YOU know how it is in football – you wait nine matches for a win and then two come along at once.

Bury’s fans boarded the party bus at the JD Stadium on Sunday as their side eased to their first back-to-back victories in League Two since September, following up a thrilling 3-2 win at Northampton on Boxing Day with a commanding performance against Mansfield.

Apart from an early head injury to captain Nathan Cameron, there was nothing in the Shakers’ display to concern manager David Flitcroft.

There was no sign of the individual errors that punctuated their recent bad run.

And clinical finishes in each half – including a first goal in 11 appearances for senior striker Ryan Lowe and a third in four games from midfield maestro Danny Mayor – ensured a maximum haul over the festive period.

“(The win) makes it a good Christmas,” beamed Flitcroft in his post-match press conference.

“The fans have deserved that and certainly the players have after working tirelessly.

“I have asked them to sacrifice a lot. I have had them away from their families and they have represented the club as I would have wanted them to represent the club over the last three games.

“Looking at (recent) displays I felt we have been building towards these back-to-back wins, which we secured with a fantastic performance today.”

Flitcroft charts his side’s recent revival back to their last league defeat, at Oxford United on December 14, when he was scathing of their first-half display.

Since then he has gone back to basics, reverting from 3-4-3 to a 4-4-2 formation.

A handful of senior players have also been relegated to the sidelines, with former captain Jim McNulty, vice captain Craig Jones and joint top scorer Danny Rose all starting Sunday’s match on the bench.

Performances, if not results, have certainly improved since the Oxford reverse, with Bury losing a tight encounter at Luton in the FA Cup before drawing a match at home to York that they led 2-0.

Unforced errors cost them dear in both those games, but after battling back from conceding an early goal to win at the Sixfields, the Shakers produced one of their most complete performances of the campaign to see off the Stags.

The game did not start off too well for Bury’s new skipper, who was clattered in the opening minute by team-mate Kelvin Etuhu after the pair went up for a header.

Cameron spent more than five minutes on the deck receiving attention to a deep cut on the bridge of his nose, but that was the most action the centre-back saw in an opening 45 minutes dominated by the home team.

After struggling to translate early possession into meaningful chances, Bury slowly came to the boil on a bitterly cold afternoon.

Lowe had the first shot on target in the 20th minute, turning sharply in the box to test Mansfield goalkeeper Dimitar Evmitov.

The 36-year-old then broke the offside trap to reach a deflected Chris Hussey pass, but could not muster up the power to trouble the keeper in his prodded effort.

The Stags stopper added to the Shakers’ growing confidence, flapping at the ball on a number of occasions.

And he was a mere bystander as Andrew Tutte fired a shot just wide of his far post.

Lowe seized upon another error by Evmitov to finally break the deadlock on 40 minutes, slotting home from close range after following up a dipping long-range effort from Hallam Hope that the keeper spilled into his path.

Mansfield threatened briefly after the break when Simon Heslop fired their best chance of the match over the bar from eight yards.

Junior Brown then volleyed an effort over while Cameron was off the pitch receiving further attention to his head wound.

The young captain was finally replaced by McNulty for the final 15 minutes.

But any fears of a repeat of the late collapse against York were eased on 77 minutes when Mayor skipped inside from the left flank and unleashed a shot into the bottom corner to claim his sixth goal of the campaign.

And while Shakers stopper Rob Lainton was forced to produce a diving save to keep out a deflected shot from Brown, the visitors never looked like subjecting the home crowd to another nervous finale.

Flitcroft put that calm conclusion down to his players’ new-found stomach for a scrap.

“Second half we had to out-battle Mansfield, and we have not done that in November,” said Flitcroft.

“We hadn’t really got to grips with the physicality, but today we did.”

And he added: “It (our bad run) was never about a lack of belief or confidence. It was about players making better decisions when coming up against teams of Mansfield’s style. We have done that well today and the group is growing.”

Bury’s last run of consecutive league victories saw them storm to the top of the table.

But while they remain in eighth place after Sunday’s win, bridging a three-point gap to move level on points with Plymouth in the final play-off place could prove just as significant as the Shakers prepare for a new year and the second half of what they hope will be a promotion campaign.

BURY: Lainton 7; Soares 6, Cameron 8 (McNulty 6 74), El-Abd 7, Hussey 7; Adams 7, Tutte 8, Etuhu 7, Mayor 8; Hope 7 (Rose 7 60), Lowe 8.

Not used: Jones, Sedgwick, Burgess, Ruddy, Dudley.

MANSFIELD TOWN: Evtimov; Beevers (Rhead 67), Sutton, Riley, Waterfall, Freeman; McGuire, Heslop; Bingham (Thompson-Lambe 60), Oliver (Palmer 79), Brown.

Not used: Studer, Bell, Fletcher, Clements.

Goals: Bury 2 (Lowe 40, Mayor 77) Mansfield Town 0.

Yellow cards: Bury – Tutte 66. Mansfield Town – McGuire 63.

Referee: Richard Clark.

Attendance: 3,296 (276 visiting).

Star man: Nathan Cameron – Danny Mayor bagged another bottle of champagne to add to his cellar in preparation for the New Year’s celebration after yet again claiming the man-of-the-match plaudits from the sponsors. But while his goal-scoring exploits were clearly eye-catching, the real driving force behind this crucial victory was Bury’s impressive new captain. After a sometimes shaky start, the 23-year-old is beginning to forge a relationship with new centre-back partner Adam El-Abd while the former Coventry defender is leading the troops by example. He could easily have left the field in the opening minute after suffering a deep head wound in an accidental clash with Kelvin Etuhu but stayed on the field long enough to help secure a first home league win since November 1.