The Mariners were given a lesson in finishing by Bury at Gigg Lane today.
A brace from Danny Mayor and further goals from Will Aimson and Nicky Adams saw Michael Jolley’s side being well beaten in front of 886 travelling Town fans.
Town made three changes from the 2-1 Checkatrade Trophy on Tuesday night, with Danny Collins returning to the heart of the defence after recovering from a broken arm.
Elsewhere, Andrew Fox made his first league start on the left of the back four, while Harry Clifton and Mitch Rose were included after playing in the Checkatrade Trophy against Notts County.
The hosts were to take the lead on 14 minutes.
Mayor broke down the left from the halfway line before cutting inside on to his right foot, before curling an unstoppable shot into the corner and beyond McKeown.
The Mariners had their chances to bring themselves level, and should have drawn level when Jordan Cook had two goes at the Bury goal.
The first saw him denied by a Bury defender after some nice build-up play from the visitors, before a mistake from the hosts allowed the striker to go through one-on-one with Joe Murphy, but he could only strike straight at the goalkeeper.
And there was another glorious chance for Town when Rose drove the ball into the penalty area from the right, but Harry Clifton couldn’t get his effort on target as he slid to meet the ball.
The Shaker’s second came from a controversial corner decision, with the ball clearly not crossing the line. From the flag kick, Will Aimson sneaked in at the back post to head home.
McKeown, who had made several saves on the day, made a great stop to deny Chris Dagnall, but the ball came straight back into the box for the striker to shoot at goal, with Adams getting the final touch to bundle the ball over the line.
Mayor grabbed grabbed his second and the Shaker’s fourth minutes later.
Bury
1 Joe Murphy
3 Chris Stokes
5 Adam Thompson
4 Will Aimson
7 Nicky Adams (C)
21 Callum McFadzean
12 Callum Styles
26 Jay O'Shea
10 Danny Mayor
32 Caolan Lavery
11 Chris Dagnall
Subs
13 Mathew Hudson
2 Tom Miller
19 Jamie Barjonas
31 Neil Danns
29 Callum Hulme
27 Gold Omotayo
15 Byron Moore
Town
1 James McKeown
24 Harry Davis
19 Andrew Fox
6 Danny Collins
25 Alex Whitmore
4 John Welsh (C)
15 Harry Clifton
7 Jake Hessenthaler
11 Jordan Cook
8 Mitch Rose
16 Martyn Woolford
Subs
23 Sam Russell
12 Akin Famewo
27 Luke Hendrie
26 Brandon Buckley
9 JJ Hooper
14 Louis Robles
18 Charles Vernam
Attendance: 3,677 (886)
Referee: Anthony Backhouse
