Bury Town scored twice in each half as they racked up a 4-1 win in a dominant derby display at the OCS Ram Meadow to continue Stowmarket Town’s winless season and move themselves into the play-off zone.

The fixture had pitted the team at the top of the form table in the Pitching In Isthmian League North Division against the only side yet to taste a victory.

But on a day that had started with those in the clubhouse watching non-league Maidstone United cause a massive shock to knock Championship high-flyers Ipswich Town out of the Emirates FA Cup across the county, there was to be no upset in west Suffolk.

After a glut of chances, Cemal Ramadan eventually made Stow’s young rearguard pay with two finishes inside two minutes towards the end of the first half to bring up his 19th goal in all competitions.

A scrappy second period saw Bury go on to double their advantage via Ed Upson’s simple 72nd minute strike and Lewis O’Malley’s near-post header six minutes later.

Basement side Stowmarket did pull one back in the 86th minute via Ewan Gordon-Clement’s deflected strike while Charlie De Lara-Bell saved them conceding a fifth from a 95th minute penalty, denying Ollie Yun.

A 10th game without defeat – that has seen eight wins – and back-to-back victories sees the Blues move up from seventh to fifth in the table on goal difference from Heybridge Swifts while Stowmarket remain on four points and 10 points from safety, with Grays Athletic holding three games in hand.

Bury’s assistant manager Paul Musgrove felt it could have been a greater scoreline but also gave credit to the side he previously managed.

“Full credit to them, they kept going and kept pushing us,” he said.

“I thought the game was quite scruffy in patches but credit to our boys, we got the job done, we were clinical when we needed to be and it could have been a couple more really, if we had been a little bit better in front of goal.”

Bury manager Cole Skuse made two changes from Tuesday’s 2-0 home win against Redbridge with former Stowmarket midfielder Upson coming back into the starting line-up along with Joe White as Josh Curry and Ryan Horne dropped to the bench.

David Lorimer made four changes from Stowmarket’s 3-2 home loss to Wroxham last Saturday, including two unannounced new signings in defender Kalum Benham, from Walsham-le-Willows, and striker Josh Buckles, most recently with Bacton United after coming through at AFC Sudbury’s academy.

Mamamadou Sylia Keita also came into the back three with Ipswich Town loanee Paul Moodie starting in midfield with Jack Newman out injured. Fellow Blues player Seth O’Neill carried the captain’s armband after Kieran Morley pulled up in the warm-up with an achilles issue. He was named on the bench along while under-23 players Will Wharton-Richardson and Elliot Ballard dropped out of the squad.

The first chance arrived for Bury in the fourth minute when Joe White headed on a corner but former Stow player Ollie Canfer could not direct his flicked effort on target.

Brown tried to test out visiting keeper Charlie De Lara Bell but fired straight at him from outside the area whle Zach Gayer made a good recovery challenge in the box after Cemal Ramadan had got beyond him bursting onto Upson’s long pass.

The early Bury pressure continued with a good delivery from Maughn seeing Ramadan send a header well over the crossbar.

The Blues turned defence into attack on the quarter-of-an-hour mark with Maughn going on a weaving run from inside his own half before finding Luke Brown whose shot was well blocked.

Ramadan forced a near-post save out of De Lara-Bell while Brown soon got free cutting in from the byline before pulling back for Upson who skied his shot from seven yards out.

Stowmarket, who had had a number of forays into their opponents half, earned themselves a corner in the 20th minute but were unable to produce a threat from it.

Up the other end Ethan Mayhew’s long-range effort was dealt with comfortably by De Lara-Bell while Brown failed to make proper contact with another opportunity to test him from inside the box.

There was a prolonged stoppage in the 28th minute as Thulborn received treatment on his ankle before having to be carried off on a stretcher, Joe Carroll, who joined from Stowmarket earlier in the season, replaced him.

Only a good save from Charlie Beckwith, diving to his left, kept the visitors from taking the lead in the 31st minute with their first effort of the match, Dylan Kirk cutting in from the right before sending in a curling effort from the edge of the area.

Bury continued to look for their breakthrough with White sending a free header from Upson’s corner off target.

They finally had the ball in the net in the 37th minute when, from an O’Malley deep throw-in Brown chested into Upson’s path and he lifted the ball over the defence to put Ramadan away. After breaking in down the left of the area, the striker cooly fired in across De Lara Bell into the far corner.

Inside two minutes the number nine had doubled his side’s advantage. Poor defending allowed Carroll’s long throw-in to bounce through the box before Ramadan took a touch ahead of smashing the ball into the far top corner from six yards.

Upson soon squandered a good chance to make it three when dragging a shot past the far post from the centre of the box.

Bury’s balls over the top were continuing to catch out the Stow defence with Ramadan getting clear twice in quick succession, the first seeing him put across the face of goal before Maughn’s weak effort, before De Lara-Bell was off his line well to make a save.

He was also called to push away Maughn’s effort in stoppage time while Brown’s first-time shot on the turn ran wide of the far post in a dominant Bury half where they really should have been further in front.

Stowmarket started the second half in encouraging fashion but O’Neill unable to get a clean hit on a shot from the edge of the area which spun through to Beckwith.

White put a cross-shot into the side netting as Bury pushed for a killer third goal with Gayfer having thwarted a couple of forays into the box.

Canfer’s clever throughball got Ramadan driving into the area again but Sylia Ketia got back well to snuff out the danger.

The game was drifting with few chances while Benham was the first player to be cautioned in the 64th minute for stopping Maughn’s breakaway before he was withdrawn.

A few minutes later Stow went close to getting one back when Joel Simmons met Rea’s left-wing cross with a header which was deflected behind for a corner.

Ramadan had the ball in the net again in the 68th minute but his hat-trick celebrations were quickly cut short by the offside flag with a blue flare thrown into the goalmouth then delaying the restart.

But a third Bury goal duly did arrive in the 72nd minute. Yun fed the ball inside to substitute Louis Arnold who slipped Ramadan into the area with his first-time pull back picking out the unmarked Upson who took a touch before providing a simple finish into the bottom right-hand corner.

With his work done, Ramadan went off to a warm round of applause a few minutes later with youngster Ben Curtis replacing him.

Player-manager Lorimer, who had also entered the fray, pounced on a loose ball before hitting a tame effort from long range.

Listen to the post match thoughts of assistant manager Liam Hawkins, following our 4-1 defeat to Bury Town...💛🖤 pic.twitter.com/nDm8HolWFY

It was 4-0 in the 78th minute when Kailndu-Banya produced a good block to turn Upson’s effort behind for a corner and from the former professional’s corner O’Malley rose well at the near post to send a downward header in at the near post.

Upson sent a free shot in the area wide soon after before an Ollie Yun shot after the ball bounced around the box was ruled out for offside.

But Stowmarket managed to get themselves on the scoreboard in the 86th minute when the Bury defence failed to clear a Moodie corner which was slid across to Gordon-Clement whose shot from inside the area took a heavy deflection off Mayhew on its way past Beckwith.

The hosts went back on the attack and should have extended their three-goal advantage in the fifth minute of stoppage time when Joe White was pulled over at a corner by Moodie with the referee pointing to the spot. However, Yun’s kick was tame with De Lara-Bell saving it diving to his left with the full-time whistle following moments later.

It was another derby day Stowmarket fans will want to quickly forget though – having lost the reverse fixture 5-0 in September – as the Bury faithful enjoyed the upturn in their season continuing ahead of travelling to seventh-placed Maldon & Tipree in a rearranged fixture, following a floodlight abandonment, on Tuesday (7.45pm).

Bury: Beckwith, Yun, O’Malley, Mayhew, White, Upson, Mayghn, Canfer, Ramadan, Brown (Arnold 65’), Thulborn (Carroll 29’).

Unsued subs: Curry, Horne, Curtis.

Booked: None.

Stowmarket: De Lara-Bell, Simmons (Lorimer 72’), Sylia Keita, Moodie, Gayfer, Benham (Kaliundu-Banya 65’), Kirk, O’Neil, Buckles (Buxton 86’), Gordon-Clement, Rea.

Unused sub: Morley.

Booked: Benham (64’), O’Neill (76’), Kailundu-Banya (90+2’).

Attendance: 778

Suffolk News Man of the Match: Cemal Ramadan. His runs caused the Stow defence problems all afternoon while he also provided a neat assist on top of his two goals on a day that saw him carry the captain’s armband.