BURY'S away-day blues continued at Vale Park as they slipped to their sixth successive defeat on the road.

Byron Moore rattled the post in the first half for the hosts before substitute Sam Kelly netted what proved to be the decisive goal midway through the second half.

The Shakers looked much improved at the back following their 4-1 defeat at Southend last time out, but going forward they offered little excitement for the 685 travelling supporters.

Manager David Flitcroft made two changes from defeat at Roots Hall.

Tom Soares was ruled out with a hamstring injury so Craig Jones slotted in on the right of midfield, while young striker Danny Rose dropped to the bench as former Vale favourite Tom Pope took his place in attack.

Alongside Rose on the bench was 17-year-old youth-team striker George Miller, one of three teenagers named amongst the six substitutes, who had an average age 22.5 years, despite the inclusion of 35-year-old veteran Chris Sedgwick.

After a 10-day break without a game the Shakers were raring to go and could have gone ahead inside 10 seconds had goalkeeper Jak Alnwick not been able to claw the ball away from Leon Clarke as the forward tried to take it round him.

Bury were given a huge let off four minutes in when centre-back Nathan Cameron slipped on the edge of the box and allowed Moore a free run at goal but the winger saw his shot come back off the post.

The hosts controlled the early possession and looked threatening down the left as Joe Riley struggled to deal with Colin Daniel, who produced a number of great crosses that Ajay Leitch-Smith was inches away from converting.

But against all of the hosts' early dominance the Shakers stood strong and grew into the game.

Chris Hussey became the main attacking threat with his set-pieces and delivery from out wide but it came to very little in the first period.

Kelvin Etuhu had the game's first shot on target two minutes after the break when he sent a 20-yard thunderbolt straight down the throat of Alnwick.

Michael Brown followed suit for the hosts two minutes later, registering their first effort on target from outside the area, but it was easy pickings for Bury stopper Daniel Bachmann.

Vale thought they had taken the lead on the 56th minute when Richard Duffy turned the ball over the line after tussling with Bachmann from a corner but the referee's assistant disallowed it.

Two minutes later the ball was in the Bury net again and this time it did count.

Half-time substitute Kelly picked up the ball on the left and drove across the Bury penalty area without any challenge before blasting the ball past a helpless Bachmann.

Danny Mayor responded for the Shakers straight from the kick-off, cutting in from the left and shooting over before Flitcroft shook his team up with the 63rd-minute introduction of Reece Brown and Danny Rose in place of Danny Pugh and Tom Pope.

The forward went off to a standing ovation from the home supporters after spending four-and-a-half years with Vale, scoring 69 goals.

Bachmann kept the visitors in the game with a fine finger-tip save down to his right six minutes later to keep out Michael O'Connor's 25-yard free-kick.

Leon Clarke created a great chance to equalise 12 minutes from time when he plucked Jones' cross out of the air, turned and blasted goalwards but Alnwick was equal to it down to his left.

Bury pressed for a goal late on but even the generous offering of seven minutes added time did nothing to inspire the visitors as they continued their slide away from the play-off places down to 12th in League One.

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Match ratings

BURY (4-4-2): Bachmann 6; Riley 5, Cameron 5, Clarke 6, Hussey 6; Jones 6, Etuhu 6, Pugh 5, Mayor 6; L Clarke 5, Pope 5.

Subs: Rose 6 (for Pope 63), Brown 5 (for Pugh 63), Dudley 5 (for Riley 71). Not used: Sedgwick, Burgess, Miller

Port Vale (4-2-3-1): Alnwick, Purkiss, Duffy, McGivern, Dickinson, O'Connor, Brown, Moore, Foley, Daniel, Leitch-Smith.

Subs: Kelly (for Leitch-Smith 46), Hooper (for Daniel 84), Birchall (for Moore 88). Not used: Neal, Streete, Yates, Campion.

Referee: James Adcock (Nottinghamshire).

Attendance: 5,467 (685 visiting).