Relegation-threatened Crawley know exactly where they stand for the League Two run-in.

And they should be just fine if their luck holds over the final eight games as it did in their latest outing.

Reds somehow emerged with a point at home to Grimsby after a horribly flat and disjointed display.

An 87th-minute Dom Telford penalty, which probably should not have been awarded and certainly should have been saved, secured a 1-1 draw.

Fans celebrated it like a win at full-time.

Boss Scott Lindsey and his players looked less enthused as they applauded supporters.

But Reds are now unbeaten in five having caught up on their games in hand.

They are 22nd, one place above the cut-off line, with a five-point lead over Hartlepool.

Rochdale, now under the interim charge of former Albion defender Jim McNulty, are adrift.

But Colchester are not out of it, level on points with Crawley, with Harrogate (who still have a game in hand) a further point better off.

Lindsey admitted Reds looked “tired and leggy” but he said he did not see this poor performance coming.

He said: “We deserved three points in our recent game against Doncaster but we didn’t deserve anything tonight.

“We were poor, we didn’t move the ball around well enough, but having said that we kept going for 90 minutes to get something out of the game.

“We looked tired and maybe it was one game too many.

“We were lucky to get a point and I’m not sure if it was a penalty.”

Referee Lee Swabey pointed to the spot when most observers were expecting him to award a corner as Niall Maher challenged Tom Fellows.

Once arguments had subsided, Telford sent a weak spot kick straight down the middle at chest height.

Goalkeeper Max Crocombe had started to move to his left and his right-handed swat at the ball could only help it over the line.

Grimsby went ahead when Harry Clifton fired high into the net just before the break.

They then had second-half chances to put the contest well beyond doubt.

George Lloyd hit the inside of the post, Corey Addai made two crucial saves and there were a couple of near misses.

Crawley go to Mansfield on Saturday and their run-in features potential six-pointers at home to Colchester and away to Hartlepool.

They close the season away to Lindsey’s former club Swindon.