Bury equaliser 'spoilt' a 'very, very good' first-half from Cobblers - Curle

Cobblers had six shots inside the first 10 minutes at Gigg Lane as they came flying out of the blocks, eventually taking the lead when Andy Williams headed in his 10th of the campaign on 28 minutes.

That stunted Bury, who had been building momentum, but crucially they equalised shortly before half-time with a goal out of nothing as Nicky Adams teed up Chris Stokes.

The Shakers would then go on to record victory thanks to Danny Mayor's excellent finish midway through the second-half and then Nicky Maynard's stoppage-time third.

"Before we scored, we had a glorious opportunity and you could sense the fans were nervous," said Curle. "Had we got the second goal, it wouldn't have been a good environment for them.

"They got their first goal at the right time. The game had settled down, there was a bit of a lull and I didn't think they could break us down because we nullified their supply line and matched them up in midfield.

"We were dominant aerially at the back, we made them play the ball long and they had to try and find another way to come through and they weren't able to.

"But we left the back door open and that spoilt the first-half because our effort, commitment and attitude were all there and we were very, very good."

Shay Facey, David Buchanan, Daniel Powell and Williams all went close in the first-half before Williams again had a chance late in the second when Town chased an equaliser.

"The attitude of the players in the first-half was excellent," Curle added. "We were on the front foot and we put the ball into good areas and on another day we could have been 2-0 up and it would have been a completely different fixture.

"But we accept it. As soon as the whistle's gone, there's nothing you can do about it and you have to accept the result."