Like a couple of spiteful girlfriends, Stockport got their come-uppance from two players they were happy to let go.

City grabbed another toe-hold on the Play-Off ladder with a crushing home win. Forget the two-goal margin, this was as emphatic win at Valley Parade as they fans have enjoyed in a long time.

And the Hatters' torment was led by Marc Bridge-Wilkinson and Owen Morrison, who had both kicked off the campaign on the Edgeley Park books.

Morrison had admitted beforehand that City fans had only seen him play one decent game, his goalscoring debut at Huddersfield Town. Well you can double that now following an afternoon when we saw the creativity and attacking invention that had grabbed Colin Todd's attention in the first place.

And we all know about Bridge-Wilkinson. From the man of the moment he has quickly become the man of the month.

Yet both proved surplus to requirements at Stockport, who you would think need al the help they can get.

Now 19 points from safety, League One's basement boys will be the first team relegated in England if they lose at home to Brentford on Saturday.

Their visit should have been a gimme win but now with City's home form. Throw in the fact that Stockport had won six of their last seven trips to Valley Parade and nobody was taking anything for granted.

But within five minutes of kick off, City were two up and it looked like a re-run of England battering Northern Ireland.

They were in front from the opening corner after just 90 seconds. Morrison's delivery was perfect as was the flick across goal by Mark Bower and Andy Cooke rammed home his fourth goal at the far post.

It was City's quickest strike of the season, eclipsing Zema Abbey's explosive entry at Brentford by half a minute.

City pounced forward again and keeper James Spencer did well to turn away Morrison's drive. But again there was no escape from the corner.

Bower again reached the kick, this time from Bridge-Wilkinson, and although Stockport scrambled it away from the danger zone the danger was far from over. David Wetherall ushered the lose ball into the path of Steven Schumacher who jumped above him in the scoring stakes with the sweetest of connections with his right in-step.

A third corner so nearly produced a third goal with Cooke just unable to reach another set-up from the dominant head of Bower. Then Michael Raynes got a toe in to take Danny Forrest's cross out of the grasp of the waiting Cooke in the six-yard box.

Forrest had been preferred to Dean Windass by Todd who felt that City's scorer needed a bit of a rest. It showed the extent of City's early dominance that he was not missed.

Schumacher had the whiff of glory in his nostrils and was a fraction away after a miscue from Morrison landed perfectly for the youngster to have another dig.

And Stockport somehow survived on the half hour as another corner caused carnage. Bridge-Wilkinson and Morrison combined and Cooke thumped a header against the bar.

The ball dropped for Wetherall but his efforts to stab it over the line were frustrated by a combination of three desperate defenders and a scrambling keeper.

It seemed a matter of time before the inevitable third with Stockport's resistance amounting to a tame effort from Adam Le Fondre straight into Paul Henderson's chest.

But then four minutes before half-time they conjured a come-back goal out of nothing.

Ashley Williams flicked a header past the despairing leap of Henderson and the ball bounced back off the City bar. Pudsey-born Harpal Singh thought he had scored from the rebound but Wetherall kept it off the line at full stretch - only for Le Fondre to gobble up the rebound.

It was a ridiculous half-time score given City's total control. Visions of Torquay, another relegation certainty, coming off the floor from two down to force a draw loomed large.

But Todd was not worried and calmed any nerves in the dressing room. Play like the first 35 minutes, was the message, and you will have no problems.

His words got through and City slipped straight back into the grove.

Ben Muirhead, on for groin victim, Lee Crooks, was almost sent clear in the first minute and then Forrest headed Paul Tierney's cross into Spencer's arms.

Right back Jim Goodwin cleared from right under his own bar and Bridge-Wilkinson was denied by an unfortunate bobble after a darting run had carved through Stockport's soft centre.

Cooke, who had earlier taken a whack from Frenchman Ludovic Dje, was still feeling dazed and came off after 57 minutes to give Windass his chance. He needed only seven minutes before latching on to another Bridge-Wilkinson raid with a slightly deflected left-footer.

That should have seen off Stockport but referee Colin Webster offered a lifeline with a penalty after Le Fondre caught Wetherall's outstretched foot. Up stepped Singh in his home City who sent Henderson the wrong way - and harmlessly clipped the outside of the right post.

At the other end, Morrison was twisting and teasing his former team-mates and was twice agonizingly close to the goal his trickery deserved.

One effort from a Windass knock-back flashed inches wide and then having controlled Muirhead's angled ball, Morrison saw a right-foot curler blocked on the line by Williams.

Schumacher thundered another goal-bound volley against the back of a Stockport leg before Forrest picked out Morrison for another great shooting chance, only he forgot to shoot.

But City's job was well done. And for two in particular, revenge had been sweet.

BRADFORD CITY			STOCKPORT COUNTY
Paul Henderson	13	13	James Spencer
Paul Tierney	3	20	Ezekial Tomlinson
David Wetherall	5	12	Jim Goodwin
Mark Bower	6	10	Harpal Singh
Steven Schumacher	7	25	Michael Raynes
Owen Morrison	11	18	Ludovic Dje
Lee Crooks	12	5	Ashley Williams
Darren Holloway	14	19	Evan Horwood
Danny Forrest	21	21	Stuart Barlow
Andy Cooke	34	29	Adam Le Fondre
Marc Bridge-Wilkinson	36	8	Kevan Hurst
	subs	subs
Donovan Ricketts	1	23	Danny Jackman
Ben Muirhead	15	1	Neil Cutler
Lewis Emanuel	16	2	John Hardiker
John Swift	26	30	Damien Allen
Dean Windass	10	27	Paul Douglas

MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee:	C H Webster
Assistant Referee:	M G Robinson
Assistant Referee:	R L Shoebridge
4th Official:	C Bassindale

SUBSTITUTES
BRADFORD CITY	min		min	STOCKPORT COUNTY
15 for 12	31		57	30 for 18
10 for 34	57

GOAL SCORERS
BRADFORD CITY	min		min	STOCKPORT COUNTY
Cooke	2		40	Le Fondre
Schumacher	5
Windass	64

DISCIPLINARY
BRADFORD CITY	min		min	STOCKPORT COUNTY
Holloway	60		60	Singh
Wetherall	76