Bury...48

West Park Warriors...10

IT is many years since Bury have faced opposition from West Park.

The West Park set-up's junior team plays in the league on merit, having gained promotion this season, although on this occasion Bury show just what they are capable of achieving, whatever the opposition.

Bury started briskly and scored their first points from a penalty after five minutes.

With 10 minutes gone stand-off Mike Livesey both started and finished the move for the first try.

Taking the ball from scrum-half Glynn Smith he did a loop move with his centres to score, with the conversion added by Smith.

Park are having a poor season and Bury relaxed, convinced that with only a modicum of effort a victory was certain.

This thought, however, was soon dispelled as the visitors scored a fine try, using the handling skills one would associate with any side from down the East Lancs Road, an area rich in both union and league background.

This converted try and a penalty in the 20th minute saw the sides level, in what was to be a bizarre next 10 minutes.

Bury laid siege to the opposition five metre line, there were then eight, five-metre scrums, all won by Bury, punctuated by three line-outs still within the visitors 22, but still Bury could not force their way over.

What John Hargreaves, the Bury coach, said to the team at half-time is perhaps best not repeated, however, it did galvanise them in the second half, albeit against opposition which was now starting to unexpectedly struggle, particularly in the pack.

Right wing Paul McGarraghy was to score his first try minutes after the restart, when the ball was moved fast down the three-quarter line and full-back Liam McDougal, joining the line, created the overlap and pulled the cover and the wing did the rest, with Smith converting.

Barely five minutes later they were to repeat the exercise, on this occasion McGarraghy had far more work to do but squeezed into the corner for his second score, Smith was unsuccessful with a conversion.

Ten minutes later Bury were awarded a scrum seven metres from the opposition try-line, the West Park second row failed to control the ball, it squirted out of the side and the ever alert flank forward Bernard Robinson pounced on it and dived over.

McGarraghy completed his hat-trick with a mazy run, eluding all the advancing cover before grounding for a noteworthy touchdown.

It was probably six years ago when Martin Freschini almost single-handedly beat De La Salle, that a Bury player last scored a hat-trick in a league game.

Bury should have scored three further tries in the last 10 minutes, but instead they managed two.

Nick Smithson was robbed by the official when having stripped the West Park player of the ball in the in-goal area he grounded, only for the referee to disallow it.

However, Mike Livesey scored his second try, courtesy of at least 10 other Bury players, whose slick handling created the opening.

The final nail in the visitors' coffin was driven in when lock forward Adam Laughton, using his pace and weight, covered at least 65 metres to score adjacent to the posts, Smith adding the extra points.

Although Warriors' contributed a gradually declining performance after the break, scoring 38 points in the second period without reply was due mostly to Bury's appetite for work.

This was exemplified by the quality ball provided by the forwards, creating the platform for a three-quarter line which, though failing to perform of late, has the ability to score at will and ultimately to win a game.

TEAM: Holland Kelly Marshall Kennedy Laughton Robinson Westwood (c) Smithson Smith Livesey McGarraghy Chester Elliott Kyle McDougal.

Bury welcome Tyldesley to the Radcliffe Road ground tomorrow in a non-league fixture, kick-off 2.30pm.