BURY looked to have run right out of gas in the blue half of Bristol as they sunk to a second successive defeat over the Easter period.

Chris Casper's side looked short on ideas and lacked direction as Rovers barely broke sweat to brush them aside with a goal in each half by striker Rickie Lambert.

The result lands the Shakers right back in the relegation mix-up and left their manager looking like a man struggling to find answers in the match post-mortem.

"Nerves might be playing their part, but we have to be able to handle that," Casper said. "We can't just launch the ball forward and expect to get something from it. There has to be some quality there.

"I can't really change things around because of the size of the squad. Teams like Bristol Rovers have bags of experience and we probably lack a little bit of that."

The Shakers almost got a dream start when John Fitzgerald rattled the crossbar with a header and Dave Challinor forced a good save out of Steve Phillips in the Rovers goal with a volley from the rebound.

William Mocquet also wasted a golden opportunity with a volley over bar from eight yards out - but at the other end, the storm clouds were gathering, with Richard Walker grazing the post and Craig Disley failing inexplicably to convert Aaron Lescott's cross from close range.

The home crowd sensed blood, and the opening goal was not far away. The way it arrived, however, was more of surprise as an aerially sound back four were twice beaten to the ball from Phillips' long punt before Rickie Lambert rifled home past Andy Warrington.

Casper swapped Tom Youngs for Glynn Hurst at half time, but the change made little difference as both strikers were left feeding off scraps.

Bury offered little to suggest they could get back into the game until 10 minutes into the second half when Andy Bishop fashioned a chance for himself, looping the ball over Steve Elliott before stabbing a shot into the side netting.

But a second goal for the home side always looked likely and it arrived after an hour when Stuart Campbell's free-kick found Lambert unmarked - and the former Stockport County striker sent a bouncing volley past Warrington.

The home side simply used their experience to see the game out, and by contrast, the young Shakers side lacked the nouse to get back into it.

Even the old warhorse Colin Woodthorpe - who at 38 years of age was by far Bury's best player on the afternoon - admitted the performance was simply not good enough.

"I can see why people would think they coasted it," the defender admitted. "It has been a big effort over the last few days against sides that are pushing for the play-offs and we just didn't get going today."

Shakers: Warrington 6; Scott 6; Challinor 6; Fitzgerald 5 (Parrish 72); Woodthorpe 7; Bishop 6; Jason Kennedy 5; Baker 5; Buchanan 5; Hurst 5 (Youngs 6, 45); Mocquet 5 (Pugh 85). Subs not used: Tom Kennedy; Stephens.

Referee: Andy D'Urso.

Attendance: 6,266 (141).