RICHIE Barker bemoaned the Shakers’ lack of aggression in the final third after their three-match unbeaten run came to an end.

Although the Bury boss believed his side deserved a point, he criticised them for the lack of clearcut chances created.

And Barker is determined his men do not repeat the form which saw them slump to seven straight defeats before their recent improvement.

“We’ve talked about being more aggressive in the box and we’ve got to put that right,” said Barker after the O’s Dean Cox swept home David Mooney’s cut-back on the stroke of half time to score the game’s only goal.

“Although we didn’t work their keeper enough, I thought we deserved a point.

“I thought we played well enough for spells in the first half and certainly in the second. Yes, they had chances, but most of the time that was when we were throwing caution to the wind.

“It wasn’t our day but we can’t keep saying that because we used that for a month before. We’ve just got to make sure it is our day next week and the week after.”

Bury had started slowly before centre-half Ashley Eastham had a header cleared off the line from Peter Sweeney’s corner.

Eastham was then forced off with an ankle injury but the fit-again Mark Hughes came on for his first game in eight weeks.

Bury keeper Trevor Carson was called into action to deny Mooney. Orient then played Mooney in behind left-back Joe Skarz, with Cox finding space in the Bury box to sweep home his team-mate’s cut-back.

Former Bury favourite Stephen Dawson and Kevin Lisbie both fired wide shortly after the break, and Barker responded by replacing Shaun Byrne with fit-again captain Steve Schumacher, also back after two months out.

The midfielder immediately found David Amoo, whose right-wing cross was headed against the bar by Mike Jones at the far post.

Schumacher’s 25-yard strike then forced a good save from Orient keeper Lee Butcher before Barker sent striker Shaun Harrad on for right-back Phil Picken.

But Sweeney’s deflected cross, which just cleared the bar, was the closest Bury went to a late equaliser.

“I always thought it was going to be tight – two teams that had struggled but then had won their last two,” said Barker.

“We played similar formations, cancelled each other out a bit, and a minute before their goal I was thinking what I’d say at half time.

“I was going to say it’s that tight that one goal would win it, from a set-piece or a mistake.

“And we lost the one player who was in the box and he scores the goal, although it wasn’t a blatant error. There was nothing between the two teams.”

Leyton Orient: Butcher 7, McSweeney 7, Forbes 6, Cuthbert 8, Daniels 7, Clarke 8, Dawson 7, Spring 7, Cox 7, Lisbie 7, Mooney 7 (Porter 78). Subs not used: Laird, Omozusi, Lovelock, Cureton.

Bury: Carson 7, Picken 6 (Harrad 7, 72), Sodje 6, Eastham 7 (Hughes 8, 26), Skarz 6, Byrne 7 (Schumacher 8, 65), Sweeney 7, Coke 7, M. Jones 6, Amoo 6, Bishop 6. Subs not used: A. Jones, Belford.

Attendance: 3,943 (327 Bury fans).

Referee: Darren Deadman.