Newmarket Town boss Michael Shinn happy with point collected during derby draw with Bury Town

Despite seeing his side concede a late equaliser, Newmarket Town manager Michael Shinn was pleased with the point that his side collected from Tuesday’s 1-1 draw with Bury Town.

It appeared that the Jockeys were going to end their run of three Isthmian League North Division games without a victory when Ryan Cole fired them in front just after the hour mark at the Tristel Stadium.

However, promotion candidates Bury restored parity seven minutes from time via Cemal Ramadan’s penalty, which ensured that the derby spoils were shared.

Nevertheless, Shinn was still happy with a result that moved his team up to 19th in the table ahead of Saturday’s trip to eighth-placed Grays Athletic (3pm).

“It’s a huge point for us,” said the Newmarket boss. “I watched them on Sunday (in a 4-2 win over Cambridge City) and they’re an excellent team.

“Everyone in their team is really comfortable on the ball, they’ve got a great style, they really dominate the ball and they keep you penned in.

“I said when we got close to a result at their place (a 2-1 defeat in September) it was important that when they came here we got a result – we’ve done that.

“We stuck in there, we were resilient and they know they’ve been in a game.

“You can look at it and think we were 1-0 up late on and it’s finished 1-1, but if you’d offered us a point at the start we’d have taken that.”

Another positive for Shinn was the way that his team adapted to a change in formation.

Including last weekend’s 2-2 draw at Waltham Abbey, Newmarket have conceded a division-high 33 goals this term.

But with a three-man defensive set-up and wing-backs in operation, they looked more of a solid outfit against the Blues.

Shinn added: “It worked and it can only work if the boys commit to it and believe in it. They were excellent and had to cover a lot of distance.

“It’s a system that we can stick with and use in certain games.

“We’re lucky with our squad that we can change shape quite easily – we’ve played three or four different systems this season.

“But tonight it worked well and when you get a result against a team like Bury, maybe it’s something you stick with because we’ve been conceding too many goals and this shored us up.”

Meanwhile, Shinn also revealed that goalscorer Cole will return to Sky Bet League One side Wycombe Wanderers for a second trial next week.

The versatile left-footed midfielder recently spent a few days training with the Chairboys, who are keen to have another look.

Shinn said: “I was pleased he could play for us tonight.

“I’ve said this all along – I’d be more than pleased to lose him because he deserves this chance.

“He’s been excellent for us in the period he’s been with the first team. I’d love nothing more than for him to get a deal.”