GRIMSBY Town maintained their unbeaten start to the season with a 1-1 draw against Bury at Gigg Lane.
The Mariners dominated the first half and went in at the break 1-0 up through Paul Bolland's tenth minute opener.
But the second half belonged to the home side and they levelled through Andy Parrish after 71 minutes .
Grimsby were indebted to Phil Barnes, who produced a string of superb saves to keep the Mariners in the contest and to help secure a second successive league draw.
Town made just one change to the starting eleven from Tuesday night's penalties defeat to Burnley, with Danny North replacing Isaiah Rankin up front in a 4-5-1 formation.Otherwise, Alan Buckley's selection remained the same, with Phil Barnes lining up behind a back four of Ryan Bennett, Justin Whittle, Nick Fenton and Tom Newey.
Peter Till, James Hunt, Paul Bolland, Danny Boshell and Ciaran Toner made up the midfield, with North given his chance to make an impact from the start as the lone frontman.
There was also one change on the bench, with Nick Hegarty replacing Peter Bore.Rankin was also named as sub, alongside Jamie Clarke, Gary Montgomery and Gary Jones.
Bury included ex-Mariner Ben Futcher in their starting line-up alongside former Lincoln City captain Paul Morgan and Dave Challinor in the centre of defence.
Andy Bishop, Bury's two-goal hero from their surprise victory at Milton Keynes Dons last week, would look to make a similar impact from the bench today.
Both teams went into the match full of confidence, the home side spurred on by that win at stadium:mk, the Mariners looking to build on a positive display against Burnley on Tuesday.
The home side won their first corner after two minutes when James Dean's snapshot was deflected out by Newey.
Then Town had their first chance with a free kick on five minutes.Newey's 30 yard shot went well wide.
Five minutes later the Mariners took the lead.Town won a free kick when North was fouled on the right and when Newey's kick was fumbled by home keeper Jim Provett, the loose ball was hammered home by PAUL BOLLAND from twelve yards.
Grimsby had made the better start in wet conditions and continued to attack, aided by a number of free kicks.
Bury had the next goalscoring chance though with an 18th minute corner.The kick was cleared by Bennett and Town were able to launch a counter attack through Till.
Bolland was caught by a high challenge from Paul Scott inside the Town half, which saw the Bury man given a talking to by referee Andy Haines.
Town won another free kick, this time on the left on 22 minutes when North was fouled by Futcher.Toner's kick was cleared.
Bury were beginning to look more dangerous on the counter attack and could have had a chance when Glynn Hurst broke on 24 minutes.James Hunt was able to get back and challenge as Hurst appeared to run out of options.
The home side then had a good chance when the Mariners defence let a ball bounce inside the box.It eventually fell to Dean, whose shot was deflected out for a corner.
Town's next move saw them win a corner on the left.Toner played a short one to Boshell before being cleared for another corner.This time, Fenton was adjudged to be fouling his opponent when challenging for a header.Whittle had the ball in the net with a volley but unfortunately, the referee's whistle had already blown for the infringement by Fenton.
Bury were looking to profit from a string of throw-ins, with Challinor launching the ball in towards the height of Futcher.The Town defence were managing to clear the danger on each occasion though.
Town almost stretched their lead on 36 minutes.North beat three defenders as he raced into the box before being challenged.The loose ball ran to Toner, whose shot was saved well by Provett.
As the half drew to a close, Grimsby were dominating, attacking well and restricting the home side to long throws and occasional counter attacks.
Bury did have a good chance though when Whittle gave away a free kick on 43 minutes just outside the box.The resulting kick was comfortably taken by Barnes and the danger was again cleared.
One minute of stoppage time was played before the half time whistle brought an end to a great half for Town.The home fans signalled their dissatisfaction with the Bury display but Grimsby players and supporters would have been very happy with the opening 45 minutes.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, prolific Bury striker Andy Bishop was introduced as substitute for the second half, just as he had been in the Shakers' opening games against Milton Keynes in the league and Carlisle in the Carling Cup.James Dean was the man to make way, while no changes were made for Town.
Bishop's first contribution was to send in a cross on 46 minutes, which was headed over by Richie Baker.
North and Bolland almost linked up to make it two for Town early in the second half.North spotted the run of Bolland and hit a through ball, which the midfielder narrowly failed to get to.Instead, it was collected by 'keeper Provett.
Bury had looked much more dangerous since the introduction of Bishop and the former York City striker had another great chance on 52 minutes.Barnes did well though, making himself big and stopping Bishop's shot.
Town made their first substitution on 62 minutes, with Isaiah Rankin coming off the bench to replace Danny Boshell.Rankin would play alongside Danny North as the Mariners changed to a 4-4-2 formation.
Phil Barnes was called into action soon afterwards when Whittle was turned by Hurst inside the box.The Town keeper got down well to make a great save from the resulting shot.
Barnes then kept Town in it again when Bishop raced clear on 66 minutes.The stopper was alert, racing off his line to stop the ball, which was then cleared by Bolland.
The home side had proved to be a much greater force since the introduction of Bishop and it was them who had piled the pressure on since half time.
Alan Buckley made his second change after 69 minutes when Gary Jones replaced Danny North.
Soon afterwards, the home side had their equaliser.Bury won a free kick on the left, given for a foul on Challinor by Bolland.The low ball in from Adams found its way through to ANDY PARRISH, who shot past Barnes into the corner of the net from close range.
Nick Fenton was booked for a foul on Adams a minute later, with Ben Futcher soon joining him in the referee's notebook for a similar foul on Rankin.
Town had their chance to get back in front when Jones was fouled by Futcher just outside the box after 75 minutes.Newey's free kick was drilled wide and referee Haines signalled for a goal kick to Bury.
Town were again saved by Barnes on 79 minutes.The ball bounced over Bennett on the halfway line and Hurst ran clear.He found Bishop but the striker's shot was brilliantly blocked by the Mariners keeper.
As the match moved into the last ten minutes, Bury were pushing forward in search of a winner, earning a string of corners as Town tried to hold on for a draw.
The home side continued to attack, forcing a great block from Peter Till two minutes from time.
And in stoppage time, they could have won it when Hurst shot wide after another long throw from Challinor.
But in the end, Town held out for their point.It looked unlikely after a first half that the Mariners had been in full control of, but after a second half that had been dominated by the home side, the 437 travelling supporters would probably be happy to have avoided defeat.
