BURY 0 CITY 2

HE HAD been rudely targeted with shouts of “Sumo” and his nose was reddened with sun burn.

But Saturday was a grand day out for Stuart McCall and City.

The Bantams boss responded to the taunts from behind the dug-out by lifting his shirt at his portly detractor.

“I showed off my six pack,” he laughed. “Or more like my eight pack.

“But then it wasn’t as if he was exactly small either.”

McCall knew the real heavyweight message had been delivered by his team as they took another big step towards the Promised Land of the play-offs.

It’s the six gap – the difference to sinking Southend in seventh place – that really matters. With only 12 to play for, the prize moves ever nearer.

Top-six security could even be clinched over the Easter weekend. But there should be no fears about City’s levels of patience if they have to wait a little bit longer.

All seven of the goals scored in their last four wins have come in the second half. This is a team that are not lacking when it comes to staying power.

Like Coventry, Swindon and Walsall before, Bury were a stubborn nut to crack.

Prior to the five-goal blip at Oxford 11 days earlier, they had kept four clean sheets on the bounce.

McCall had wisely warned his troops that it might take a while to wear down the home resistance.

Opposite number Lee Clark spoke more grandly about the first of five Champions’ League finals for his relegation fighters. This was an Intertoto result for their survival hopes on a day when other scores had conspired against them.

For the buzzing Bantams, news of slips from Southend and Fleetwood and Millwall’s draw added to the sunshine mood on the hottest day since early season.

Bolton, having done them a favour at Roots Hall in midweek, could not repeat the trick against Scunthorpe but it was still a weekend of significant gain.

It must have been a strange sensation for the 2,537-strong travelling army to be basking in such balmy temperatures at a ground where it always, without fail, rains.

But this winning lark is becoming an encouragingly familiar feeling. That’s five in seven now and 16 points from a possible 21 – promotion form in anyone’s book.

“We’re on our way” chimed the packed away end throughout the second half. And while City will protest strongly that they are still far from reaching the dream destination, there is a determination about their stride along the route.

The hosts, for their apparently modest size, pack a player budget up there with the best of them. As Phil Parkinson repeatedly pointed out, they are not “little Bury” when it comes to wages.

Top scorer James Vaughan is understood to be on more than anyone at Valley Parade.

You expect big goals for the big bucks and only Billy Sharp has scored more in League One than his tally of 22.

Vaughan had his moments but was largely kept in check by a Bantams’ backline who were good value for successive clean sheets.

Colin Doyle was again well protected and ironically his best work went unnoticed – by referee Trevor Kettle and the officials at least.

The Irishman got a vital knee in the way of Vaughan’s fizzing first-half drive to deflect it past the post.

But Kettle signalled for a goal kick to general amazement – and the consternation of the one-time Huddersfield striker, who was promptly booked for his entirely justified protest.

I can imagine what his fellow frontman George Miller’s uncle would have thought, the former Premier League ref Mark Halsey.

McCall had stuck with the same line-up that had finally worn down Walsall’s resistance. The only slight tinker was to tell Mark Marshall to stay wide regardless.

Left or right, the winger was given the instructions to get chalk on his boots and discourage Bury’s wing-backs from bombing on.

Greg Leigh did occasionally show the attacking tendencies that proved him to be such an effective understudy for James Meredith during his City spell. One jink in particular inside two tackles set up Jacob Mellis for a shot that did not miss by much.

But most of his afternoon was spent shadowing Marshall – though not closely enough to prevent another wonderful addition to the winger’s repertoire.

McCall was cheekily claiming an “assist” for the precise left-foot strike that blew the game open after 56 minutes.

He had given Marshall a flea in his ear during the interval for neglecting to pull the trigger from an almost identical spot in the first half.

So when Marshall received the ball 25 yards out, there was only one thing on his mind.

The fact he was glued to the right touchline at the time never came into his thinking.

He slipped inside with Leigh on his trail, moving across and further still before finding enough space just past the D to leave keeper Joe Murphy rooted to the spot.

It was another example of that two-footed talent that McCall raves about – and why getting Marshall’s signature on a new contract as soon as the season ends must be a priority.

As with the previous game, he had delivered the spark to give City the winning impetus. As the terrace anthem goes, there “Ain’t Nobody” like him in this squad.

The fact his goal came straight after Vaughan had stabbed wide at the other end highlights the tight margins that managers love to talk about.

But Bury subsided once they fell behind. For a team with so much time to prepare between games, they suddenly appeared leaden-footed and devoid of ideas.

Still City needed a second to make sure and Charlie Wyke duly delivered to banish that pesky stat of not scoring on his travels.

Josh Cullen burst forward to supply Jordy Hiwula, who did make an impact from the bench.

City’s top scorer had already seen one close-range effort blocked by Murphy but this time a low pass squirted off a Bury boot past the keeper for Wyke to tap home.

There was fat chance of Bury coming back from that as City enjoyed their fun in the sun with a ninth away win. Not a vintage display by a long chalk but another show of play-off muscle.