ONE good delivery from Burton Albion winger Adam McGurk and a lapse in concentration from the Bury defence was all that separated the two sides at the Pirelli Stadium on Saturday.

It remains to be seen how costly that lapse will prove as Stuart Beavon was allowed to flick McGurk’s free kick into the path of full-back Phil Edwards to slide the ball home.

Bury remain seventh in League Two despite a first defeat in four matches, but as Burton moved joint top alongside Shrewsbury, David Flitcroft’s side found themselves nine points adrift of Wycombe in the third and final automatic promotion place.

The Shakers now have it all to do if they are to bridge that gap with only 18 games of the campaign remaining.

But while Flitcroft was in no mood to accept his side would now have to settle for a place in the play-offs, he admitted his players must “stand tall” in upcoming games against fellow promotion chasers.

“If you want to be successful you have got to beat the teams that are in and around you,” said Flitcroft, conscious of the fact his side have won just one of eight matches this season against teams currently in the top seven.

“We have got Exeter (in ninth, on Saturday) and Stevenage (eighth, next Tuesday) coming up.

“We are in decent form right now, I have just got to make sure that turns into consistent results.

“This won’t derail us because we have more than matched the Burton team, but in the big moments you have got to stand tall and we didn’t do that.”

Bury had never been beaten in eight previous encounters against Burton and went into the game looking for a third straight win.

Their confidence will have been boosted by memories of the reverse fixture, which Flitcroft’s side won 3-1 to leap-frog Burton into top spot.

But the Shakers suffered a serious dip in form in the intervening period, going eight matches without a win after being beaten 5-0 at current table-toppers Shrewsbury.

Burton, on the other hand, have remained consistent despite a change in manager.

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has picked up were current Birmingham City boss Gary Rowett left off, guiding them to eight matches unbeaten before Saturday and seeking to extend a run of five consecutive victories on home turf.

The set-up made for a tight encounter, with time on the ball at a premium for both sides.

Goalmouth action was also thin on the ground once Burton striker Jacob Blyth had rustled the side netting with a shot from distance in only the second minute.

Bury stopper Nick Pope only had one save of note to make in the opening half, getting a hand to a blistering shot from Lucas Akins before McGurk headed over the rebound.

Despite enjoying long periods of possession, the visitors were restricted to a handful of shots from distance, with Tom Soares and Danny Mayor forcing opposition keeper Jon McLaughlin into a couple of smart saves.

Flitcroft’s side came out after the break with the bit between their teeth and McLaughlin did well to palm away a swerving drive from Soares.

But just as Bury were getting on top, that brief lapse in concentration cost them dear.

The Shakers, who had struggled to break down Burton before going behind to Edwards’ well-worked goal, were unable to find space behind their two banks of four.

Danny Nardiello’s late header from a Chris Hussey free kick, which McLaughlin acrobatically tipped over, was the closest they came to equalising.

“I would have been delighted to come off here today with a point and a clean sheet, but I was disappointed with the manner of the goal,” said Flitcroft, after the final whistle.

“They are organised, well structured and get a lot of bodies behind the ball, so are difficult to break down.

“We didn’t do that, there was a lack of quality in our attacking play but our goalkeeper has only had one shot to save.

“They score a lot of goals from set pieces and we could have defended that better.

“We have defended them really well all season, so I am disappointed in that respect.

“We let Edwards have free space in the box and you can’t do that.”

There was no panic in the Bury manager’s post-match reaction after witnessing a revival in his side’s form and results in recent weeks.

The Shakers held their own against one of the league’s title contenders, but it is testament to the contrasting fortunes of these two sides since their last encounter that defeat hurt Bury’s chances of automatic promotion considerably more than it would have done Burton’s.

Yet Flitcroft refused to admit defeat in his quest for a place in the top three.

“The focus at the start of the season was always to win as many games as we can,” he said.

“We will just keep trying to attack the league like we have done from day one.

“It’s the moments like today on a set piece that have undone us.

“But we will keep trying to attack seventh place, sixth place then fifth place and try to drive forward as much as we can.”

BURY: Pope 7; Riley 6 (Rose 6 71), Cameron 7, El-Abd 7, Hussey 7; Soares 8, Etuhu 5 (Jones 6 66), Tutte 7, Mayor 7; Nardiello 7, Hope 6 (Adams 6 63).

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

BURTON ALBION: McLaughlin, Edwards, Mousinho, Taft, Weir, Beavon, Akins, Blyth (Sharps 90+3), McCrory, McGurk (Naylor 78), Lenihan.

Not used: Shearer, Cansdell-Sherriff, El Khayati, Slade, Harness.

Goals: Burton Albion 1 (Edwards 62) Bury 0.

Yellow cards: Bury – Andrew Tutte 88.

Referee: Stuart Attwell.

Attendance: 3,049.

Star man: Tom Soares – Like it or not, the 28-year-old former Crystal Palace and Stoke player has become a utility man this season. He started on the right wing on Saturday before briefly switching to full-back after Joe Riley was withdrawn with a tight hamstring and ended the game in the centre of midfield. His performances have come in for criticism from fans at times, but he has been an almost ever-present in David Flitcroft’s starting line-up and has really come to the boil over recent weeks. Soares produced arguably his best display against Burton and after linking up well alongside Andrew Tutte in central midfield could increase the pressure on current middle man Kelvin Etuhu.