BACK-to-back wins and an eighth clean sheet of the season completed a perfect night for Bury manager David Flitcroft.

Centre-back Nathan Cameron put in a real captain’s display, heading home an 81st-minute winner after helping his defensive unit stand firm in the face of a spirited second-half display from their Lancashire rivals.

The Shakers could and probably should have been out of sight before the break after Cameron, Andrew Tutte and Hallam Hope missed gilt-edged chances.

But Accrington roared back to force Bury stopper Nick Pope into a string of impressive saves, which Flitcroft believes laid the foundation for a fourth win in six matches.

“The clean sheet has pleased me more than anything – it is something we have touched on all season,” said the Shakers boss.

“We will score goals, we will always score goals, but I have wanted more clean sheets.

“Pope’s saves were point-winning saves.

“It’s fantastic to have come here and not played particularly brilliantly, or with real fluidity, but to score from a set-piece and not concede has absolutely delighted me.”

Flitcroft’s mood may have been considerably darker, however, had Bury been made to pay for their missed chances in the opening 45 minutes.

Hope set the tone after snatching at an opportunity to volley home from six yards in the 15th minute.

Cameron was then given a free run on Tutte’s pinpoint corner in the 30th minute but failed to keep his powerful header below the crossbar.

And Tutte may well wish he had gone for power over accuracy after managing neither as he opened up his body to slot home an intelligent Nardiello pull-back five minutes before the break, only to scoop his effort well over.

Accrington offered little to trouble Bury at the opposite end, however, with the visitors presenting John Coleman’s side with their only real openings.

Pope put a rare foot wrong after dithering on an attempted clearance long enough for Shay McCartan to get a block in. For a split-second it looked as if the rebound may sail into an empty net before the ball drifted wide.

Cameron was also guilty of gifting Accy an opportunity as he passed straight to Luke Joyce, but the opposition midfielder could not hit the target from 25 yards out.

The recent loan signings of Pope and centre-back Adam El-Abd have done much to turn around Bury’s form of late.

And another piece to the Flitcroft jigsaw fell into place at the Crown Ground on Tuesday night when former Bolton Wanderers full-back Joe Riley was introduced for his long-awaited debut.

The young defender replaced out-of-sorts-midfielder Kelvin Etuhu, releasing Tom Soares from his right-back duties to play a more central role in midfield.

Far from propelling Bury on, the changes only seemed to unsettle them as Accrington threatened to over-run the visitors in the opening exchanges of the second half.

In fact, Riley gave the ball away with one of his very first touches and must have been a relieved man as Piero Mingoia’s low strike whizzed past the far post.

That seemed to give the home side hope and they built up a head of steam.

Pope was called upon to block another Mingoia strike, and the Shakers stopper got down bravely to deny Joyce before McCartan forced him into a full length save.

Bury regained a measure of control after matching up Accrington’s 4-2-3-1 formation following the introduction of attacking midfielder Nicky Adams for Hope, who extended is wait for a goal to 11 matches since rejoining the club from Everton.

The substitute almost had an immediate impact, having a goal-bound shot blocked a few yards out before almost getting on the end of a low Chris Hussey cross at the far post.

The visitors dug deep, with both centre-backs – Cameron and El-Abd – picking up bookings as they fought tooth and nail to re-exert their authority.

And after soaking up the pressure, Bury pounced in the 81st minute, with Cameron sneaking in behind the Accrington defence at the back post to finish off Hussey’s set-piece.

Bury survived a late scare when Accrington substitute Marcus Carver scuffed a close-range effort from a tight angle.

But the young captain’s third goal of the campaign proved enough to strengthen the Shakers’ position in the final play-off place as they stretched their run to just one defeat in the last seven matches.

His side’s dogged determination to see out the job left Flitcroft purring, while the boss was also pleased to see hard work paying off.

“I think that’s nine set-pieces we have scored from – something like 23 per cent of our goals now have come from set-pieces,” he said.

“That’s coming off the training ground.

“The one that Cam has missed in the first half was off a corner.

“We created three fantastic chances that, if they go in then I think it is a different game, but we gave them something to hang on to.

“John Coleman’s teams never die, they never give up or go away and I thought for the first 20 minutes of the second half they were the better team and created the better chances.

“But we stood firm, we stood tall and it was a fantastic, defiant performance.”

BURY (4-4-2): Pope 8; Soares 7, Cameron 8, El-Abd 8, Hussey 7; Jones 6 (Rose 77, 7), Tutte 8, Etuhu 5 (Riley 46, 6), Mayor 7; Hope 6 (Adams 58, 7), Nardiello 6.

Not used: Ruddy, McNulty, Sedgwick, O'Brien.

ACCRINGTON (4-2-3-1): Macey; Conneely, Winnard, Atkinson, Buxton (Liddle 75); Joyce, Procter; Maguire (Carver 88), McCartan, Naismith (Windass 67); Mingoia.

Not used: Dawber, Gray, Hunt, Barry.

Goals: Accrington Stanley 0 Bury 1 (Cameron 81).

Yellow cards: Accrington – Atkinson 80. Bury – Cameron 69, El-Abd 70.

Referee: Tony Harrington.

Attendance: 2,067 (902 visiting).

Star man: Nathan Cameron – All’s well that ends well for the young Bury captain after he made up for a glaring miss in the first half to secure what could prove to be a vital three points in his side’s promotion push. The 23-year-old centre-back can be forgiven for failing to hit the target with a free header in the 30th minute after helping the Shakers keep their eighth clean sheet of the season and also snatching a winning goal at the death. There is not much more he could have done for the team, leading from the front in what was a tricky fixture.