SO, before we dissect where it all went wrong, surely we can all agree that it really did all go wrong?

No point in sweetening the pill, or pretending otherwise, as Phil Brown admirably declined to do afterwards.

This was a horror show. The sort of afternoon to give managers nightmares and leave players quaking at the prospect of a nasty video review inevitably awaiting them on Monday morning.

Right from the moment the team sheets appeared at the County Ground, there was the sense that something wasn’t quite right for Town.

There was no Michael Doughty, although as Brown quite reasonably alluded to afterwards, quite what that says about the collective strength of Town’s squad that they so noticeably missed the presence of one man - albeit their top scorer - is a slightly moot point.

The midfield too, while possessing creative talents in both Steven Alzate and Ellis Iandolo, looked a touch raw, while Brown had previously made little secret of the fact he was asking James Dunne to deputise in an unaccustomed role at right-back.

If some of the tactical calls, both before and during the match, had supporters sitting uncomfortably, the players hardly helped matters.

Passes went astray, runs weren’t made, tackles not completed. As for cohesion? Well, there wasn’t any.

The home side were utterly ineffective in attack, highlighted by mustering just three shots, yet the front two were starved of service from a midfield that was embarrassingly outclassed, failing to deal with their opponents, start any meaningful moves forward or protect the young centre-back pairing behind them.

Town were second best across the board, unable to handle a Bury side that made a mockery of their lack of an away league victory since January - without regularly getting out of anything above second gear themselves.

Visiting goalkeeper Joe Murphy managed the bizarre feat of conceding a goal without having to make a save in anger and, given his lack of employment on the day, he deserved to be offended that he had failed to keep a clean sheet

Brown had made four changes from the side that had defeated Newport in the Checkatrade Trophy in midweek, Alzate and McCourt coming in while Luke McCormick retained his place in goal ahead of Lawrence Vigouroux after two clean sheets.

Yet that feeling of unease manifested itself straight from the kick-off.

Barely 20 seconds were on the clock when Town failed to deal with an innocuous ball down the right flank and the home defence looked all at sea as the ball bobbled around, McCormick needing to make a smart tip around the post from Chris Dagnall.

A minute later he was gathering at his near post as the Shakers threatened again, with Town not yet able to settle into the game.

That the hosts were ‘off’ was exemplified by captain-for-the-day Marc Richards finding himself in acres of space 40 yards out but advancing tentatively and getting shut out.

Bury too were guilty of over-thinking matters when Nicky Adams crossed to the far post where Callum McFadzean, 15 yards out, dithered when a first-time shot may have caused problems.

But with Dunne struggling in his right-back role and the midfield continually getting over-run, Bury deservedly took the lead on 19 minutes.

Byron Moore’s tenacity got him to the ball in the right channel in front of a sliding Sid Nelson. As Bury strived to get bodies up in support, Moore advanced on a retreating Matt Taylor, feinted right and his thumping close-range shot could only be touched into the roof of the net by McCormick.

If the home fans hoped that would shake their side from their slumber, they were sorely mistaken as the performance continued to deteriorate.

Half an hour in, Brown had seen enough and hooked the unfortunate Iandolo, sending on Toumani Diagouraga in an attempt to restore some semblance of authority to midfield.

Yet it was Bury again threatening as Jay O’Shea’s driving run ended with McCormick blocking his cross-cum-shot behind for a corner before Dagnall headed high into the Town End from six yards while totally unmarked.

The hosts limped towards half-time in the same vein, not troubling the Shakers with any sort of shot on target, as referee Kevin Johnson’s whistle came as something of a relief.

The home side at least started the second half with a little more purpose and five minutes in they were unexpectedly level.

Elijah Adebayo worked the left channel before Matt Taylor’s cross was headed behind by Chris Stokes. From the corner, Luke Woolfenden and Sid Nelson both went up for the header and as the ball dropped, Woolfenden pinged a crisp volley past Joe Murphy.

But the bad old habits crept in again and five minutes later, Bury were back in front. It was all too easy for Moore and Danny Mayor to work their way into the left-edge of the box and when Mayor squared to O’Shea, his daisy cutter hit the post, Moore following up to fire home the rebound through McCormick.

Brown sent on Keshi Anderson to try and inspire more up front from the home side but the subsequent tactical reshuffle merely appeared to add to the confusion as Mayor’s influence grew throughout.

Town continued to look like lost souls, unsure of their shape or purpose and Diagouraga did superbly to block an unmarked Adams’ drive before the defence somehow crowded out Chris Stokes after McCormick had spilled a cross.

McCourt made way for Joe Romanski but the hosts’ threat continued to be minimal, Anderson letting fly from 30 yards but shooting wide.

Seven minutes of injury time raised hopes of a revival similar to those against Macclesfield, Tranmere and M K Dons but it was plain to see that Town were all out of ideas long before then.