JOE Riley’s superb winning goal may have been the Champagne moment of a breathtaking promotion battle, but for proud Bury manager David Flitcroft it was the team, rather than the individual that stood out.

This is a side that Flitcroft has dismantled and slowly rebuilt since the reverse fixture, when a 5-0 drubbing rocked the club to its core.

The Shakers went into that game soaring near the top of the table, buoyed by season's best performance in a 3-0 win at home to Portsmouth.

But cracks had appeared in their two previous away games – defeats against Wimbledon and Exeter – and Micky Mellon’s Shrewsbury side exposed them in brutal fashion.

A great deal of soul searching followed as Bury won just one of their next six league games.

Flitcroft was accused of tinkering with a winning formula as he experimented with a succession of failed loan signings, but Tuesday night’s thrilling victory provided the ultimate vindication.

The manager has replaced almost his entire defence, so ruthlessly picked apart by Shrewsbury in October, with only captain Nathan Cameron remaining from that fragile backline.

Wing-backs Craig Jones and Danny Mayor have been pushed forward to their rightful place in midfield, replaced by full-backs Riley and Chris Hussey in a more rigid back four.

While goalkeeper Rob Lainton and centre-backs Jim McNulty and Pablo Mills have been replaced with Nick Pope and Adam El-Abd.

The outcome has seen Bury win 10 of their last 12 matches, equal a club record with six consecutive away victories and keep nine clean sheets in 13 games.

The latest, and arguably the most impressive, came in the rematch against Shrewsbury, who gave Flitcroft’s men just as stern an examination as they did at Greenhous Meadow, but this time Bury were not found wanting.

“We were all scarred by the 5-0 – it is a watershed for me, the 21st of October,” said Flitcroft.

“We looked at ourselves, I looked at myself as a manager, I looked at my recruitment, the balance of the squad and we have been able, through the chairman’s support, to rectify that.”

Riley has been a major part of that rebuilding process, balancing undoubted defensive capability with an attacking drive down the right.

Hussey is an almost mirror image on the left, with both full-backs bombing forward in support of wingers Jones and Mayor, and that was a feature of Bury’s play on Tuesday night.

Flitcroft, understandably chastened by that defeat at Shrewsbury, packed his midfield, playing Danny Nardiello up front on his own.

But Shrewsbury, in search of the three points that could have secured promotion in front of 1,100 travelling fans, gave Bury little room for manoeuvre.

Their pressing game meant the Shakers were unable to make their man advantage count, forcing them out on to the wings, where they had the most joy.

Riley put in the best two crosses of the half, which both ended up at the feet of Mayor at the back post, but he was unable to get a shot off on each occasion.

At the other end, Riley was on hand to clear a scrambled shot by Bobby Grant off the line after Pope spilled a high ball at his feet.

And on the only time lethal Shrewsbury marksman James Collins was given a sniff at goal, he blasted over a knockdown from defender Mark Ellis.

As is often the case in late-season promotion battles, the only thing missing from a match high on tempo, tension and excitement was quality goalmouth action.

Grant gave a brief glimpse of that with a 25-yard shot after the break that Pope was relieved to tip over.

But just as the breakneck pace started to drop off, the game exploded into life in the 57th minute when Riley rattled in an angled 30-yard strike into the top corner.

The backlash came almost immediately, with Ellis sending a back-post header tantalisingly across goal.

That prompted Flitcroft to throw on experienced midfielder Chris Sedgwick to batten down the hatches, and while Kelvin Etuhu flashed a shot just wide it was all hands to the pump after that.

Shrewsbury substitute Andy Mangan tapped home what looked like an equaliser in the 82nd minute, but the assistant referee ruled it out, judging Jean Louis Akpa Akpro to have taken the ball out of play in the build up.

And while Bury were forced into a desperate rearguard action to see out five minutes of added time, they refused to buckle - a fact every bit as important to their manager as Riley’s debut goal.

“It’s a fantastic strike to win the game,” said Flitcroft. “But there has been a lot more than that goal that has won us this football match.

“The resolve, the resilience, the structure of the team and the discipline was remarkable.”

A 102nd-minute winner for third-placed Wycombe in their match at home to Exeter may have provided an unwelcome dampener, butBury’s crucial victory did at least keep the pressure on.

A place in the play-offs is now assured. And the Shakers head to Portsmouth on Saturday four points adrift of the automatic promotion places with a game in hand, knowing they have the resolve to take the fight to the bitter end.