Bury 2 - Kidderminster Harriers 0

SUPER-confident Manchester United have provisionally booked a swanky South Wales hotel in readiness for the FA Cup final at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.

That might be out of the cash-strapped Shakers reach, but maybe chairman Terry Robinson should put a call in to Barry Island holiday camp for the third weekend in April.

That's when the final of the LDV Vans Trophy will be contested at the superb 72,000 venue and the Shakers kept on course for a Spring trip to Glamorgan with a convincing second round win over Nationwide League new boys Kidderminster.

It wasn't so much that Andy Preece's men progressed in the much-maligned competition more the way they destroyed Jan Molby's side.

And the two superb goals that skipper Nick Daws scored that effectively wrapped the game up in the first half were the least they deserved from an excellent footballing display.

Preece made seven changes from the side that slumped pitifully against Cambridge at the weekend.

In came young defenders Danny Swailes, Nicky Hill and Chris Armstrong while Indian international Baichung Bhutia replaced suspended midfielder Jason Jarrett and Lee Unsworth, Lutel James and Preece himself made the starting line-up.

The visitors coach was held up by a crash on the motorway, delaying the kick-off for ten minutes - they may well have wished they'd stayed on the M6.

Playing the kind of pleasing passing game that set the Second Division alight earlier in the season the Shakers had their Third Division opponents on the back foot from the kick-off and they never seriously threatened in return.

Despite Daws' double strike that made him into the club's current leading scorer with five goals it was the form of Bhutia and Armstrong that were the talking points.

The diminutive Indian, playing in a deeper role than Jarrett usually takes up, looked like he'd been there all his life as he rarely wasted a ball with intelligent distribution and prompting.

Crosshead

Armstrong, meanwhile, once again belied his tender years and inexperience and his brother - former Shaker Gordon Armstrong now at Burnley - must have been delighted with his young sibling's display as he watched from the stands.

"I thought it was a very good performance," said Preece. "Completely different from the Cambridge game on Saturday.

"After being booed off at the end of that game we knew we had to be brave, get the ball down and pass it.

"I think it helped as Kidderminster played the same way so we didn't get caught up getting drawn into a long-ball game as we did at the weekend."

Another big bonus was managing to open up a two goal lead inside the first half hour.

Both were out of the top drawer. The first, after 17 minutes, had it's origins in a move that went the length of the field and resulted in Paul Reid delivering an inch-perfect cross from the left that Daws powerfully headed home from eight yards.

The second arrived eight minutes later when Reid's right wing corner was only cleared as far as the Bury skipper who turned and curled a terrific curling effort just inside the post from 20 yards.

There were numerous chances to add to that tally, James hooked a ball acrobatically over the bar, Unsworth almost caught out Harriers 'keeper Tim Clarke with a 35 yard effort from wide on the right and Asian superstar Bhutia almost put his name forward for goal of the season with a 20 yard volley from yet another Reid corner that would have been the Shakers third goal had it gone a yard of Clarke either way.

As it stands Preece's men are still looking for their first three goal haul of the campaign but the Bury boss will be hoping to transfer Wednesday evening's form to the league when they make the trip to Northampton Town tomorrow. Skipper's verdict