Bury 1 Wythenshawe 1 (30th March 2024)
Bury’s Gigg Lane, a ground I’ve been to two or three times before with Reading, wouldn’t have been an obvious choice for a random Saturday visit, but with their fall to non-league following bankruptcy, and the (now receding) potential for Reading’s 24/25 season to be under similar circumstances, there was a poignancy about it.
I had actually already seen them at their Radcliffe groundshare, which probably would have been more like how any reformed Reading would have had to restart, but Bury were back at their proper ground of Gigg Lane now, even if despite their very healthy crowds (4212 would be there on this day) not all of it was open.
One end was closed off, presumably just as a cost-cutting measure, while the main stand, now the Neville Neville Stand, was limited to just a couple of blocks, I think for safety reasons. The club shop was also limited to a small room in the main stand, about the size of a typical garden shed, but even with the restrictions resulting from years of post insolvency neglect, everyone was delighted to be home.
My first visits to Gigg Lane were before the mid-90s revamp, but my last was on the opening day on the 97/98 season, and the 26 ½ years since then have clouded my memory enough to make it almost feel like visiting a new ground anyway. That 1997 visit saw away fans put in the Manchester Road End, currently closed, and the pay on the day admission for this game was the Cemetery End, where I’d watched from in earlier visits, but both it and the south side had been completely rebuilt since then.
This was also the end for visiting fans, in this case those making their way from Wythenshawe on the other side of Manchester, who weren’t segregated, but did group together in the corner.
I knew of Wythenshawe, the town, due to working for Ferranti in the 80s/90s, in Bracknell, who also had a large factory in Wythenshawe before the company’s fraud crisis and total collapse. I might have even vaguely known there was a football club in the town. Maybe more of a surprise was finding that Wythenshawe actually had two clubs, and both were directly say above 3rd placed Bury in the table.
Wythenshawe, formerly Wythenshawe Amateurs, arrived in second place, three points ahead of Bury with a +4 advantage in goal difference, two points behind their table-topping neighbours, but with two games in hand.
It’s easy to assume the resources available to Bury, compared to other clubs in the Northwest Counties Premier Division, would mean they’d find it easy, but as the league table proves, it’s never that simple. Wythenshawe were up there on merit, and any hopes that they might crumble under the pressure of playing in front of a big crowd were unfounded.
The match has been in doubt due the state of the Gigg Lane pitch, and a spell of spring weather that had been a bit too “typical Manchester” had resulted in a few games being postponed already. Sunny weather saved the day though, but even with the pitch looking like it has dried out, it was still cratered with various random areas that resembled cabbage patches, as if someone had been scraping areas of turf away with a mechanical digger.
How that impacted the game is hard to say. There certainly were occasions where players missed their footing and passes went astray, but it certainly didn’t ruin an energetic encounter.
After a bright opening for Bury, it was actually Wythenshawe who looked the more composed side in the first half. Maybe it was a bit of nerves from Bury, on the back of a run of just one point from their last three games, hitting a blip in form at just the wrong time. Wythenshawe certainly went closest to opening the scoring, with a few shots that went only just wide, maybe the best being a header from a corner that flashed just past the post.
The second half saw Bury get more on top, and now it was they, in a game where both teams were looking for the win, who looked more likely to get it. Just after the hour, they did go in front. A foul was made on the edge of the box, which temporarily threatened to spill over with a little ‘afters’. This was floated in, and headed past the keeper from six yards. Huge huge joy, and relief no doubt, from the home side and fans. They knew just how big a goal this was.
It prompted probably the best spell of the game for Bury, and they really ought to have wrapped the game up. One move saw a shot well saved, and the follow up hit the bar, but in the 8th minute of injury time in the minimum eight added on, Bury had a moment that could haunt them for the season if it doesn’t end their way.
Breaking down the left, the ball was squared past the keeper for what should have been an open goal tap-in from six yards. Instead, the attacker seemed to take his eye off the ball, got his feet all wrong, and could only watch in horror as the ball bounced off his feet and went wide. All around the ground, hands went to heads, not quite able to believe he’d missed.
The only consolation was the assumption that with the game all but up, it wouldn’t matter. Wythenshawe had other ideas though. From the kick off, the ball was flicked on for an away attacker to chase into the box. A clumsy attempt at a defending tackle brought him down, and and Wythenshawe has a late chance to save the game.
There was no mistake from the spot, and what was a 100th minute equaliser had the away players running the length of the pitch to celebrate in front of their supporters in the far corner.
There was still just enough time for one final push from Bury, but it came to nothing, and with the stadium scoreboard unable to handle anything over 99 minutes, the whistle went with it on 0:28, to contrasting emotions.
There were moments where it looked like things might overheat in the away corner, but sanity thankfully prevailed. It was a very big minute for both sides. Wythenshawe maintain their three point and four goal lead over Bury, whereas if that missed chance had been put in, Bury would have gone above them on goals scored, and been favourites to go up. They are now hoping for slip-ups from Wythenshawe, who face leaders and neighbours Wythenshawe Town on Monday,. Bury are left needing a return to the kind of form they possessed before March. Two points from four games is not where you want to be at this stage of the season.
Wythenshawe will be fired up for that derby game now, knowing a win will put them firmly in the driving seat, after gaining what was a deserved point. They may have been ‘amateurs’ until recently, but by keeping on going right until they end today, they put on a professional display.
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