BURY'S dominant display in their draw at Burton Albion delighted boss David Flitcroft after his mid-table side knocked their hosts off the top of League One.

The Shakers took the lead 16 minutes from time through substitute Ryan Lowe, four minutes after Hamza Choudhury picked up his second yellow card, which reduced Burton to 10 men.

Bury spurned a number of opportunities to wrap up maximum points, including gilt-edged chances for Lowe and Nathan Delfouneso, who also had a "goal" disallowed.

And Tyler Walker hit them with a sucker-punch in added time, sweeping home Lucas Akins' cross for the Brewers to give them an undeserved share of the spoils.

Flitcroft said: “The chances that we created today, certainly second half, were outstanding.

“Precision cut through them (Burton), with runners that wanted to go beyond and we have made it difficult for them (Burton).

“It was a real courageous performance and one that really deserved three points.

“Delf's (Nathan Delfouneso) had a fantastic chance and the one you wanted it to fall to, Lowey, his first touch is just Lowey-esque, it's outstanding and I just thought it (the ball) would ripple in (the net) and it didn't.

“I'm not too sure what happened on the last one (the disallowed goal), where it went in. I don't think it went out, I thought we were unlucky at that.

“But credit to this Burton team. They've found a way of winning, or certainly not losing. They stuck at their task.

“I'm disappointed with the goal in the dying minutes but I thought we navigated the game really well, we showed a real spirit and fight and bags of quality.”

Flitcroft experimented with a 4-2-3-1 formation, which gave freedom to the attacking trio of John O'Sullivan, Craig Jones, Danny Mayor behind target man Tom Pope.

Former Port Vale striker Pope, back from an operation on his broken wrist, spearheaded the attack and had three early headers on goal, with goalkeeper Jon McLaughlin saving one.

On-loan Bury goalkeeper Chris Neal made some vital saves throughout, mainly from the lively Akins, who was Burton's main threat down the right channel.

The two sides cancelled each other out in the first period but after the break, and with the introduction of Dan Gardner and Nathan Delfouneso, Bury created enough chances to win three games.

Delfouneso saw two clear-cut chances go begging before finally hitting the net, only to see his effort ruled out by the assistant referee, who judged the ball to have gone out of play in the build up.

Substitute Lowe netted the 199th goal of his career with his first touch – a controlled header from close range to turn Gardner's cross over the line.

The 37-year-old forward then missed a massive opportunity to notch his 200th career goal following a swift counter-attack.

But two minutes into time added on, Walker converted a low cross from the right to sink Bury hearts.

Despite the late blow, Flitcroft was thrilled with how his side out-played one of the best teams in the league, despite missing captain Nathan Cameron and top goalscorer Leon Clarke through injury.

The Bury boss also hinted fans could be treated to more of the attacking football on show in the closing stages of the season.

He said: “To lose two key components of the team and still completely dominate (a game against the team who were) top of the league is a credit to the players.

“Possibly (we could use this tactic again). With having Johno (John O'Sullivan) fit and Dan Gardner and obviously Danny Mayor it gives us an opportunity absolutely to do that.

“Today we looked threatening every time we attacked them second half. We have taken good positives from a good afternoon that could have been a lot better from a points total.”

However, the draw may have come at a cost as Joe Riley and Tom Soares both withdrew from action through injury.

The manager was also full of praise for the travelling Shakers supporters, who out-sung their home counterparts from the first minute to last.

“I have got to again thank the fans,” Flitcroft said. “They have come to this stadium and they were excellent again.

“In the corner, the mad corner over there, they really gave us that impetus to go and attack this team and I thought we did do.

“Again, (we suffered) impact injuries from games. Riley was trying to keep one off the line from the kid going in behind him and just rocked his ankle.

“Tom Soares felt his Achilles was going to bust. We got into half time and it was just an absolute nailed on no, so we had to restructure the team.”

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MATCH RATINGS

BURY (4-2-3-1): Neal 7; Riley 6 (Gardner 25, 8), P Clarke 8, Bolger 8, Hussey 7; Soares 7 (Delfouneso 45, 6), Pugh 8; Jones 7, O'Sullivan 8, Mayor 8; Pope 7 (Lowe 71, 8). Not used: Ruddy, Sedgwick, Rose.

BURTON ALBION: (4-1-4-1): McLaughlin; Edwards (Walker 81), Flanagan, Mousinho, McCrory; Weir (Butcher 84); Akins, Duffy, Choudhury, Bennett (Harness 67); Beavon. Not used: Bywater, Cansdell-Sherriff, Reilly, Naylor.

Goals: Burton – Walker 90, Bury – Lowe 74.

Yellow cards: Burton – Choudhury 60 and 71, Mousinho 72. Bury – Bolger 23, O'Sullivan 27, Pugh 53, Lowe 88.

Red cards: Burton – Choudhury 71.

Referee: Ross Joyce (Cleveland).

Attendance: 3,331 (no visiting attendance given).

STAR MAN: Danny Pugh – Sitting the deeper of the two holding midfielders, Pugh provided the perfect cover for the back four by sniffing out every attack and putting his body on the line on numerous occasions to block shots on goal. Given his opportunity through injuries to Andrew Tutte and Kelvin Etuhu, the 33-year-old looks to have cemented his place as protector of the defence.