Bury 0, Norwich City 2

WITH three debutants on show, skipper Chris Lucketti back in the side and the surprise return of top scorer Laurent D'Jaffo, this was all set to be Bury's day.

An air of excitement and expectation swept across Gigg Lane as the club prepared for its first victory since December 5. But it lasted just 11 minutes.

By this time the Shakers were down to 10 men and only the most optimistic die-hard was still predicting a home win.

The game was effectively killed off as a contest when referee Mark Warren saw fit to dismiss new £200,000 signing Darren Bullock for what looked, on video evidence, a quite innocuous challenge.

The midfield Bulldog, sporting a shaven head for the occasion, was adjudged to have deliberately kicked City's Peter Grant in the head after the two had become entangled in a tackle. Sadly, Bullock's hard man reputation goes before him these days with his every move closely scrutinised by officials.

Many would argue he only has himself to blame - last month he was suspended for two games by the FA after collecting his 11th yellow card of the season - but in a game so crucial to a club struggling for its First Division survival, common sense should surely have prevailed.

Bullock vehemently denied the charge after the game and promised to appeal against any punishment. Whether that will wash with Lancaster Gate's disciplinary committee remains to be seen.

Manager Neil Warnock, clearly angry with police officer Warren's decision, said: "I didn't see the incident, but I looked at the video after the game and I think it was harsh. There was no way Darren could have got out of it.

"I do not think I have ever seen a game where one person has decided a result. I don't think Norwich have beaten us, I don't think they won the game."

Referee Warren refused to comment on the incident after the game as he was ushered to his car by his two linesmen, but did promise to take a close look at the video tape.

Ironically, the man Bullock replaced at Gigg Lane, Lennie Johnrose, suffered the same fate in his second appearance for Burnley on the same day. That will come as little or no consolation, though. Norwich played more like fairies than Canaries with nearly all their players hitting the deck at some stage of the game, unhappy at the tough, but fair, challenges from the battling Shakers. In fact, City's physio spent more time on the pitch than Bullock!

Bury held on for nearly half an hour before they were finally broken. After Dean Kiely had pulled off a stunning save to deny Craig Bellamy, the youngster was back to find the net within a minute, jabbing past the keeper after he had blocked Adrian Forbes' effort.

Another cruel blow quickly followed. Not in the shape of a goal, but in the substitution of the injured Nick Daws, whose presence was vital in the absence of Bullock.

Nigel Jemson was kicking himself on the stroke of half-time when his header from Mark Patterson's corner fell kindly for Bury-born Andy Marshall in the Norwich goal.

Bury continued to fight for an unlikely equaliser after the break but their hopes were extinguished 18 minutes from time when another Craig, this time Fleming, headed home from a hotly-disputed corner.

Paul Hall and Carl Serrant played solidly in their first of seven outings, with Hall looking the most likely Shaker to create an opening.

The best chances, however, came from late free kicks with substitute Andy Preece firing inches over the crossbar three minutes into injury-time before Patterson came even closer but his effort was palmed over by Marshall.

Twelve matches without a win is a worrying statistic for all at Gigg Lane. Even more concerning is the sight of the club in the bottom three for the first time this season, with only 14 games to play.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.