Bury St Edmunds Director of Rugby, Gavin Hogg, had “mixed emotions” after his side’s thunderous 29-29 home draw against Cinderford last Saturday.

Bury were trailing 21-0 at half-time, but came storming back in the second half and were poised to celebrate what would have been a memorable win, until conceding a try to the last play of the game.

But despite that last-gasp Cinderford try, Hogg was more than happy with his side’s impressive recent haul of 18 points from a possible 20 in their last four matches, as well as their stirring second-half display against a Cinderford outfit who are five places above them in the National League Two South table.

“It was a fantastic game of rugby, especially if you were a neutral or didn’t have a direct affiliation with the match-day squad,” explained Hogg.

“But it was a case of mixed emotion for us. I thought we were a little bit too relaxed to start with, having come off the back of three good wins, and we conceded three soft tries in the first half.

“But we felt that we could really hurt them, speaking at half-time, if we could get possession, and our replacements really made an impact from the bench in the second half.

“Sam Sterling obviously had a big impact, coming on after his two-match suspension. He started to get over the game-line and make some breaks for us, while Sean Stapleton also made a difference after his recent injury.

“They gave the other boys a lift, and we were able to play more expansive rugby.

“It was terrific to come back from such a big deficit. We showed great resolve and resilience (down to 14 men due to Dan Collins’ red card) to get back into the match.

“But it was obviously disappointing that we were not able to finish it, and get the reward of a win, with them scoring off the final play,” added Hogg.

Bury had rattled off three wins over Exmouth, Barnes and Barnstaple before the exciting weekend draw at The Haberden.

Hogg continued: “Considering where we were, at the start of March, we have to be happy with a haul of 18 points from a possible 20. We are now mathematically assured of our League Two status, and we are on our best run of the season.”

It was 11th-placed Bury’s first draw in 27 matches.