THE season started in bizarre fashion as Leon Clarke was allowed to walk the ball into the net in the 95th minute to earn a point on the opening day at Doncaster.

Harry Forrester had given Donny a 93rd minute accidental lead when he scored while attempting to play the ball back to goalkeeper Christian Walton, but Paul Dickov's side respectfully allowed the Shakers to equalise.

The Capital One cup draw was not kind to Bury, who were drawn away to the highest ranked team in the first round in Wigan.

But following a 2-1 victory, the reward was a home clash against Leicester City, who won 4-1 and, of course, went on to bigger and better things in the Premier League.

It took six games for Bury to record their first league victory, but once they did there was no stopping them.

A seven-game winning run followed which saw the Shakers climb as high as third in the table by the beginning of October.

During that terrific run there were memorable victories away to play-off chasing Walsall and sleeping giants Sheffield United – where Joe Riley scored the goal of the season in a 3-1 win, which was Bury's first victory at Bramall Lane in 90 years.

Fans started to get excited by the prospect of a play-off place and possible back-to-back promotion, but the wins dried up following a first away defeat of the season at Bradford as the Shakers entered a sticky patch.

The FA cup was a ray of sunshine halfway through the season that had supporters buzzing again.

A thumping 4-0 win at home to eventual League One winners Wigan in the first round was followed by a solid 1-0 victory at local rivals Rochdale in front of the TV cameras.

The third-round clash with Bradford was taken to a replay and after 210 minutes of goalless action the game went to penalties.

On-Loan Manchester City goalkeeper Ian Lawlor was the hero of the night saving two spot kicks in the shootout as Bury made the fourth round for the first time in eight years.

The Shakers were out-powered by Hull in the fourth round, going down 3-1, but the cup run did bring in more than £500,000, which was much needed given off-field financial problems.

HMRC brought two winding-up petitions against the club in the space of three months for unpaid tax bills. Although the amounts were later paid in full, the club was forced to cover legal costs on both occasions.

During Bury's FA cup run, their form in the league took a dramatic drop, especially away from Gigg Lane, where they went on a run of just one win in 14 matches.

A particular low point was the 6-0 humiliation at Coventry, when Joe Cole rolled back the years to give the Shakers a glimpse of his former England class.

But the main aim was always to secure League One safety, which was done with four games remaining following back-to-back wins against Doncaster and Swindon.

One impressive feature of the season was the home form as Shakers were only beaten at Gigg Lane on five occasions in the league.

The season came to a fitting conclusion as departing legend Ryan Lowe bowed out with a brace against Southend – including the winning goal, which came with his last touch in a Bury shirt.

Finishing 14th with the club's highest points total in the third tier for 19 years, coupled with a fantastic FA cup run, provided a firm foundation to build on and offered supporters plenty to be optimistic about.

The challenge for manager David Flitcroft is to follow up that success next season, and one thing is for certain, fans can expect a very busy summer at Gigg Lane.