Bury Amateurs missed a golden opportunity to put themselves back among the leading pack in the Manchester League Premier Division with a lacklustre performance.

Ammies were missing their three leading goalscorers – Lee Bruce, Peter Hickford and Steve Simms – against Town but welcomed back Babooka after a long absence.

In the first minute it appeared the loss of the key trio would go unnoticed as Babooka used his pace to latch on to a loose back pass and round the goalkeeper. But his shot was blocked by a desperately retreating defender and Tino Blake’s rebound effort was also cleared off the line. Ammies looked the better team until a mistake from Gav Campbell on the half-hour mark.

Rick Young seemed to have the situation under control when the Bury goalkeeper came rushing from his line, only to succeed in bringing the striker down for a penalty which Dukinfield scored.

Ammies never really got going in a scrappy second half and, while enjoying a lot of possession, the closest they came to scoring were shots straight at the keeper by Blake and Babooka.

Too many Bury heads dropped and they will have to address this if they are to stand any chance of achieving their ambition of a top-three finish.