Jamie Ward celebrated his return to the team following his suspension by scoring twice from the penalty spot against Bury.

However, it was not enough to seal the three points for the Gulls as they were held to a 2-2 draw following a determined fightback by the Shakers at Plainmoor.

The Northern Ireland Under-21 international netted his first spot-kick in the 32^nd minute after he was felled in the area by Bury's former Northern Ireland keeper Alan Fettis. Ward struck again in the 49^th minute to give the Gulls a two goal advantage before the Shakers hit back with an effort from Marc Pugh and a late penalty from leading scorer Andy Bishop.

Lubos Kubik made three changes to the side that faced Southampton in the FA Cup as Ward returned to the side and loan signings Jamal Easter and Ryan Dickson, from Cardiff City and Plymouth Argyle respectively, made their first starts for Torquay. Dickson was making his debut for the Gulls and the club had been in negotiations with the Pilgrims for his signature for several weeks.

The Gulls made an attacking start to the match as Shakers keeper Alan Fettis was forced into making a sharp reflex save to deny Matt Hockley. Lee Thorpe and Ryan Dickson also went close for Torquay.

Jamie Ward soon proved to be a handful for the Bury defence and his pace caused them a lot of problems.

In the 32^nd minute, referee Iain Williamson awarded the Gulls a penalty after Ward was brought down in the area by Alan Fettis when he was through on goal. Fettis was then dismissed by referee Williamson for the challenge. Ward stepped up to take the spot-kick and drilled it past the Shakers replacement keeper Aaron Grundy to give Torquay the lead.

The Gulls came close to increasing their lead a couple of minutes later when Lee Mansell fired a long range shot towards the Bury goal which Grundy managed to tip over the bar for a corner.

After the break, Torquay looked to add to their lead as Lee Mansell and Jamie Ward both had shots blocked inside the penalty area.

The Gulls doubled their advantage in the 49^th minute when referee Williamson pointed to the spot after Paul Scott was adjudged to have pushed Jamie Ward in the penalty area. Ward then stepped up to fire the spot-kick past Aaron Grundy to score his tenth goal of the season and to complete his brace for the afternoon.

On loan winger Ryan Dickson was proving to be a real threat for the Gulls and he produced a number of crosses that posed problems for the Bury defence.

Ward limped offin the sixty sixth minute and the Shakers, with the advantage of the strong wind, started to apply pressure to the reshuffled Torquay lineup. Their efforts were rewarded in the 79^th minute when Marc Pugh drilled the ball home past Martin Horsell.

In the 90^th minute referee Williamson ruled that Bury striker Andy Bishop had been fouled in the penalty area and awarded a spot kick to the Shakers. Bishop stepped up to convert the penalty to secure a point for the visitors that 15 minutes before had seemed out of their reach.

Match sponsors Synergy Publishing named Jamie Ward as their man of the match.