Jamie Hoyland scored the only goal of the game as Bury edged to a narrow victory on their final away day of the season at Craven Cottage this afternoon.
The Whites wanted to make their final home game of a campaign mired by off-field battles for their future a carnival – handing out hundreds of free tickets to local residents and bringing in a marching band as pre-match entertainment – but the spirited Shakers revelled in the role of party-poopers. Midfielder Hoyland punished dreadful home marking to head his twelfth goal of the campaign past Jim Stannard from Liam Robinson’s corner.
Fulham pushed forward in search of an equaliser with experienced winger Clive Walker their most consistent goal threat. But the former Chelsea star saw two of his shots cleared off the line by Bury defenders Keith Clements and Mark Higgins as the visitors held on to claim all three points. The visitors missed the leadership of captain Andy Hill, who was forced off with ankle injury sustained in the first half, and may miss their final game of the season at home to Chester City on Saturday.
But Fulham chairman Jimmy Hill provoked the biggest cheer of the afternoon from a sizeable contingent of home fans when he put the result in perspective on the pitch after the final whistle. The TV pundit and former Fulham player, who put together a consortium to save the club earlier this season, told the Fulham faithful to ‘remember that we are still here’ and introduced pre-war heroes Bob Thomas and Jim Taylor, who received a rapturous reception from a crowd that was in excess of 5,000 fans.
FULHAM: Stannard; Oakes, Eckhardt, Hopkins, Elkins, Marshall, Scott, Barnett, Walker, Cole, Davies (Hoddy 75). Subs (not used): Greaves.
BURY: Farnworth; Hill (Valentine 37), Pashley, Higgins, Clements; Lee, Brotherston, McIllroy, Hoyland; Taylor, Robinson.
GOAL: Hoyland (33).
ATTENDANCE: 5,283.
