Tranmere 1 Bury 0 by Richard Mulligan: LEE Connell summed up the feelings of all involved with the Shakers when he asked: "Are we going to get any luck this season, or what?"

The omens are not good on that front, with a goal conceded in the last minute enough to knock them out of the Carling Cup just days after a late defeat at Swansea.

But while Lady Luck is temporarily absent, Andy Preece's side showed that they have more than enough in terms of talent and endeavour.

The most ardent Tranmere fan would have to admit Bury dominated the first half at Prenton Park and, even when they ran out of legs in the final 20 minutes, they retained their spirit and at least deserved a crack at extra-time.

Shakers signalled their intentions as early as the sixth minute when Tranmere's keeper John Achterberg, undoubtedly man of the match, produced the first of a series of fine saves, on this occasion tipping over a George Clegg shot.

Further pressure followed with Harpal Singh hitting the target following a mazy run and, soon after, the on-loan midfielder whipped a cross in for Chris Porter which was just headed clear by defender Gareth Roberts.

Porter then came closest to breaking the deadlock before the break when he smashed an early shot from just outside the area which forced Achterberg to almost dive backwards to palm the ball out for a corner.

Rovers boss Ray Mathias must have had words for his players during the interval as a more organised and creative team emerged for the second period.

Midfielder Ryan Taylor began to run the show from the right flank and he should have scored in the 59th minute after skipping through the Bury defence and just having to push the ball past the isolated Glyn Garner.

But when it would have been easier to shoot he took the ball to the right of the keeper and fell over his own laces in the process. Garner then had to be at his best to stop Sean Connelly, Simon Haworth and Gary Jones from putting the home side ahead, while Clegg and Colin Woodthorpe were booked for late challenges in frustration.

Tranmere's goal came in the last minute when Ian Hume crossed a deep ball from the left and substitute Eugene Dadi, from the Ivory Coast, leapt unchallenged to head home above Garner.

Bury had every right to be disappointed but boss Preece was more interested in looking at the positives with the players after the game.

He said: "I told the lads they did themselves proud and there is a lot to look on the bright side about, just as there was at Swansea.

"We showed we could compete with a team who almost made the Second Division play-offs last season.

"In the first half we played ever so well and it was great to see the lads knocking the ball around well. We have played some entertaining stuff but we now need to put some points on the board in the league."

Bury form guide: Garner 8, Woodthorpe 7, Unsworth 7, Clegg 7, Swailes 7, Strong 8, Unsworth 7, Duxbury 7, Nugent 7 (Seddon, 74), Porter 8 (Preece, 64), Singh 7. Not used: O'Neill, Barrass, Kennedy.