Bury 0 Torquay Utd 1 by Phil Thorp

THERE were few complaints from Andy Preece as Bury dropped three vital promotion points to play-off rivals Torquay.

The Shakers - who broke a club record at Fulham in midweek, scoring in 19 consecutive matches - never looked like adding to that sequence in a totally lacklustre display.

Missing influential on-loan midfielder Terry Dunfield who is back at Manchester City after dislocating his shoulder in the previous game, there was no inspiration or creativity and the Gulls' debutant keeper Arjan Van Heusen will have been grateful for what turned out to be a quiet afternoon.

The all-important goal arrived in the 56th minute through the highly-rated former Scottish Under-18 international David Graham. The young striker beat Lee Unsworth for pace before drilling a low left foot shot that beat Glyn Garner in the Shakers goal and found the net off the post.

It was all the more galling for the Gigg Lane men as leading scorer Jon Newby squandered Bury's best chance of the day seconds earlier, failing to get his shot off in a one-on-one with Van Heusden. Newby's hesitancy summed up the day for the Shakers who never got out of first gear.