THE opening moments of the match gave little indication of the mauling that was to come, with Bury missing the chance to take the lead in the first five minutes.

Bury’s penalty kick hit the upright and was cleared, but they went on to dominate the first 20 minutes, taking advantage of the wind and slope.

Unfortunately, after a promising yet scoreless start, the wheels started to come off a side that was already decimated by injuries, illness and absence.

Littleboro’ scored tries in the 25th and 30th minutes by simply moving the ball wide, bypassing Bury’s strong pack and targeting their vulnerable three-quarter line to create the overlap.

Both tries were touched down in the right corner, but neither were converted.

Bury then lost their number eight Ben Holland, in the 30th minute before the home side repeated the trick in the closing minute of the half, Littleboro’ scoring in the same corner after the same move.

The score was 15-0 at the break, but Bury crumbled in the second half as they played against the conditions.

To make matters worse, an already understrength side was reduced to 14 men and the home side scored almost at will, racking up seven tries – six converted – in the second period.

Bury, who are ninth in North Lancs One, probably need to win at least one of their remaining four fixtures to ensure survival in the league.

They travel to the Lake District on Saturday to play Windermere, kick off 3pm.