BURY upset the odds at the Banks's Stadium to record their first victory of the league season and bring an end to Walsall's unbeaten start.

A sixth-minute strike from Craig Jones gave the Shakers a lead to defend and they put in a brave rearguard effort to also claim their first clean sheet.

The Saddlers went into the game as League One leaders after dropping just two points in the opening month of the campaign, earning boss Dean Smith the division’s manager of the month award.

But they came up against a determined Bury side, who moved up to 12th in the table as Walsall were replaced at the top by Gillingham.

Bury made the best possible start as Jones raced in from the right wing to tuck the ball the first real chance for either side into the bottom corner after being set up by Andrew Tutte.

Buoyed by the early goal, the Shakers put in a measured display, containing the table-toppers to a handful of efforts on goal while also looking threatening going forward.

One great passage of play, which featured a string of passes out of defence, ended with an angled drive from full-back Joe Riley that Saddlers stopper Craig MacGillivray did well to smother.

Bury's Rob Lainton was marginally the busier of the two keepers, though, showing quick reactions to tip behind a stinging shot from Sam Mantom, claw out a header from James O’Connor and palm away a strike from Romaine Sawyers.

It was all hands on deck in the second half as defensive midfielders Reece Brown and Danny Pugh were sent on to bolster the visitors and Tom Pope replaced the tiring Leon Clarke, who missed the previous four matches with a hamstring injury.

Bury were content to soak up wave after wave of pressure, giving up possession to the league leaders without offering up any real opportunities to score.

Walsall did manage to create three chances in quick succession just before the hour, when Lainton narrowed the angle to keep out a shot from Mantom before Peter Clarke cleared a Paul Downing effort off the line and Tom Bradshaw headed over.

A rare foray out of their own half saw Bury come close to doubling their advantage in the 83rd minute when Pugh side-footed a Pope centre just the wrong side of the post.

Lainton was again on hand to beat away a Mantom shot as the clocked ticked down, while the Bury keeper ensured Walsall would get nothing from the game in stoppage time, pouncing on the loose ball just in front of his line when it broke free following a scramble.

Tom Soares missed the chance to rubber stamp the win with the last kick of the game, putting a tired shot wide in front of the 500 travelling Bury fans after a lung-bursting breakaway from inside his own half.

Bury (4-1-4-1): Lainton 8; Riley 6 (Brown 7 50), Cameron 9, P Clarke 8, Hussey 7; Soares 8; Jones 8, Mellis 6 (Pugh 7 60), Tutte 8, Mayor 7; L Clarke 6 (Pope 60).

Not used: Ruddy, Foulds, Sedgwick, Dudley.

Walsall (3-5-2): MacGillivray; Downing, O’Connor, Taylor; Forde (Cook 61), Mantom, Chambers (Lalkovic 76), Flanagan (Morris 61), Henry; Sawyers, Bradshaw.

Not used: Baxendale, Preston, Kinsella, Jezeph.

Referee:  Fred Graham.

Attendance: 4,829 (440 visiting).