BURY’S stoppage-time winner at home to play-off chasing Northampton was just reward for a brave performance, according to manager David Flitcroft, whose side battled back with only 10 men after going a goal down.

The Cobblers took the lead through an early Ricky Holmes goal before Shakers full-back Joe Riley was shown a straight red card three minutes after the break.

But holding midfielder Kelvin Etuhu scored a rare goal – his second of the season – to equalise on 66 minutes and on-loan defender Adam El-Abd secured all three points with a last-gasp header.

The revival followed a disappointing first half, by Flitcroft’s own admission.

He made a double substitution at the break, throwing on front man Ryan Lowe and winger Craig Jones, and continued a gung-ho approach even after Etuhu’s equaliser, ending the match with three up front after introducing striker Hallam Hope for the final 30 minutes.

“There was a real character in the second-half performance right throughout the team,” said Flitcroft, after Bury cut the gap on Wycombe in the third and final automatic promotion place to just one point.

“To go 4-2-3 was pretty brave, it leaves the centre of the pitch very isolated.

“I wanted to get Hallam high to support Lowey (Ryan Lowe) and I wanted to get (winger) Danny Mayor high.

“It did leave Kelvin and Soaresey (Tom Soares) super exposed, but they took on the responsibility and seemed to go to a higher level.

“Obviously, Kelvin with his goal has got high up the pitch and taken the shot and it was a fantastic goal to grab the momentum.

“I think once we got the momentum, it put a fear factor in Northampton’s game and took us forward to get the second goal.”

Both sides went into the match with points to make up in their quest for promotion.

Northampton had forced their way into the play-off frame before suffering a set-back in midweek following defeat at relegation-threatened Carlisle.

Bury, meanwhile, were eager to cut the four-point gap on third-placed Wycombe - who play at Luton on Tuesday and did not have a game.

Northampton boss Chris Wilder believes the outcome – Bury’s seventh win in eight games - was conclusive, as his side finished the day in 10th, five points adrift of the play-off places.

“Bury have shown the kind of form that should see them go on to clinch promotion, while all we are going to get with performances like this is mid-table obscurity,” he said.

There was little to suggest Wilder would leave the JD Stadium an unhappy man after Holmes gave the visitors the lead in the 10th minute, calmly tucking away Diego De Girolamo’s through ball following a misplaced clearance by Bury stopper Nick Pope.

Soares managed the only meaningful shot on target for the home side in the opening period, but his effort from eight yards was well blocked by Northampton keeper Matt Duke and the midfielder put the rebound just wide.

After a timid opening half, Riley took it upon himself to stir things up with a wild, knee-high lunge on former Bury defender Tom Newey, which Flitcroft agreed rightly earned him a straight red card.

“Rush of blood, frustration, call it what you want but certainly it doesn’t belong in a Bury team,” said the Shakers manager.

“I will speak to Joe about it and try to educate him, try to make him stay on his feet.

“He’s an aggressive player, which I love about him, but I have got to educate him and keep him on that pitch because there is a fantastic future in front of the boy and it could have really affected us.”

Tackles flew in from both sides following Riley’s dismissal. Northampton’s Lawson D’Ath escaped with just a yellow after sending Jones spiralling with a flying challenge, while the referee seemed to miss a studs-up challenge from Soares on Holmes.

But far from seizing upon the man advantage, Northampton were the ones eventually forced on to the back foot.

They were punished when Etuhu pounced on an attempted clearance from a Chris Hussey corner to fire in from the edge of the box.

Soares then came within a whisker of finishing off a determined run from Jones with a 20-yard shot that whistled just past the post.

And while Pope was called upon to produce a full-length dive to palm away a De Girolamo shot, it was the home side that did all of the pressing in the closing stages.

Captain Nathan Cameron narrowly missed converting another Hussey cross.

But the full-back’s delivery again proved decisive in the first minute of stoppage time when the Cobblers made a hash of clearing his near-post corner and El-Abd nodded in the loose ball from a yard out.

“With Adam’s goal we kept on going right to the death,” added Flitcroft.

“We gave them too much time first half and stepped off them, so I was really disappointed.

“But second half we really got to grips with the game and played with a purpose.

“I think we completely deserved the win because there was a bravery about the performance.”

BURY: Pope 7; Riley 5, Cameron 7, El-Abd 7, Hussey 8; Etuhu 8; Adams 6 (Jones 7 46), Tutte 6 (Lowe 7 46), Soares 8, Mayor 7; Eaves 6 (Hope 7 59).

Not used: Sedgwick, O'Brien, Nardiello, Lainton.

NORTHAMPTON TOWN: Duke; Moloney, Collins, Cresswell, Newey; Holmes (Hackett 69), Taylor, Byrom, D'Ath; De Girolamo (O'Toole 81), Toney (Gray 62).

Not used: Carter, Bodin, Diamond, Jalal.

Goals: Bury 2 (Etuhu 66, El-Abd 90+1) Northampton Town (Holmes 10).

Red cards: Bury – Joe Riley 48.

Yellow cards: Bury – Adams 6, Lowe 75. Northampton Town – Cresswell 29, Toney 52, D’Ath 57, Moloney 90+4.

Referee: David Coote.

Attendance: 3,969 (390 visiting).

Star man: Tom Soares – The former Stoke and Crystal Palace midfielder has won plenty of praise from manager David Flitcroft for his flexibility and willingness to work for the team, and Saturday’s display provided another example. He started the match off as a shadow striker, producing Bury’s only meaningful shot on target in the opening half, and ended it as a holding midfielder, asked to patrol a central area left exposed following Joe Riley’s sending off. He did it perfectly, inspiring a thrilling comeback alongside goal hero Kelvin Etuhu.