BURY picked up a valuable point in their fight to avoid the drop against a below-par Preston at Deepdale.

Kevin Blackwell’s strugglers put in a disciplined display to shut out their Lancashire neighbours, surviving a frenetic opening 15 minutes to restrict the make-shift home side to a handful of half chances.

At the other end, Shakers’ Zac Thompson had two great chances to steal what would have been a deserved victory.

The on-loan Leeds midfielder hit the side-netting when he had time and space to pick his spot in the first half, then forced Preston keeper Thorsten Stuckmann into a decent save wth a curled shot in the 73rd minute.

The goalless draw – Bury’s first since the opening day of the season – sees Bury remain third bottom in League One but they are now just two points from safety.