Bury 1 Wrexham 4

A CHANCE of going top turned into a nightmare for the Shakers as they were hammered at home to Wrexham.

Defensively they were all at sea, though this was due to the brilliance of Brian Flynn's two summer signings, Hector Sam and Carlos Edwards.

The two Trinidad and Tobago internationals were simply outstanding, Edwards in particular causing havoc on the left flank.

Impressive too was Darren Ferguson who made two goals as his proud dad Alex watched from the stands.

Bury were a goal down inside four minutes, Wrexham centre-forward Craig Faulconbridge squirming the ball home from close range after good work by Edwards on the left.

Wrexham dominated and Sam made it two on 17 minutes, racing clear from Ferguson's through ball to coolly slot underneath advancing Bury keeper Paddy Kenny.

Perhaps embarrassed at the ease with which slick Wrexham were controlling the game, the Shakers at last started to move up a gear and Adrian Littlejohn hit a tremendous volley from inside the six-yard box only to watch in disbelief as Wrexham goalie Kristian Rogers somehow got in the way.

But Bury didn't get a vital goal before the break and were indeed lucky not to concede another, Sam blasting over from six yards and referee Graham Laws - who sent off Paul Reid and Lutel James the last time he took charge of a Bury game (at Cambridge last season) - being kind to the Shakers when Chris Swailes challenged Sam heavily in the box.

Those let-offs counted for nothing though when Faulconbridge effectively wrapped up the contest on 53 minutes, superbly heading home a Darren Ferguson free kick, which - under the new FA rule - had been moved forward 10 yards after Paul Barnes argued with the ref.

Strikers Cowe and Bhutia replaced Littlejohn and Barnes in a double substitution on 55 minutes and within 60 seconds it paid dividends; Crowe scoring with a low 20-yard drive after Wrexham failed to clear.

Any hope of a fighback was short-lived. The Welshmen made it 4-1 12 minutes from the end when midfielder Danny Williams danced through a non-existent Bury defence and finished delightfully with a left-foot curling shot from 18 yards.

Bury rallied bravely in the final minutes, Andy Preece deserving a goal after hitting the woodwork twice, once with a close range header and the other a superb dipping volley from 18 yards.

The ref had a poor game booking seven players, five from Bury, but it was still a splendid, enteraining match.

That, however, wasn't much consolation for disappointed Bury boss Preece.

''We were hammered but we must bounce back,'' he said. That starts at Crewe on Tuesday in the League Cup.

BURY: Kenny 7, Unsworth 6, Barrick 7, C Swailes 7, S Collins 6, Billy 7, Daws 7, A Littlejohn 7, Barnes 6, Preece 7. Subs: Crowe 8 (for Barnes, 55), Bhutia 8 (for Littlejohn 55), D Swailes WREXHAM: Rogers, McGregor, Owen, Carey, Ridler, Faulconbridge, Ferguson, Williams, Sam, Edwards, Roche. Subs: Morrell (for Sam 71), Gibson (for Edwards 83), Dearden, Chalk, Roberts. REF: Mr G Laws (Whiteley Bay) 6.

ATT: 3,613.