SKIPPER Tariq Sheikh crashed home a last-minute winner for Bury men's first team to cement their second place in Division Three North of the North West Men's Hockey League.

The late drama followed a spirited comeback at home to Didsbury Northern 4s, as the men came from two goals down to win 3-2.

Didsbury scored twice in the opening 20 minutes to leave Bury up against it.

Bury had no choice but to try to force the play and were able to find their passing range as the half wore on, leading to some half chances for James Oakes and Sam Plant.

It was Oakes who got Bury back into the game five minutes before half time, when a neat interchange at the top of the circle played the striker in on goal. The forward composed himself and neatly found the bottom corner.

The second half saw Bury take more control of the game, even though they were still lacking their usual passing accuracy.

Just six minutes in, Oakes found himself on the right hand side of the circle faced with a defender and a narrowing angle.

Showing good close control, he fashioned himself some space and then unleashed an unstoppable shot across the Didsbury keeper.

Both sides pushed for the winner in the final half hour, but clear chances proved hard to come by, with the best opportunities coming from Bury’s short corner routines.

It was one of these routines that lead to the winning goal as a clever change of angle allowed Sheikh to sweep home his first goal of the season and claim all three points for the home side.

There was not much else to cheer for Bury at the weekend, with the men's second team and the women's first and third teams all losing.

The men's seconds went down 7-0 at league leaders Didsbury Northern 5s, a result that left them second bottom in Division Five North South.

Didsbury took the lead shortly before the break, but Darren Chambers and Danny Quin both had chances to equalise before half time.

It was a different story in the second period, though, as the table-toppers took their goal tally past the 100 mark for the season.

The women's first team were also on the wrong end of a heavy defeat, losing 7-1 at home to Manchester Manto 1s.

The third team faced Little Lever for the second time in three weeks, putting in a much improved performance despite losing 3-1.

Having lost 8-0 in the first encounter, they fought hard to ensure the result was much closer.