A first half penalty by Rustam Stepans was all Bury needed to collect all three points away at Newcastle Town. With a win far more comfortable than the 1-0 scoreline suggests, the Shakers have made a good start to a busy run of fixtures over the Christmas period.

With the news that Tim Lees would remain interim manager for the rest of the season, Bury made two changes to the starting eleven. Regan Riley started in place of Scott Duxbury, while new arrival Luke Tabone went straight into the line-up ahead of the absent James Nield.

The hosts entered the match as one of the lowest scoring sides in the division; however, straight from the kick off, they went on the attack. Tim Grice got onto a long ball forward, but Tabone quickly cleared the danger away. That was as close as the Castle came all day.

On a trying pitch, Bury began to create chances. A run by Stepans saw him force a save from Town keeper Joe Slinn, who also made it a double save, preventing DJ Pedro from following up on the rebound.

The Shakers continued to work hard. A ball over the top found Owen Robinson, who fired wide of the goal. The pressure on the Newcastle goal became too much for the home side, and when Pedro was felled inside the box, the referee pointed to the spot.

Bury, having missed their last two penalties, entrusted Rustam Stepans to break their recent run of missed chances, and he coolly sent the keeper the wrong way to open the scoring.

Quickly, it could have been two. Bebeto Gomes, playing as left-back, burst forward and sent in a cross. Stepans got onto the end of it but his volley was just wide.

After the break, Bury looked more dangerous. Gomes, Robinson and Stepans all broke into the Newcastle box but just lacked the final touch to put a second goal past Slinn.

Leo Graham twice came close to scoring his first Bury goal. One effort from range forced Slinn into tipping the ball over, while another shot from inside the box was stopped with a brilliant reactionary save by the busy Newcastle goalkeeper. With Pedro and Bobby Carroll also seeing shots saved, it felt as though the second goal was only a matter of time.

The Newcastle defence held firm, however and kept the scoreline nervously close. The Bury defence, boosted by an impressive debut by Tabone were always in control, and Mitch Allen was virtually a spectator for much of the match.

The addition of Kai Evans brought some impetus to the Shakers' attack. He forced another save from Slinn, Pedro got to the rebound, spinning around as he quickly went for goal, but the ball could only find the side netting. Evans would again have a couple of efforts, one saved by Slinn and the other deflected away for a corner, but just as in the reverse fixture on the opening day, Bury would only manage a single goal in the match.

The result makes it two wins from two under the management of Tim Lees, and Bury will hope the good form continues with the race for playoff places well and truly on.