Bury suffered their first defeat of 2019 when Swindon took an unexpected win away from Gigg Lane last aturday.

They had an immediate opportunity to make amends as they entertained Cambridge on Tuesday night, but their blip turned into a stumble as the Abbeymen bagged three goals without reply on a day when off-field woes took centre stage once again for the Shakers.

The division's top scorers, with 72 goals rattled up in the league so far, they've also proved to be stubborn in defence. This has given them a healthy goal difference which might just prove to be crucial in what has been a closely contested battle for automatic promotion.

Nicky Maynard and Jay O'Shea have done the bulk of the damage, with 19 and 16 goals respectively, and they have that man Nicky Adams to thank for the supply line. He has 12 assists to his name. 

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Who do we recognise this time? 

On the playing side of things we'll be bumping in to Nicky Adams, Jermaine Beckford and Tom Miller. 

Adams became a crowd favourite at Brunton Park during his two-year stay here, but his second season was blighted by a cruciate ligament injury. Nicknamed the 'Little Magician' by his team mates, he made 69 appearances and scored three goals for the Blues.

Tom Miller was another popular addition to the squad when he made the move up north in the summer of 2015. He scored nine goals in 108 outings for the Blues, with a fair smattering of goal-of-the-season contenders bulging the back of the net along the way.

A very young Jermaine Beckford made his way to Carlisle on loan from Leeds in 2006 right at the start of what turned out to be a fantastic career. He scored the only goal of his five-game stay on his debut, a 1-2 reverse at the hands of Millwall, and was later described as 'the one that got away' as he joined Scunthorpe just two months later. Eight goals in 18 appearances announced his arrival for the Iron.

Look towards the boardroom on Saturday and you'll see Bury's Sporting Director Lee Dykes, who left his position as assistant manager and head of recruitment at Brunton Park in the summer. Dykes spent just under four years with Carlisle before accepting his new position at Gigg Lane.

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Manager’s thoughts

Speaking ahead of the game, United boss Steven Pressley said: “Bury are obviously a side full of confidence and they'll come here looking to maintain their place in the top three.

"They've had two disappointing results this week but we need to guard against them being geared up for a reaction to that."

”They're a team with attack-minded players and they'll get the ball into the box at every opportunity. We've analysed them and we know what to expect. 

"What we must do is concentrate on ourselves and what we can do to give them plenty to think about. As I said after the weekend, I have not got  aproblem with the effort, attitude and application our players are showing.

"We've reminded them this week that it's about the finer details in both boxes that matters. If we make sure we do our jobs and concentrate on the simple things, and continuously do them effectively, then we will win games, I have no doubt about that.

"Yes, Bury is a tough test, but we are also a tough test for them. If we put in a 90 performance, which we are more than capable of, then we'll have plenty to smile about come full time."

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Did You Know?

Why are Bury called the Shakers [taken from Bury's official website]

It's the most asked question that the club receives, from young to old, they all want to know exactly why are Bury Football Club called 'the Shakers?'

So here it is, the definitive answer ...

"It was the 1892 Lancashire Cup Final on 23 April that the clubs nickname of 'The Shakers' first came into being. Mr. J T Ingham was Chairman cum team manager at the time and it is this gentleman who is alleged to have been questioned about his team's ability to beat the supposedly stronger opponents that day. It has been recorded down the years since that Mr. Ingham retorted as follows:-

'We shall shake 'em, in fact, we are the Shakers.'

And that was seized upon by the press of the day and since then, the club have been known as The Shakers."

Some reports suggest that Mr Ingham may have actually uttered the phrase at the semi-final game against Everton but, what is certain, is that Bury Football Club's nickname came into existence during the famous Lancashire Senior Cup success of 1892.

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Head to Head

These teams have met a total of 38 times over the years, with United having won 20 of the encounters in comparison to 13 victories for the Shakers.

The Blues came away with a 1-0 victory from Gigg Lane earlier in the season courtesy of a second half strike from Richie Bennett when he got on the end of a flick from Macaulay Gillesphey. Nicky Adams had hit the bar for the hosts early in the piece, and United had to endure some late pressure before being able to take their points away.

Watch the highlights from that game here:

The two meetings prior to that, however, very much favoured this weekend's hosts as second half goals from Danny Jones, Craig Jones and Ryan Lowe saw them steal away from Brunton Park with all three points in September 2014.

Watch the highlights from that game here:

The return meeting at Gigg Lane in January 2015 was another difficult one for the Blues as a brace from Danny Nardiello came either side of what turned out to be a consolation goal for Steven Rigg.

Watch the highlights from that game here:

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Man in the middle:

The referee for this game is Mr Chris Sarginson. He has taken charge of 39 game so far this season showing 113 yellow cards and three reds.

He was last at Brunton Park for our November victory over Newport. Early goals from Jamie Devitt put the Blues in the driving seat, but a late Butler strike levelled things up following a first half reply from padraig Amond. Danny Grainger snatched the last minute winner with a goal of the month volley to keep the points in Cumbria, and his was the only name taken on the day.

We saw him three times last season, with our first meeting with him for our Tuesday night away game at Luton last November. The home side scored twice in the first half and once after the break to take a 3-0 win, and Hallam Hope, Luke Joyce and Danny Grainger had their names taken for the Blues.

He was here at Brunton Park in January when a first goal for the club for Sam Cosgrove earned us a 1-0 victory over Crewe. Richie Bennett's name was the only one taken for the home side that day.

The last time we met was for our February away day in Barnet. The Bees took the lead just after the break but Ashley Nadesan [2] and Richie Bennett [1] came off the bench to change the game and make sure United went away with a valuable three points. Richie Bennett also went in the book late in the game. 

Referee – Christopher Sarginson
Assistant Referee 1 – Wade Smith
Assistant Referee 2 – Peter Gooch
Fourth Official – Geoffrey Liddle

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