Report: Fleetwood Town 2 Wigan Athletic 3
The visitors had an early scare when former Latics striker Joe Garner sent a 25-yard strike fizzing just over the top.
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Hide AdBut the warning wasn't heeded, and Fleetwood went in front inside eight minutes.
The Cod Army were awarded a soft-looking free-kick on the edge of the area, and Danny Andrew sent the low set-piece flying into the corner of Ben Amos' net.
Wigan's response was decent, with Fleetwood goalkeeper Alex Cairns pulling off a super stop with his foot to keep out Charlie Wyke's header, before Will Keane headed the rebound wide from bang in front.
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Hide AdTendayi Darikwa then forced another fantastic save from Cairns at full stretch, with Town holding on until half-time.
Latics aimed to pick up where they'd left off, but found themselves two goals down within two minutes of the restart.
James McClean sold Amos short with a backpass, and Callum Morton got to the ball just before Amos.
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Hide AdThe Fleetwood striker exacted his own revenge from the penalty spot - and Latics had a mountain to climb.
That was the cue for Leam Richardson to make a change, with winger Gwion Edwards taking over from centre-back Jason Kerr, which saw Latics revert to their 'usual' 4-2-3-1 formation.
And the impact was immediate, with Tom Bayliss playing in Callum Lang, who poked the ball past the advancing Cairns on 62 minutes.
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Hide AdIt was inches away from 2-2 seconds later, when a Max Power cross was headed against his own bar by a home defender, with Lang volleying the rebound just wide.
Fleetwood were hanging on, though, and the equaliser arrived midway through the second half when Wyke's cross was headed home by Will Keane from close range, after Lang had seen a shot brilliantly saved.
And the comeback was complete 18 minutes from time, when Power's corner was headed home emphatically by Curtis Tilt to secure Latics' maiden midweek victory of the campaign - at the 10th attempt - and top spot on the ladder.
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