Athletic march into top six

Gevaro Nepomuceno opened the scoring

In-form Athletic are up to sixth place in League Two as they deservedly saw off gutsy Crawley at Boundary Park.

Another healthy 4,000-plus crowd watched on as Frankie Bunn's new-look side ground out another terrific result against the managerless visitors.

Athletic extended their unbeaten league run to five games ahead of tomorrow's (Tuesday) home Checkatrade Trophy tie against Barnsley.

Senior players Jimmy Smith and ex-Athletic winger Filipe Morais took charge of Crawley following Harry Kewell's exit for Notts County on Friday, and both were included in the starting line-up.

But Athletic went ahead in the eighth minute when Rob Hunt crossed from the left and Gevaro Nepomuceno slotted in comfortably from close range.

Crawley pulled level midway through the first half as Ollie Palmer's wicked ball into the six-yard box was palmed out to Dannie Bulman, who tapped home.

The visitors wasted a golden chance after 34 minutes when Ashley Nathaniel-George was tripped by Sam Graham and - from the resulting penalty - Palmer's weak kick was saved by Daniel Iversen.

Athletic striker Callum Lang brought a sharp save from Glenn Morris as the hosts pushed for a winner.

The Crawley resistance was finally broken when George Edmundson's cross was forced in at the far post by a combination of Sam Surridge and Crawley defender Mark Connolly.

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