Left it late at Oldham, didn’t we? Close to blagging all three points, weren’t we? Now got the league’s in-form team indoors next, don’t we. Not for debate, that last one. The Shakers are shakin’ things up at the top of the tree like Shakin’ Stevens. By forgetting how to lose games, Ryan Lowe’s team are marching on the summit and now sit within touching distance. It’s our mission, should we choose to accept it, to halt their formidable run.
Stevenage v Bury: The Lowdown
If our guests don’t know how to lose right now, the opposite can be said of us. It’s four without a win for Boro’, though talk of playoff hopes being over may be premature. Bury is first of a quick-fire double-header for us at the Stadio El Lamex; six lovely lumpy points on the table and a chance to keep ourselves clinging onto the cliff edge that is us and the promotion picture. It ain’t over ’til Fatty Batty sings.
The Opposition
P9 W2 D3 L4 F11 A17; last result: Bury 4-0 Stevenage, 17/11/2018
Nine meetings and almost 30 goals? More than most, this is a fixture that normally pays out if it’s goals you’re looking for. The problem here is that it’s also normally the Shakers who get ’em. You can sit there and say pish and fipsy as much as you like, and we’ll tell you to wash your mouth out, you dirty stopout. But how about you cop on, yeah? Last time out, we shipped four and this Bury side aren’t half motoring at the moment.
The Referee
P5 W3 D0 L2 F11 A7; last result: Stevenage 1-0 Yeovil Town, 02/02/2019
Are they low on refs at Football League HQ? It’s not much more than a month since we last saw him, but John Busby is making his way back to the Lamex. We didn’t do so bad on the last occasion, but it worries us that our record when Busby Malone takes control is currently W L W L W. He didn’t actually need to reach for his cards when we beat Yeovil. He’s since booked 12 players in three games. Must’ve been withdrawal symptoms.
The Form
The Shakers are rollin’ along like Limp Bizkit right now; tucked up in second and giving leaders Lincoln a bit to think about. This is a side that has neither lost nor failed to score a goal in 2019. So, what would you like us to say? We’re not exactly selling ourselves as a team that’s hard to beat. We’ve scraped two points from the last three games, and – at best – it’s taken us 79 minutes to find the opposition net in those games.
Apart from a ridiculous run of form so far this year, the Shakers have a strong record. They often score on the road, finding the net in each of their last five matches away from home. Is it all doom and gloom? It seems like we’re polishing a turd, but we’ve taken the lead 20 times this term and only let in an equaliser six times. We might be clutching at straws here, however. Bury are the form team and will take a lot of stopping.
Our record form might be iffy, but at least kickoff.co.uk has made it look pretty…
• MORE ABOUT ‘EM: Bury club profile