The goals will come, promises Bury boss Flitcroft

The Shakers comfortably controlled Tuesday night’s goalless stalemate at the Ricoh Arena but were unable to force the goal their forward-play richly deserved.

Bury had 19 shots – five on target – and Coventry’s former Shakers stopper Reice Charles-Cook was in constant action – most notably denying left-back Greg Leigh and winger Danny Mayor in the first half, before making a last-ditch stop to keep out Tom Pope’s header on the stroke of full time.

Despite his side failing to make their dominance count, Flitcroft was happy with the performance and says with work they will learn to break down resilient defences.

“A lot of teams will sit in against Coventry and let them come on to you but we wanted to get in their faces and make it as difficult as we could for them, and we certainly did first half,” he said.

“We carried a real threat. We got a lot of quality into the box, got a lot of balls into the box. We have still got to work on getting more people arriving into the box with pace and intensity.

“We had some great chances on goal, some fantastic chances to win the game.

“Kelvin (Etuhu) did everything right apart from the last bit and with (Tom) Pope at the end – it was a fantastic save from Reice.

“We will get back on the training ground and continue working on that last bit because that is what wins you football matches and turns one point into three.”

With two clean sheets in the opening three league games of the season, Flitcroft’s summer signings appear to have fixed the leaky defence that hampered them last season.

Former skipper Nathan Cameron has been instrumental in keeping the back four watertight, making a big impact since returning from surgery on a knee injury that kept him out of the tail end of last year.

The ex-Coventry centre-back has been the standout performer so far, with a number of goal-saving tackles, and his early form has drawn praise from the Bury boss.

“He has been immense out of possession and in possession,” Flitcroft said. “It looks like this division is almost too easy for him now.

“He has gone away this summer and thought about some aspects of the game.

“I think Antony Kay’s influence at the side of him could have played some part, and Tom Soares has been outstanding shielding the back two.

“It’s been difficult preparation after getting back from Gillingham.

“I don’t think the fixtures have been really kind to us, but we’ve dealt with that.

“We came down today and the lads have put in one hell of a shift.

“I think Ben (Williams) had two saves to make. Yes, they’ve had six or seven shots that they’ve skied into the stand but I’d expect that from Coventry.

“We’re denying a team like Coventry the efforts at goal and the chances on goal.”

Bury’s first chance of the game came in the 23rd minute when left-back Leigh burst down the left, played a one-two with Jacob Mellis and struck a low effort towards the bottom corner, but Charles-Cook was equal to it.

Danny Mayor came alive in first-half stoppage time when he beat two defenders but his deflected shot went straight at the Sky Blues stopper.

The visitors should have taken the lead in the 64th minute when Dion Kelly-Evans found space down the right, but he slammed his shot into the side netting.

Moments later Mellis made a brilliant run down the left and picked out Etuhu in the box but the midfielder shot over on the turn.

And Pope almost won it with a looping header late in stoppage time, but the goalkeeper once again kept out his effort and denied the Shakers all three points.

Match ratings

Bury (4-3-3): Williams 7; Jones 7, Cameron 9, Kay 8, Leigh 7; Soares 8, Etuhu 7, Danns 6 (Mellis 14, 6); Mayor 6, Hope 6 (Ismail 57, 6), Pope 7.

Not used: Rachubka, Clark, Dudley, Barnett, Maher.

Coventry (3-4-3): Charles-Cook; Willis, Ricketts, Harries; Rose (Kelly-Evans 35), McCann, Gadzhev, Haynes; Lameiras (Jones 45), Thomas (Reid 57), Tudgay.

Not used: Burge, Page, Finch, Stevenson.

Referee: Darren England (Barnsley).

Attendance: 9,098 (222 visiting).