Bury 3 Huddersfield Town 3: Smithies apologises as Town again throw away winning points

The Terriers, backed by nearly 3,300 supporters in a crowd of under 6,000, were cruising until former Bradford midfielder Steven Schumacher scored with a deflected free-kick.

It came soon after Jordan Rhodes put Town 3-0 up on 29 minutes and the problems which have dogged their season soon set in.

Bury nearly scored again before half-time when former Leeds striker Mike Grella volleyed wide from Schumacher’s set-piece.

The Shakers levelled when Lenell John-Lewis swept home unmarked on 70 minutes and Ashley Eastham pounced in stoppage time.

Town, who had thrown away a 2-0 lead at Stevenage in midweek, have made a habit this season of drawing games from seemingly comfortable winning positions.

Smithies said: “The fans turned out in big numbers. We had more than half the crowd and we let them down. Their backing has been tremendous this season and if they stick with us I’m sure it’ll spur us on to giving automatic promotion a real go.”

Sean Morrison blasted Town ahead and Rhodes capped a flowing move on 25 minutes with a well-placed header before striking home a scorching shot.

New manager Simon Grayson said his players have a “mental problem” when it comes to defending leads.

He said: “When you’re 3-0 up why stop doing what you’ve been doing to get there? Why start being negative or nervous? A lot of football matches are played inside people’s heads.

“The team were naive and didn’t sense danger as a team or as individuals, which is something that has cost them dearly.”

Bury: Carson; Picken, Hughes, Eastham, Skarz; Carrington (Amoo 46), Worrall, Schumacher, Sweeny; Grella (Elford-Alliyu 69), John-Lewis (Bishop) 83). Unused substitutes: Branigan, Jones.

Huddersfield Town: Smithies; Hunt (Woods 46), McCombe, Morrison, Naysmith; Gudjonsson, Kay; Ward (Gobern 78), Arfield, Novak (Roberts 88); Rhodes. Unused substitutes: Bennett, Lee.

Referee: F Graham (Essex).

Man of the match: Jordan Rhodes.