BURY dropped out of the play-off places on goal difference after a second successive draw against rivals for a spot in the top seven.

After being held at home by Exeter on Saturday, the Shakers were frustrated by a stubborn Stevenage outfit, allowing Plymouth to leapfrog them into seventh with victory at Wycombe.

An atrocious playing surface helped the home side keep Bury at bay, while Stevenage stopper Chris Day produced heroics to keep out free-kicks by Andrew Tutte and Chris Hussey.

The salient statistic of a dire first half was the number of balls that successfully bid for freedom from the Lamex Stadium.

Four cleared the confines of the low-slung stands, and worryingly they did not disappear as a result of hefty clearances but attempts on goal.

Neither set of players were able to muster any quality on a bobbly pitch that consistently cut up under foot.

That made control difficult and probably explained the number of miss-hit shots and crosses.

Bury’s best effort of the first 45 minutes came in the opening stages when Craig Jones lost control of a centre from the right and Day had to back-peddle to tip it on to the roof of the net. Danny Mayor showed a few moments of urgency, drifting inside to fire off a couple of shots from distance, one that he dragged wide and the other that bobbled into Day’s hands after a deflection.

David Flitcroft’s side did at least look assured at the back, with captain Nathan Cameron partnered by former skipper Jim McNulty at centre-back after Adam El-Abd was ruled out with a hamstring injury.

Bury keeper Nick Pope was equal to any efforts that breached the Shakers’ backline, getting down well to smother a shot from Bruno Andrade.

The Shakers started the second half much the better side and kept Stevenage penned in for the opening 15 minutes.

Hussey troubled the home backline with a series of vicious inswinging corners that Bury were unable to convert.

Danny Rose did have the ball in the back of the net on the hour after getting on the end of a one-two with Tom Soares but his effort was rightly disallowed for offside.

With the surface making a goal from open play almost impossible, free kicks in dangerous areas assumed even greater significance.

And Tutte very nearly made one count in the 75th minute when his effort from 30 yards looked destined for the top corner before Day pulled off an outstanding one-handed save and Soares’ follow-up shot was deflected over.

Second-half substitute Hallam Hope blasted a shot wide from inside the box before Stevenage sprang out of defence to launch a late raid, but Chris Whelpdale’s strike was always rising.

Day then produced another smart save to palm away a Hussey free kick at his near post before getting his body behind a Joe Riley shot from inside the box to end the goalmouth action.

BURY (4-1-4-1)

NICK POPE 7 JOE RILEY 7 NATHAN CAMERON 8 JIM MCNULTY 8 CHRIS HUSSEY 8 KELVIN ETUHU 7 CRAIG JONES 6 ANDREW TUTTE 7 TOM SOARES 6 DANNY MAYOR 6 DANNY ROSE 6

Subs: Danny Nardiello 6 (Jones 60), Hallam Hope 6 (Rose 69), Nicky Adams 6 (Tutte 85). Not used: Rob Lainton, Chris Sedgwick, Joe Thompson, Keil O'Brien.

STEVENAGE (4-4-2): Day; Henry, Ashton, Wells, Charles; Whelpdale, Bond, Walton, Andrade; Beardsley, Lee.

Subs: N'Guessan (Andrade 76) Dembele (Charles 90+5). Not used: Beasant, Johnson, Conlon, Kennedy, Deacon.

Referee: Graham Horwood.

Att: 2,165.