STOCKPORT CO...3 BURY...1 (1-1 after 90 mins): LDV Vans Trophy - Northern Section Round One

SHAKERS' boss Graham Barrow must be wondering whether he's run over a family of black cats, never mind just one, after another cruel defeat on Tuesday night.

The sendings-off of Chris Porter and Paul Scott, not to mention Barrow's banishment to the stands, were the main talking points of a far from ill-tempered first round tie at Edgeley Park.

They took the emphasis off a climactic encounter which saw Jon Daly's opener for Stockport cancelled out by former Huddersfield Town defender Scott, before extra time goals from substitutes Stuart Barlow and Adam La Fondre booked County's place in the second round.

"I'm speechless,'' said Barrow, who handed a debut to promising young striker Colin Kazam-Richards.

"I'm shocked at what's happened. Chris Porter has been sent off for handball, but he is as honest as the day is long.

"Paul Scott is guilty (for swearing at the official) but I didn't say a word to the referee.

"I'm proud of the players - they were fantastic in the circumstances and they didn't deserve that. It's time it went back to being a man's game.

"When you are sat in the stand and opposing fans come up to you saying 'unlucky, you didn't deserve that', it speaks volumes. We still had chances to win the game even with 10 and nine men."

But despite defeat Barrow is adamant Bury just need a bit of luck to turn the corner, especially with a series of frustrating results of late.

"It will turn for us, but we've got to believe it's going to turn for us," he added.

"To lose Chris and Paul for Saturday is a big blow, but we'll have to play on without them. I'm asking the players to play with passion and with a bit of fire in their belly. I'm sure we'll start to see some rewards."

Extra-time goals from striker Barlow and Le Fondre were overshadowed somewhat by the dismissals of Porter and Scott, with Lancashire referee Mark Cowburn doing his best to take centre stage.

Stockport's opener owed much to a gaffe from Glyn Garner, whose failure to hold on to Danny Jackman's low shot allowed Daly to tap home from close range on the quarter-hour mark.

Though Scott rose unmarked at the near post to convert David Flitcroft's 25th-minute corner, he was fortunate to see a wayward header come back off his own crossbar midway through the second half.

Barrow's disappointment at seeing Porter shown a red card in the final minute - a 'deliberate' handball decision which denied him a goal - was compounded when he too was sent to the stands in stoppage time for voicing an opinion too forcibly.

Scott's comments in the first period of extra time also earned him an early bath, and Barlow, with a downward header, and Le Fondre's cross to the far post which looped over Garner merely rubbed salt into Bury wounds.

Stockport assistant boss Mark Lillis said: "Their gaffer is going to be upset and I thought both their sendings off were harsh, but we're more concerned with Stockport County.

"It might be the LDV Vans, but this is a massive boost getting a result here. We've got to build on that."