Bury 3 Cardiff 0 IT'S taken a long time in coming but the sweet smell of success has finally reached Gigg Lane.

For the first time in eleven long and often punishing years the club has finally got something to celebrate.

And nobody can deny they deserved it - if not for the magnificent character they showed to storm back from 22nd to third in six months then for the sheer agonising torment they were forced to endure before the champagne corks could finally start popping.

This emotion-sapping campaign didn't just go to the wire - it went beyond it. Nobody could have predicted the extent of high drama which was to unfold. It was almost unreal as the ecstatic fans mobbed their heroes on the final whistle and then stood in silence for a full four minutes as Scunthorpe thankfully denied Darlington the victory which would have sent the North Easterners up instead.

It was ironic that it was at Gigg Lane where they have struggled so often to find their form that Bury finally finished the job in such devastating style.

Cardiff, enduring their worst ever season in their 75-year history, were swept aside by the incessant tide of Bury attacks. Tony Rigby served notice of their intentions with a ferocious 25-yard free kick which whistled inches wide after just two minutes. And from the moment David Pugh broke the deadlock in the 25th minute, poking in the rebound after Steve Williams brilliantly parried his powerful header, the result was never in doubt. Bury's performance was a fitting microcosm of their season with old heads like Pugh and Mark Carter leading by example and young up-and-coming stars like Michael Jackson and the quicksilver David Johnson providing further evidence of their huge potential.

Cardiff had no answer to Johnson's devastating pace which almost brought him a goal a minute after the restart before he went one better seven minutes later with a thrilling turn, run and low shot which spun off Williams' body and inside the far post. Johnson will kick himself for directing a close range header over from Pugh's inviting cross but there was no way Rigby was going to be denied when he cut inside and thundered a shot past the helpless Williams.

There followed the longest half hour Bury fans have ever had to endure before the champagne was cracked open. Hopefully one case was reserved for Scunthorpe! FORM GUIDE

Kelly 6, West 7, N. Reid 7, Daws 7, Lucketti 7, Jackson 7, Rigby 7, Carter 7, JOHNSON 8, Johnrose 7, Pugh 7. Subs: Stant 6 (for Johnson 63 mins), Matthews and Sertori. Att: 5,658.

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