Cardiff City 1 Bury 0 by Phil Thorp: CARDIFF skipper Graham Kavanagh's 43rd minute penalty denied the Shakers a vital point their endeavour deserved.

On a horrendous night for weather in South Wales, Andy Preece's men paid the price for a lack of cutting edge.

The Shakers looked all set to go in at the interval level until Michael Nelson was adjudged to have brought down former Stoke striker Peter Thorne when the City player was seemingly being shepherded away from goal.

Kavanagh made no mistake with his spot kick, lashing it powerfully into the centre of Paddy Kenny's goal.

The Welshmen just had the best of the early exchanges, but Jon Newby had a good chance for the Shakers when he cut inside and struck a powerful effort that Neil Alexander could only parry away.

The Shakers began to warm to their task and the normally vociferous Ninian Park crowd were kept unusually subdued.

Yet all too often after working their way into good positions the final ball let them down and they could only trouble Alexander with an Ian Lawson effort just after half time following superb play on the left from Jamie Stuart.

"The conditions were poor and though we tried to play, get the ball down and pass it we needed to create more opportunities than we did," said Preece.

"It's something we've been working on but still need to look at. Individual players have to see passes quicker especially when we get into good positions in the final third.

"I couldn't ask for any more effort, commitment or passion, but we are just lacking that bit of quality on the ball.

"We need to score goals because we can't keep relying on keeping a clean sheet all the time."

Preece was unsighted for the crucial spot-kick decision but said: "I can't make any comment on the penalty but the position Peter Thorne was in when he went down wasn't a dangerous one.

"So if it was a penalty it was a sin to give it away in that position. We really should have cleared the ball before we got into that situation and that's disappointing."

Bury had by far the lion's share of play in the second half and the boos that surrounded the fourth official's display of five minutes added time told its own story.

BURY FORMGUIDE: Kenny 7, Connell 7 (Preece, 90), Stuart 8, Collins 7, Redmond 7 (Borley, 74), Nelson 7, Jarrett 6, Forrest 7, Clegg 7, Lawson 6, Newby 7. Subs not used: Garner, Whiteman and Evans.

REFEREE: Mr P. J. Prosser (Worcester)

ATTENDANCE: 8,273