IF there was one place colder than the snow-laden pitch at the JD Stadium on Saturday then it had to be the referee’s dressing room – if David Flitcroft’s frosty post-match comments were anything to go by.

For the second match in a row, the Shakers boss was left blaming match officials for dropped points.

After claiming his side were unjustly denied a late penalty in a 1-0 defeat at Dagenham and Redbridge last time out, Flitcroft was adamant David Webb and his team missed two clear infringements in the build up to Wycombe Wanderers’ equalising goal.

And the Bury manager said his side’s recent bad luck was indicative of a wider problem in the lower leagues, demanding more investment from the upper echelons of the game to ensure refereeing standards matched those in the Premier League.

“The standards are certainly not there,” said Flitcroft, who was also critical of the referee after Bury’s recent victory at Northampton, when he claimed Michael Bull “guessed” before showing Hayden White a red card.

“Something has got to happen because the pressure on managers to keep their jobs is quite insatiable, but there doesn’t seem to be any recourse.

“The Referees’ Association have got good people in there who know what they are doing. They have got processes in place, but they need funding.

“To become anything great you need funding, you need support, you need sponsorship.

“That could come from the Premier League because that is where the best referees in League Two and League One end up.”

Flitcroft certainly seemed to have a case on Saturday.

It looked like Wycombe scorer Fred Onyedinma pushed Bury defender Adam El-Abd to the floor as he battled to get on to a long punt by Joe Jacobson, and then controlled the ball with his hand before firing into the roof of the net.

His 68th-minute equaliser cancelled out Danny Mayor’s scrappy first half opener to give the League Two leaders a share of the spoils.

And while Bury’s debutant goalkeeper Nick Pope went on to make two superb saves to keep the table-toppers at bay in the closing stages, Flitcroft was still convinced his side had been robbed of a deserved victory.

He said: “It was quite blatant – Adam El-Abd does not go down that easy from a push from a young kid. He stays strong, he stays on his feet. He (the referee) had been giving those all second half, so it is a foul.

“He (Onyedinma) then actually used his hand after that to push it into his path to score a goal so it is a double negative.

“It’s 1-0, all day every day, that game. By a referee’s decision, and solely on that, we have not got the three points.”

The referee’s difficult day started even before kick-off, when wintry weather could easily have forced a late postponement.

It was rumoured Wycombe manager Gareth Ainsworth had been pushing for the match to be called off, and for good reason, with early-morning snow melting on top of a soggy surface to create large muddy puddles.

But once the match got underway both sets of players did their best to make light of the boggy conditions.

Ryan Lowe seemed to thrive in it. The veteran Bury striker had a shot headed off the line in only the third minute before earning a yellow card for a thunderous challenge moments later.

The 36-year-old forward played a big part in the opening goal on 30 minutes, busting every sinew to get to a cross from Tom Soares.

But while he slid out of play, Soares’s centre found its way to Wycombe centre-back Alfie Mawson at the back post, who dithered long enough to give Mayor an opening and the ball cannoned into the net off the Bury midfielder’s blocked challenge.

Celebrations quickly turned to concern, with both Mayor and Lowe remaining on the deck in the aftermath. Lowe was forced to hobble off after crashing into the advertising hordings while Mayor lasted until the 53rd minute after jarring his leg in the process of scoring.

After going behind, Wycombe demonstrated the spirit that had taken them to the top of League Two.

Peter Murphy had one effort cleared off the line and headed another just wide before the break, while centre-back Aaron Pierre saw a shot whistle past the post.

A front three of Danny Nardiello, Danny Rose and Hallam Hope threatened to get in behind Wycombe in the opening stages of the second half, but equally the visitors were beginning to stretch the Bury backline.

Andew Tutte had to time his covering tackle on Marcus Bean just right as the midfielder stormed into the box.

But Onyedinma put Wycombe on level terms moments later, sparking fury on the touchline that ended with Bury’s assistant boss Chris Brass sent to the stands.

Pope showed real bravery to dive at the feet of the goalscorer to deny him a quick-fire second.

And the 22-year-old Charlton stopper effectively secured a point for his new side with a stunning save nine minutes from time, diving low to his left to stop a Pierre drive on the line.

Bury’s prize for their valiant performance was to drop a place to 10th in the table, three points outside the play-off places but with a game in hand of seventh-placed Stevenage.

BURY (4-4-2): Pope 9; Soares 7, Cameron 7, El-Abd 7, Hussey 7; Jones 7, Tutte 8, Etuhu 5, Mayor 7 (Nardiello 6 53); Lowe 7 (Rose 6 32), Hope 6 (Adams 6 76).

Subs: McNulty, Sedgwick, Lainton, Burgess.

WYCOMBE (4-3-3): Ingram; Jombarti, Pierre, Mawson, Jacobson; Bean, Bloomfield, Murphy; Onyedinma, Amdi-Holloway, Wood.

Subs: Hayes, Craig, Richardson, Rowe, McClure, Senior, Ephraim.

Goals: Bury 1 (Mayor 30) Wycombe Wanderers 1 (Onyedinma 68).

Yellow cards: Bury – Lowe 17, El-Abd 42.

Referee: David Webb.

Attendance: 2,932 (270 visiting).

Star man: Nick Pope – The script had already been written even before a ball had been kicked – the appalling conditions meant this one was always going to be settled by a howling mistake rather than great attacking play. That’s the way it panned out, but thankfully for Pope it was the officials rather than the young debutant that provided the howler. It was not just the late saves that caught the eye, the on-loan Charlton keeper looked calmness personified throughout, commanding his box at set pieces, punching well to ease pressure on more than one occasion and communicating with his defenders with maturity beyond his 22 years. If this display is anything to go by, it looks clear how Pope managed to keep 16 clean sheets in 24 games on loan at York last season.