

Red cards have become a regular feature in Town games and the sequence of dismissals continued with the 86th minute sending off off Jason Jarrett.

The player tripped Invincible and this led to a second yellow card. However, it was refreshing to see the Town players urging Mr Harris not to send the player off. But it did not stop the Bury striker taking an early bath.

With the match drifting in to time added on, Sabin had a glorious opportunity to score his first goal in five games.

The Frenchman sprinted in from the right channel but rather than place the ball into the net, opted to try and rip the net off.

Sadly, he could not find the accuracy required and the ball flew into the Evening Advertiser Town End. But the final whistle brought three extremely important points and saw King stretch his unbeaten return to two games.