RYAN Lowe implored his Bury troops to stand tall after they suffered late heartbreak at MK Dons today.

Ousseynou Cisse’s 90th-minute winner saw the Shakers slip to their first defeat following relegation from League One last season in Buckinghamshire.

Lowe believed his team were desperately unlucky not to come away from stadium:mk with a point – a view shared by opposition manager Paul Tisdale.

“The performance was good, especially in the first half when I thought we dominated large spells of the game and created some good chances,” said Bury boss Lowe.

“I can’t fault the lads. They were different class and they showed some excellent football in the first half.

“When you come off the pitch and Paul Tisdale says to you that they didn’t deserve that, then that’s credit to us and our lads.

“We’ve worked all week to try and get a positive result and I would have been happy with a point.

“This is a lesson and if we continue to play like that, then we’ll be okay this season.

“We’ll address the lads on Monday morning because they’ve put in a real shift, which is a minimum requirement for us to give your all, with lots of high energy.”

A cagey affair between two of last season’s relegated sides looked set to end goalless but second-half substitute Cissé found the net in the 90th minute to steal all three points.

The hosts were unlucky not to have taken the lead after just five minutes when Jordan Moore-Taylor’s knockdown found Joe Walsh unmarked inside the visitors’ box before the defender’s powerful half-volley was superbly saved by the left hand of Shakers stopper Joe Murphy.

Danny Mayor was causing MK problems for much of the first period and he went close to finding Bury an opener inside 25 minutes when he cut inside onto his right foot and fired a powerful drive goalwards, which looked all but certain to find the net but for Moore-Taylor’s goalline headed clearance.

The visitors ended the first half much the better side and were unlucky not to enter the break one up when Nicky Adams’ free kick from just outside the MK box cannoned off the outside of the post inside added time.

Shakers stopper Murphy was called into action again inside the hour when Ryan Watson’s speculative free kick for MK from 30-yards fortuitously deflected off the Bury wall and looked set to find the net, only for keeper Murphy’s superb right-handed save.

Bury substitute Gold Omotayo’s header inside the Dons six-yard box from Adams’ cross from the right forced Dons keeper Lee Nicholls into a testing save before Robbie Simpson went close with a powerful effort at the other end as both sides looked to snatch a late winner.

And it was the hosts who struck a killer blow with time running out when second half substitute Cissé spread the ball out to the right before George Williams’ accurate cross into the Bury box found the Frenchman unmarked, allowing the former to slot a first-time left-footed effort into the far corner.