Goalless at Kingsmeadow
Bury Town have lost a number of players in the last year or so and appear to have slipped back from their status as perennial playoff threats, yet captain and goalkeeper Marcus Garnham has steadfastly remained at Ram Meadow. A typically solid display from Garnham frustrated Ks on a night when they were much the better team but proved unable to beat the Suffolk stopper.
Front pair Andre McCollin and Nathaniel Pinney combined well all night to create chances but unfortunately Ks were unable to put them away. The first good chance came in the thirteenth minute when McCollin controlled a long ball and teed up Pinney but Garnham proved equal to his effort. The livewire Alex Addai had a great chance with the rebound but saw it blocked by a defender.
Addai twice more got into good positions but saw his efforts repelled by defenders, while Callum Bennett and Steve Holder headed narrowly over at the other end to stop Ks getting too complacent. The final chance of the half fell to McCollin after a slide-rule pass from Pinney but he failed to generate enough power on his wrong foot, allowing Garnham to save.
The second half saw Ks increase the pressure but still fail to achieve the result they needed. McCollin hit the post just after the break with Garnham beaten, again after combining well with Pinney, then fired wide from distance.
Garnham made a solid save from Pinney on the hour mark and as Ks’ frustration grew, Tommy Williams introduced Elvis Hammond to the fray. Twenty minutes from time he produced a sharp close-range save from Garnham, from which the referee amazingly failed to award a corner.
A minute later a blocked McCollin cross fell to Pinney who struck low and hard but unfortunately too close to Garnham as Ks began to think it might not be their day. Connor Hall also served up a reminder that a sucker punch at the other end could make their evening even worse, sending a free header from a corner thankfully wide of Rob Tolfrey’s goal.
Ks desperately shouted for a penalty when Pinney was felled on the edge of the box but the referee got his call correct this time, awarding just a free kick which Tommy Kavanagh put over the bar. Garnham then saved his best for last in saving a powerful twenty-yarder from Steve Laidler that had appeared to be zeroing in on the bottom corner, leaving Williams frustrated and the points shared.
Match report by Simon Grier.
