INDIVIDUAL errors gave Bury a mountain to climb, according to manager David Flitcroft, as they fell to their fourth straight defeat in League One.

Title-chasing visitors Walsall capitalised on below-par performances by Shakers full-backs Chris Hussey and Joe Riley to take a 3-0 lead into the break.

Leon Clarke very nearly helped Bury steal a point after scoring two goals in two minutes midway through the second half before crashing a shot against the post late in the game.

But while Flitcroft was full of praise for his side's spirited fight-back, he was highly critical of Hussey and Riley's first-half defending, which ultimately gave them too much to do.

“First half the goals we conceded were as poor as we have conceded this season,” he said.

“[It was] individual errors. Hussey's body positioning on the first one, it skips up and as a defender your first job is to defend.

"I know he's fantastic at going forward but on your CV it says defender – in those situations it's really important to make sure you make a real drive to defend that ball.

“The second one Riley got two opportunities to clear the ball from our corner, very standard.

"It hits the first man who is going down his throat – so go again and make the tackle.

"On his CV it says defend and he didn't do that.

“The third one – it's not like Chris Hussey.

“The three goals were as poor goals as we will concede certainly this season. It just added to a real poor demeanour at times from the group of players.

“Second half it was spirited. There were positives to take from the second half, we were more forceful in what we did and we got the ball forward a lot earlier.

“We got it wrong first half and we are bitterly disappointed with the first half performance.”

The Saddlers struck first on the 17th minute when Andrew Taylor picked up the ball down the left and fizzed a cross low across the six-yard box, which evaded everybody and struck the leg of Hussey before trickling into the net.

It got worse for the hosts in the 31st minute as they were punished on a break that started from their own corner.

Hussey's set-piece was cleared as far as Riley at the halfway line. He lost the ball to Anthony Forde who drove the counter-attack forward before finding Tom Bradshaw, who converted from close range.

Flitcroft threw on new loan signing John O'Sullivan in place of Riley in the 37th minute.

But Bury fell further behind three minutes before the break when Forde drifted past Hussey down the right before cutting back on to his left foot and slamming the ball across goal into the bottom corner.

Danny Rose was introduced at half time in place of Jacob Mellis as the Shakers shifted to a 4-4-2 formation.

The substitution proved to be a game-changer as Rose won the ball back in the final third and played in debutant O'Sullivan whose low cross was turned over the line by Clarke.

And 85 seconds later Clarke scored his second, following up to tap home after Walsall keeper Neil Etheridge could only parry Danny Mayor's stinging 25-yard drive.

The 30-year-old had the chance to wrap up his hat-trick late on when played through by Rose but his shot came back off the post and Mayor lashed over the rebound.

The Shakers threw everything they had at Walsall in the final minutes but the visitors clung on to secure a crucial three points, which moved them back into the top two.

Bury, meanwhile, fell one place to 15th after slipping to their sixth league defeat in the last seven games.

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Match ratings

BURY (4-1-4-1): Lawlor 6; Riley 4 (O'Sullivan 37, 7), Cameron 6, Brown 6, Hussey 4; Etuhu 5; Mellis 6 (Rose 45, 7), Soares 6, Tutte 5 (Pope 88, 6), Mayor 5; L Clarke 8.

Not used: P Clarke, Burgess, Pugh, Miller

WALSALL: (3-5-2): Etheridge; Taylor, O'Connor, Downing; Demetriou, Mantom, Sawyers, Chambers, Henry (Morris 66); Forde, Bradshaw (Preston 89).

Not used: MacGillvray, Lackovic, Flanagan, Cook, Kinsella.

Goals: Bury – Clarke 65, 66. Walsall – Hussey og 16, Bradshaw 30, Forde 42.

Yellow cards: Bury – Rose 57, Lawlor 70.

Referee: Mark Haywood (West Yorkshire).

Attendance: 3,532 (547 visiting).

STAR MAN: Leon Clarke – With little service in the first half, the forward remained concentrated and took both of his chances well when they arrived to give his side a chance of stealing a point. The 30-year-old linked up well with Rose and was unlucky not to seal a hat-trick late on when his effort came back off the post.