Bury Town knock Kem Izzet's Brightlingsea Regent out of the FA Cup on memorable Ram Meadow return

It was a 198 day wait for Bury Town's supporters to see their side back in action at Ram Meadow but a gutsy performance saw them come back to Ram Meadow with a bang.

A second-half Will Gardner header proved to be enough to knock higher-league Brightlingsea Regent out of the Emirates FA Cup with a 2-1 scoreline, following Cemal Ramdan's first half penalty being cancelled out on the stroke of half-time.

The maximum crowd allowed of 400 turned out for the first round qualifying tie at a ground which had undergone somewhat of a facelift over the summer with new blue railings and a new seated east stand nearing completion.

Ben Chenery made just one change to the side who had come back from their Pitching In Isthmian League North Division opener with a 1-0 victory against Basildon United with Max Maughn coming in for goalscorer Cruise Nyadzayo.

Former Thetford Town striker Valter Rocha was in Brightlingsea's side fresh from scoring on his R's debut in their 2-1 Isthmian Premier home defeat to Margate. Kem Izzet's side also included former Bury player Emmanuel Machaya on the bench.

After surviving an early corner it was Bury who made the brighter start with Will Gardner's thunderbolt deflected out for a corner in the 10th minute with Taylor Hastings meeting the resulting corner only to see his shot go across the face of goal.

Brightlingsea's Rocha was illegally halted on a breakaway run with former Halstead Town man Kane Gilbert's free kick comfortable for Joe Rose to save.

An Edwards long throw-in in the 21st minute caused panic in the R's penalty box as Hughes' header looped over the goalkeeper before the defence managed to get it clear.

Moments later Taylor Hastings, who was providing a strong aerial threat coming up from Bury's back line, got a glancing header to a deep cross on the edge of the area which fizzed wide of the left-hand post.

But Bury's pressure was rewarded in the 29th minute when Maughn was tripped on the right side of the area leaving Ramadan to fire in from the penalty spot, sending his kick hard and low into the bottom right-hand corner.

The Blues continued on the front foot with great intensity in their play and felt they should have had another penalty in the 32nd minute but the referee waved away appeals for fouls on both Hughes and then Ramadan, who both seemed to be knocked to the ground. The frantic passage of play ended with Snaith seeing his volley deflected over the crossbar while a Ramadan looping held forced the keeper to make a save.

But the visitors managed to get back on level terms in the second minute of two added on at the end of the half with the ball breaking loose in the Bury box and number 9 Khris Oti firing the bouncing ball exquisitely into the top right-hand corner.

The timing was a bitter blow for the Blues who had been excellent taking the game to their higher-league visitors with a few goals lead not beyond what they deserved for their efforts.

Bury seemed to deal with the mental blow well though, getting back to taking the game to their opponents in the second half though without fashioning a clear-cut chance while Brightlingsea's Oti lifted over on the stretch at the far post.

Things began to get heated with the referee having to stop play at one point for an extended talk to the captains.

With the fouls mounting up it was from a set piece that Bury got their noses back in front in the 68th minute. Edwards sent in a deep free kick which Gardner expertly diverted at goal with executing a tricky header on the turn to perfection, sparking wild celebrations.

The home side entered the final 10 minutes having not been seriously troubled with Edwards marshalling the midfield well and the intensity not waning from their play.

In the 82nd minute hopes of a third killer goal were raised when Chambers-Shaw burst through the middle before seeing his shot deflected wide off the heels of Boyland.

Five minutes of stoppage time had to be played before the celebrations could begin but Bury managed to see it out without serious threat to confirm their name in Friday's Wembley draw.

Bury: Rose, Hood, Gardner, Edwards, Altintop, Hastings, Chambers-Shaw, Snaith, Hughes (c), Ramadan, Maughn. Unused subs: Cook, Nyadzayo, Pinyon, Hammett, Mayhew (GK).

Attendance: 400

Free Press Man of the Match: Carlos Edwards. Coolness personified in the midfield engine room, which rubbed off on the rest of the team as they showed great game management.