There was triple disappointment for the Bury fans teams at this weekend's annual WorldNet tournament in Leeds. Bad weather made a poor Friday even worse. B teamers Ste Moore and Jamie were called up to the England squad to take part in an England v Scotland friendly match, which ended in a comprehensive 3-0 defeat. Next came the IFA Cup final between Bury A and Hibs. Hibs were a very strong side with some players who had played at a higher level. The better team certainly did win and it resulted in a 5-0 storming by Hibs.

However, this did not dampen spirits, and the Shakers A team bounced back on Saturday when the group stages started proper, winning all their matches, against Liverpool, Aston Villa, West Ham, and Exeter B, sending them through to the knockout stages the following day. The B team meanwhile went through to the Plate, having beaten Crewe Alexandra 3-0, drawn a stalemate against Stockport B, and lost to Hibs and QPR, albeit with excellent performances in each game.

The A team were drawn against Hibs, who went home, giving a free passage to the next round for Big H's side. A victory against Bradford followed, but they were knocked out on penalties in the quarter finals against eventual winners RC Lens. The B team meanwhile were knocked out in contraversial circumstances against Mansfield. Full report here. Action photos from WorldNet are now available here.

There was double disappointment for the Bury fans in this Saturday's National Football Museum tournament hosted by Preston North End at the Lancashire constabulary headquarters. The B team lost all of their group matches, against Rochdale, Preston and Crewe Alexandra, whilst the A team could not manage much better, losing to Barnsley and the police, but beating Port Vale.

This set up an enticing semi-final encounter for the losers plate between the A and B teams.However, the resulting match was a rather one-sided stale affair with the A team running out comfortable 3-0 winners. This led to the final of the losers plate, where the A team would face Crewe. Unfortunately, silverware was not to be for the A team, and they lost 2-0.

However, hopes are still high that both teams can put in a good account of themselves at this weekend's WorldNet tournament in Leeds and the A team look to beat Hibs in the IFA Cup final on Friday, kick-off is at 6.00pm.

The new season starts early for Forever Bury with a one day tournament being held in Preston on Saturday 7 July starting at 9.30 am. Both an A team and a B team will be entered in the competition, which is sponsored by the National Football Museum in Preston. The B team seem to have the harder draw, coming up against hosts Preston, Crewe, and local rivals Rochdale. The A team, meanwhile, will face Port Vale, Barnsley and the Lancashire Constabulary. For more information, visit the competition's website [here]

On 13 July, the A team will be rewarded for their hard work in the IFA Cup when they face Hibernian at Boddington Hall in Leeds. This is the precursor to the WorldNet competition which also takes place that weekend. Both the A and B team are taking part. For more details, visit our message board [here]

Preston North End’s fans team have been somewhat of an irresistible force this season. They were runaway winners of the national IFA Fans League, winning all but one of their twenty-games and remaining unbeaten all season. Bury’s fans team now look like they will have to settle for second place in the league, unless QPR catch them by winning all their remaining matches.

However, another chance for silverware soon presented itself to the fans team when they beat Hull City 1-0 to reach the national IFA Cup semi-final against – yep, you guessed it – Preston North End. In true FA Cup style, the game was played at a neutral venue – Unibond League Clitheroe FC.

A match between the two best teams in the league had been highly anticipated by most of the IFA League, and the game didn’t disappoint. Despite taking the lead in the first half, Preston were unable to keep a strangle-hold on the game, and Forever Bury hit back in the second half with an amazing free-kick from Graeme, and a PNE own goal. Both teams had strong penalty appeals turned down, and Preston hit the crossbar, but it was Forever Bury who reached the final and became the first team to beat Preston this season.

The final will take place on the Friday night in Leeds on 13th July before the annual WorldNet competition where FBFC are entering two teams with high hopes of winning the international competition. Match action photos will be available soon. The film of the match will be available on the end of season DVD. Match report now available here.