IT has become something of a rare experience in recent months to watch a Stanley League Two defeat.

After three seasons of a relegation battle, fans were just getting used to the winning feeling with 12 points out of 12 so far in¿December and boss John Coleman in with a shout of the Manager of the Month award.

And, at around 3.20pm on Monday afternoon with the Reds winning and Notts County drawing, Stanley were in their highest ever League Two spot – sixth. But then it all went wrong.

Referee David Webb, who a couple of hours earlier had warmed Stanley’s hearts by declaring the Lancashire derby on, soon upset them with some harsh decisions as Stanley slipped to a derby defeat.

Webb’s booking of Billy Kee for diving when Efe Sodje had pushed the Stanley player was bizarre.

And the most questionable moment was when, from a Stanley free kick, the Bury defence had run out but Jimmy Ryan had run from deep to get the ball - he was on-side and only had the Bury keeper to beat but the assistant inexplicably raised his flag.

And the final insult was the penalty decision given to Bury at the death when Stanley had two or three appeals throughout the game turned down.

But, while the referee didn’t help Stanley’s cause, other factors led to the Reds’ first defeat in six league games.

They did waste chances. In the first half they had numerous opportunities – Symes took one after keeper Wayne Brown’s poor clearance rebounded off Bobby Grant and fell nicely for the striker’s 13th goal of the season – but they were unable to build on that.

Ryan failed to capitalise on a similar error by the Bury keeper and Grant fired wide in a good position.

And, after Sean McConville had scored his first league goal to get the Reds back on level terms at 2-2, sub Billy Kee burst through with only Brown to beat but the keeper denied him.

If any one of those opportunities had hit the back of the net, then we would have been talking about five successive Reds’ victories and a real swoop for the play-offs.

Instead though, it was fellow play-off chasers Bury who got a boost going into the new year.

Dean Bouzanis did pull off two good saves to deny Mike Jones and Bury were a threat on the break in the first half but they didn’t look capable of four goals.

But then Stanley, unlike them this season, just seemed to fold. Two goals in three minutes after the break set the tone when ex-Red David Worrall set up Jones who fired into the net.

Then captain Stephen Dawson, who has rejected a new contract at Gigg Lane, played a ball into the area which caused chaos and it was scrambled home by Andy Morrell.

At 2-1 it was still anyone’s game and at 2-2, the next goal was almost certainly going to win the game.

Kee wasted his chance and then Bury took their next one when a corner was headed down by Sodje but was scooped out by Bouzanis before it came to Andy Procter and Morrell challenging with the Bury striker claiming a second.

And that penalty in injury time came when Darran Kempson was judged to have fouled Ryan Lowe with one-time Stanley target Lowe converting to make the three points safe and leaving manager John Coleman frustrated.

What angered the Reds chief most was the fact Bury had called off their game against Bradford on Boxing Day while Stanley had gone through a tricky test on a heavy pitch at Morecambe and then battled to get Monday’s match on with finances the priority – especially with the 3000-strong crowd.

Coleman said: "Before people label me a moaner or sour grapes, I have no complaints about getting beat as the game could have gone either way. They have made chances and we made chances and they took theirs. But if I had been clever enough I would have got the game called off. We tried to get the pitch right. Bury called their game off on Saturday and they were fresh and we weren’t.  If we hadn’t needed the money the game wouldn’t have been on, We would have done what Bury did."

He was first to admit though that his side weren’t as solid as they should have been. "That’s as loose as we have been defensively in about seven or eight games and that’s disappointing.  Hopefully it was just an aftermath of Saturday but we have given more chances away against Bury than we have given in two months. We had two great chances – Bobby and Jimmy have missed sitters and if Billy Kee’s goes in straight after making it 2-2 then it’s a different story but, on balance of the game, I have no complaints about the result."

But he wasn’t happy with referee Mr Webb. "I have seen some refereeing performances but I don’t think I have ever gone as long in a half without getting a foul as we did and then you think you get one and it goes to the other side for diving.

"And when you get a chance disallowed when the player is 25 yards outside you are scratching your head. I don’t know why we go to these meetings – perhaps the rules have changed over Christmas and no one has told us.  I don’t want to be too critical of other people’s sides but they (Bury) aren’t very good defensively. I don’t think Ben Futcher has ever gone through a game where he hasn’t given a foul away so it’s a red letter day for him."

The defeat spoilt Coleman’s December record - but now he knows he has to pick hs team up as there are more important months to come.