A FIRST goal in 10 months for veteran Northern Ireland striker Iain Dowie may have earned Division One form side Rangers a share of the spoils but there was enough in this hard-fought encounter to raise the spirits of the Shakers faithful. With the decimating flu bug clearing up off the field and a change in style paying dividends on it 1999 is beginning to look a lot brighter down at Gigg Lane.

And high on the list of plusses will be the performance of Lutel James, the diminutive striker signed from UniBond Premier outfit Hyde United earlier this season.

In a highly promising display, James showed he is well able to make the four division climb up the football ladder when he fired the Shakers into a 24th minute lead.

A long clearance from Dean Kiely was headed on by Nigel Jemson and James kept his head superbly to drill past Rangers' giant Czech international keeper Ludek Miklosko.

But it was his overall performance, and understanding with strike-partner Jemson, that caught the eye. His busy, tricky style was a constant source of trouble to the Rangers central defenders and in the first half both Steve Morrow and Danny Maddix were cautioned for clumsy challenges on the little man.

"I thought that was probably Lutel's best game for us," said Shakers boss Neil Warnock

"He really played well off Nigel Jemson and both of them put in a lot of work, I couldn't have asked for more from them."

It was the first time the home fans had witnessed the new 4-4-2 formation and they were treated to an impressive first period. The Rangers keeper had to be alert to take an early 20-yard snapshot from Jemson under his bar then he superbly palmed over Lennie Johnrose's bullet header from a Jemson cross.

On the half hour the Shakers goal led a charmed life when, in a rare Rangers raid, Chris Lucketti superbly blocked a Chris Plummer shot.

Matthew Rose's follow-up effort ricocheted off the legs of Kiely for Kevin Gallen to stab home from close range, however with Gallen halfway back to the centre circle celebrating an assistant referee flagged for offside much to Bury's relief.

Minutes later a flowing move involving James and Jemson down the right ended in Nick Daws racing in on goal but he overrun the ball allowing Plummer to clear then just before the break a fine cross by Billy from the goalline was met by Daws at the far post but Miklosko was equal to the effort. After the break it became evident just what a difference the blustery wind was making to the game and it was the turn of Rangers to pile on the pressure.

The inevitable leveller arrived after 66 minutes when, from six yards, Dowie found the space to slide home a Gavin Peacock cross.

But far from giving the West London side a boost it was the Shakers who 'upped the ante' from then on.

In a concerted period of pressure Maddix almost headed Andy Woodward's free-kick into his own goal then 11 minutes from time James had a superb chance to grab a second goal but his close range shot somehow cannonned off Miklosko's legs to safety. It was the Shakers who looked the more disappointed to hear the final whistle as Warnock explained: "When they equalised I think everyone thought they'd go on to dominate but we showed a lot of character to come back and at the end Gerry (Francis) was the more relieved manager.

"I thought it was a cracking game though, the first half was definitely ours but we couldn't get the second goal despite having some good chances.

"We knew Rangers would get back into it some time and they threw caution to the wind in the second half. "They are the in-form team in our division and that will give us a lot of confidence." he added.

In the eyes of QPR boss Francis a draw was a fair result: "It was a real game of two halves," he said.

"Bury have a very good home record so we knew we were going to be in for a tough match.

"Once we pulled level I thought there was only one team going to win it but we took our foot off the throttle, but all in all it was a deserved result for both teams." Kiely 7, Woodward 7, Williams 7, Daws 7, Lucketti 7, West 7, Swailes 7, Jemson 7,

JAMES 8, Johnrose 7, Billy 7. Sub: Preece (for Jemson 75), Littlejohn (for James 85) and Souter.

Referee: Mr Terry Heilbron (Stockton). Attendance: 4,609

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