Coca-Cola League One

A LUKE Beckett double saw Latics equal their biggest win at Bradford and close the gap on the sides in the League One play-offs to only two points.

Ronnie Moore's side equalled the class of 1938 after an utterly dominant display at the Bradford and Bingley Stadium.

The damage was done inside the opening 35 minutes as Athletic used the strong following wind to their advantage and took a three-goal lead.

In truth, the game was won in the centre where Richie Wellens gave a midfield masterclass as City struggled to contain Athletic's trio of Wellens, Mark Hughes and Richard Butcher.

They simply passed the ball around Steven Schumacher and Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, but as soon as Bradford tried to go man for man, Latics duly spread the ball wide where Paul Edwards and Chris Taylor enjoyed acres of space.

Latics' domination paid off as they took the lead on 16 minutes, Donovan Ricketts spilling Wellens' shot straight to Paul Warne who swept home the loose ball.

It was two a minute later when Beckett rifled a shot high into the net after a fine pass from the mercurial Wellens.

With memories of two-goal leads slipping against Brentford and Huddersfield Town, Latics had their fans rubbing their eyes with disbelief with a third goal on 34 minutes as Butcher converted Wellens' cross.

It was at that point that Ronnie Moore decided to take Wellens off, hoping to protect his back injury, but taking away some of Athletic's creative thrust in the process.

Although Aaron Wilbr-aham's deflected header gave the hosts some hope on 50 minutes, they never really looked like creating chances despite enjoying the bulk of possession.

They were shown how to do it with eight minutes left as Butcher's ball somehow found its way to Beckett who broke clear and rounded Ricketts for his 10th goal in 15 games.

Ricketts then denied Beckett a hat-trick in stoppage time, Butcher ballooning the rebound over as Athletic continued their late push for the play-offs.

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