Amario Cozier-Duberry scored twice and claimed two assists as Bolton routed Port Vale 4-0 to move into the Sky Bet League One play-off places.
The brilliant Brighton loanee fired in-form Wanderers ahead with his sixth goal of the campaign and third in three games after 31 minutes.
Cozier-Duberry’s lay-off then saw Xavier Simons get off the mark in Wanderers colours with a low curling shot five minutes later.
A 2-0 half-time deficit was harsh on struggling Vale and centre-back Connor Hall in particular.
Keeper Teddy Sharman-Lowe saved two headers in quick succession from the big defender and stopped a Devante Cole attempt with the contest goalless.
But after falling behind, Vale could not handle Cozier-Duberry whose thumping angled, right-foot effort off the crossbar made it 3-0 after 68 minutes.
The unselfish winger then teed up midfielder Kyle Dempsey to mark his first league appearance since April 21 by scoring for the first time in 13 months.
An eighth successive home win in all competitions lifted Steven Schumacher’s side up to a season’s high third place, with Vale down to 23rd.
