Shakers hammer hapless Cobblers

Nicky Ajose grabbed a brace as Bury maintained their promotion push with a 4-2 win at struggling Northampton.

The match began badly for the Cobblers with goalkeeper Chris Dunn injured early on and matters got worse as Bury raced into a 4-0 lead before the hosts made the scoreline respectable. Dunn had to be replaced after only eight minutes after being injured in a collision with Damien Mozika and replacement Steve Collis was soon picking the ball out of the net twice in quick succession. Ryan Lowe pounced on a rebound to break the deadlock in the 24th minute and four minutes later Ajose raced onto a long clearance and beat Collis to double Bury's advantage. Bury grabbed a third goal three minutes before the break to all but end the contest. Peter Sweeney's corner was only partially cleared, Mozika saw his first effort blocked but his second was deflected past Collis. Ajose grabbed his second goal in the 57th minute when David Worrall sent the on-loan Manchester United striker clear and he comfortably beat Collis. Two minutes later Shaun Harrad pulled a goal back when he beat the offside trap to race clear and shoot past Cameron Belford. Harrad grabbed his second goal in stoppage time when he took advantage of a static defence to lob Belford but it came much too late to alter the outcome.