Bury 1 - Bolton Wanderers 2

DEFEAT against the 'old enemy' wouldn't be many Shakers fans' idea of a dream curtain-raiser to the new campaign but there was plenty of cause for optimism from this highly competitive derby encounter.

None more so than the performance of new signing Andy Gray who showed just why manager Stan Ternent believes the former England ace's versatility and experience will be a vital asset in the First Division .

Gray's performance oozed ability and he well deserved his well-taken goal that should have won the battling Shakers a share of the spoils against their classy neighbours.

Wanderers boss Colin Todd told his men to think of the match not so much as a derby more just another warm-up though it was clear from the offset that local rivalry would give the Newsquest-sponsored game an edge.

Chris Lucketti and former Shaker John McGinlay set the stage with an altercation in the opening minutes and there was no quarter given throughout the whole game.

Bolton's intricate pass and move game showed them for what they were, Premiership class, but for all their possession, they rarely panicked the heart of the Shakers defence expertly marshalled by Gray with Lucketti and Paul Butler dominant.

Indeed had Dean West done better with a thirteenth-minute angled drive and David Johnson not seen his diving header scrambled off the line in the dying minutes of the half, the 2,000 Wanderers fans might have had more to boo in the interval than Gary Neville's half-time draw appearance.

As it was they were cheering loud and long midway through the second half when Gray upended impressive Icelandic new-boy Arnar Gunnlaugsson just inside the box and 'Mister Popularity' McGinlay despatched the subsequent spot kick.

Ten minutes earlier Bury had spurned the chance to break the deadlock with their best move of the game. An inch-perfect crossfield ball by Gray found David Pugh wide on the left, his cross found Tony Battersby at the far post who nodded the ball into the path of the onrushing West whose effort was screwed wide.

After a flurry of substitutions Gray moved into a central midfield role and immediately made his presence felt with some telling runs.

It looked as though the former Falkirk man had earned his new teammates a hard-earned draw when he burst onto a Ronnie Jepson pass and powered a vicious shot that Keith Branagan could only direct onto a post and in but it wasn't to be.

Fresh on as a substitute, central defender Gerry Taggart's powerfully headed goal from a Michael Johansen corner minutes later may have cruelly deflated the Bury faithful in the 5,854 crowd but there's no way it should make them fearful about the season to come.

The teams: Bury: Kiely West Pugh Daws Lucketti Butler Gray Johnson Jepson Johnrose Battersby

Subs: Hughes (for Pugh 69); Randall (for for Johnrose 77); Rigby (for Daws 78); Woodward (for West 82); Linighan (for Lucketti 82); Bracey

Bolton Wanderers Branagan McAnespie Phillips Pollock Coleman Bergsson Johansen Gunnlaugsson Paatelainen McGinlay Thompson

Subs: Blake (for Paatelainen 53); Elliott (for Phillips 55); Cox (for McAnespie 61); Taylor (for Gunnlaugsson 77), Taggart (for Berggson 80), Glennon

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