Mansfield 0 Bury 0: A GUTSY display earned the Shakers a valuable point at Mansfield and extended their unbeaten run to six games.

Bury boss Graham Barrow urged his side to see out the month of October unbeaten and his players carried out his request to the letter, but it was a real backs to the wall performance at times.

It was a mixture of superb defending, wholehearted commitment and a slice of good fortune that combined to keep the Shakers' good sequence intact.

With a handful of players suffering from a flu bug during the week, a fact Barrow wisely kept under his hat, the point was even more richly deserved.

But more than anyone, one man played a big part in picking up the result.

Goalkeeper Glyn Garner pulled off a superb seventh minute penalty save from Colin Larkin, going on to put in one of his best displays of the season.

The prolific Stags striker, with eight goals to his name so far this term, had already registered his intent with an earlier effort that rattled the post and when Dave Nugent upended Alex Neil in the box he looked set to make up for that miss.

However, he reckoned without Garner who dived to his left to hold onto the spot kick with relative ease.

Garner's heroics served to galvanise the team who went on to give as good as they got in the first half.

A half-volley by Nugent was the closest they came but some stalwart defending by Danny Swailes, Dave Challinor and, in particular Colin Woodthorpe, ensured the home side were restricted to long range efforts.

It proved to be a different story in the second period however as the Stags stepped up a gear and brought on dangerman Wayne Corden.

In the space of five minutes the former Rochdale player put in two fine crosses from the right, the first was hooked over the bar by Dave Artell while the second brought another brilliant save out of Garner after it was met by Neil.

Corden also struck the bar with a curling effort and the woodwork came to Bury's rescue a second time minutes later when a long ball down the right was collected by Larkin.

He delivered a fine ball into the six-yard box for Derek Asamoah, but the lively little striker crashed his first time effort against the bar and the danger was cleared.

Virus victims Terry Dunfield, Brian Barry-Murphy and Chris Porter, who battled bravely, were struggling to last the pace and Dave Flitcroft, Simon Whaley and Jon Newby entered the fray but the fresh legs failed to break the deadlock.

BURY: Garner 8, Unsworth 7, Swailes 7, Challinor 7, Woodthorpe 7, Kennedy 7, Mattis 6, Dunfield 6 (Flitcroft 63), Barry-Murphy 6 (Whaley 63), Nugent 6, Porter 6 (Newby 68).

Subs not used: Scott and Barrass.

REFEREE: Mr P. Danson

ATTENDANCE: 4,137