A MOMENTARY lack of concentration and the fiercest shot of the night combined to end Bury's seven match unbeaten start to the season.

The Shakers gave as good as they got in a Gresty Road thriller which lacked nothing in skill, power or commitment but on the night that a new star emerged for Crewe it was the home side who got the breaks.

The most important one came inside the first 30 seconds when on loan goalkeeper Steve Mautone got his first touch on his home debut.

Nick Daws did particularly well to get to the dead ball line, a sizzling cross was too hot for the diving keeper to hold on to but when the ball bounced loose Ronnie Jepson was wrong-footed six yards from goal and couldn't tuck away the chance.

That was the only occasion the 24-year-old Aussie goalkeeper didn't make a clean take. Everything else that Bury threw at him - and there was plenty - was dealt with in admiral fashion and the man from West Ham was accorded a standing ovation at the end after his second successive shut out.

Mautone was much busier than Bury's Dean Kiely in a first half which again proved the Shakers can live with the best in Division Two.

They overpowered Crewe's commendable passing game with David Johnson and Jepson going agonisingly close to scoring but unaccountably Bury went to sleep in the 43rd minute.

Deep in their own half Crewe were awarded a free kick. Shaun Smith's lightening fast reaction sent the ball forward to Danny Murphy, he picked out the unmarked Francis Tierney who was in full flight and a scorching shot on the run did the rest.

A goal line clearance from Dean West from a Steve Macauley header denied Crewe a second goal on the stroke of half time and from Bury's point of view justice had been seen to be done.

If anything the tempo of the game was raised even higher after the interval when skipper Mark Carter and Johnson, twice, brought out the best in Mautone while a spate of largely unwarranted yellow cards were waved at five Bury players.

The issue was finally settled in explosive manner in the 83rd minute when substitute Billy Barr, deciding there was no other option, simply lashed an unstoppable 25 yarder past Kiely, and that takes some doing.

There was still time for Rob Matthews to test the Crewe keeper with a sweetly struck drive but the Aussie responded with another full length save and clearly it just wasn't Bury's night.

Manager Stan Ternent said: "It's a little setback, that's all. For, if we play like that, we will win more matches than we lose.

"Their goalkeeper did very well for we created a lot of chances. We got caught by a sucker punch, the second goal was a fantastic shot.

"It's important how we react for we are still finding our feet. But I have no complaints."

Bury: Kiely 8, West 9, N Reid 7 (sub Armstrong 59 mins) 6, Daws 7, Butler 7, Jackson 8, Hughes 7 (sub Rigby 80 mins), Johnson 8 (sub Matthews 69 mins) 7, Jepson 7, Johnrose 7, Carter 7.

Attendance: 3,627.

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