Macclesfield v Bury
12:20pm Friday 12th March 2010 in Bury FC By Marc Higginson
RYAN Lowe is not surprised that League Two’s struggling teams are making life difficult for promotion-chasing Bury.
The Shakers have been held in their last four matches, including a 1-1 draw against basement boys Darlington on Tuesday night, and they face another tough test against lowly Macclesfield tomorrow.
Lowe was part of the Chester City side that was relegated from League Two to the Blue Square Premier last season and he has first-hand experience of how teams which are battling for their lives can be a dangerous proposition.
“We know we have not been getting the right results,” said Lowe. “We have classed those draws as losses.
“But, if you look at the other side of it, we have got four points and we are in third place in the table with 11 games left. I much prefer this pressure than the one I was experiencing at Chester last season.
“No game is going to be easy because nobody is going to come here and lie down in front of us. The opposition know we are a good team and are in the top three on merit.
“People expect us to beat teams like Darlington, but they are battling for their lives. I was in a similar position to them last season and some of those Darlington players will want to impress so they get another league club next season.
“We have to remember that we are still in with a great shout of automatic promotion and maybe it is a blessing in disguise that these results have happened now with 11 games left, rather than with four games to go when we don’t have time to turn things around.”
One of the chief reasons for Bury’s recent problems is their inability to find the back of the net.
Lowe has bagged 14 goals this season but the team have gone more than 500 minutes without scoring from open play. The Liverpool-born ace admits that it is a worrying statistic.
“I won’t lie and say it is not in the back of my mind — of course it is,” he said. “Everyone wants to be scoring goals, rather than through penalties etc, but I think that will come.
“All of the players in this squad are capable of scoring goals and maybe we are saving them up for a rainy day and hopefully we will give someone a hiding.
“If we win comfortably at Macclesfield and Rotherham in our next two games, nobody is going to worry about the four draws. That is our aim and we want to keep progressing up the table.
“The players and coaching staff are one team and we are looking to improve and put things right on the pitch — and I’m sure we will do just that.”
Bury manager Alan Knill has no fresh injury worries ahead of Saturday’s trip to the Moss Rose, meaning long-term casualties Paul Scott, Danny Carlton and Damien Allen are the only players missing from the squad.
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