BURY’S run of miserable luck continued on Tuesday night as Preston dumped them out of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy on penalties and stretched the their winless streak to six matches.

But the way the Shakers battled back after going behind three times in an amazing Northern Area quarter-final tie made it feel more like a moral victory and could still prove to be a turning point in their difficult season.

Goals from Joe Skarz, Matt Doherty and a sublime stoppage-time strike from captain Steven Schumacher countered scrappy efforts from Preston’s Jack King, Andy Procter and Stuart Beavon.

Both sides then buried their first four spot-kicks, before Preston keeper Thorsten Stuckman pulled off a smart save to deny on-loan Bolton Wanderers midfielder Gregg Wylde, and Graham Cummins grabbed his chance to send the Deepdale outfit into the regional semi-finals.

Yet, going into the shootout, it looked like fate would be on Bury’s side.

Schumacher’s Beckham-esque free-kick in the third minute of stoppage time handed the home side their third equaliser of the night and capped a frenetic final 10 minutes that included three goals and a sending off.

All of that drama seemed a million miles away as Preston went into half-time 1-0 up.

Bury gifted the visitors their opener in the 25th minute when the defence was caught napping, allowing King to arrive late in the box completely unmarked to fire home Joel Byrom’s clever corner.

If Preston expected their lowly neighbours to lay down for them in the second half though, they were sadly mistaken.

Joe Skarz headed the Shakers level in the 62nd-minute, albeit in controversial circumstances. Stuckman threw the ball out as Procter went down claiming an injury, but former Deepdale favourite David Healy refused to throw it back and the Shakers made their way to the edge of the Preston box before referee Gary Sutton awarded them a free-kick.

Up stepped Schumacher to swing in a dangerous delivery that Skarz headed across goal and into the far corner.

Preston boss Graham Westley was livid on the touchline, and would later refuse to shake Blackwell’s hand after the match.

But he was soon smiling after Preston went ahead with a controversial goal of their own seven minutes later.

Bury keeper Trevor Carson was felled as he came out to punch a Preston cross and was lying prostrate on the penalty spot when Procter stepped up to curl home a precise finish.

If that was supposed to be it for the Shakers, nobody told on-loan defender Matt Doherty, who made it 2-2 with six minutes to play, firing past Stuckman from an impossible angle on the right touchline.

Preston full-back Shane Cansdell-Sherriff was then sent off for his second bookable offence two minutes later but, after chances were wasted at both ends in a breathless finale, Westley’s side looked to have broken Bury hearts with a fluke third goal in the 90th minute.

Former Shakers winger David Amoo, who came on two minutes from time, hit a hopeful shot from the edge of the box that was charged down and spun high into the air. Carson looked to have it covered, but the floundering keeper, still groggy after his earlier collision, dropped it at the feet of Beavon for a simple tap-in.

But, yet again, Bury refused to lie down, and the captain’s late wonder strike sent the majority of the 2,000 fans inside Gigg Lane into raptures.

Blackwell’s boys went into the shootout on a high, but four fantastic spot kicks from Schumacher, Doherty, Craig Jones and Mark Hughes were well matched by Preston.

Neither goalkeeper had been given a sniff before Wylde stepped up, but, despite firing low and hard to Stuckman’s left, the Preston stopper somehow got down to pull off an incredible save.

Sadly for Bury, Cummins made no mistake with the decisive spot kick to deny the cash-strapped club a lucrative televised semi-final at Coventry.

BURY: Carson 5; Doherty 7, Sodje 6, Hughes 6, Skarz 7; Worrall 7 (C Jones 90), Schumacher 8, Thompson 6, Wylde 6; Healy 6 (Hewitt 74 6), Hopper 6 (John-Lewis 74 6).

Not used: A Jones, Soares.

PRESTON: Stuckman; King, Foster, Wright, Cansdell-Sherriff; Mousinho, Procter, Byrom, Monakana (Holmes 45 Amoo 88); Beavon, Cummins.

Not used: Simonsen, Welsh, Elding.

Referee: Gary Sutton.

Attendance: 2,023 (783 visiting).