Crawley will go into the final game of the season in the relegation zone after going down 4-3 at Peterborough.

Reds led 3-2 until the 87th minute through goals from Marvin Elliott, Matthias Pogba and Josh Simpson but could not hold on.

Former Crawley midfielder Michael Bostwick equalised with three minutes to go and Conor Washington grabbed a cruel last-minute winner.

Wins for Notts County and Crewe mean Crawley have slipped to fourth from bottom in League One and will be relying on results elsewhere when they take on Coventry City in their final game on Sunday.

The result was harsh on Reds who gave as good as they got in a very open game at London Road.

Crawley had a great chance to take the lead inside the opening ten minutes only for Matthias Pogba to spurn an opportunity to break his duck for the club.

Gavin Tomlin picked out Pogba with a pinpoint cross but the big forward got his header all wrong and it bounced harmlessly wide from six yards.

Brian Jensen then had to be alert to keep out a low effort from Marcus Maddison with the follow up attempt being frantically scrambled away.

Reds took the lead just before the half hour mark with Elliott providing the finishing touch to a well worked move.

Tomlin exchanged passes with Pogba on the edge of the box and Tomlin’s cross-shot was retrieved at the far post by Izale McLeod who teed up Elliott to fire into the roof of the net.

Posh equalised just before half-time from a disputed free kick. Michael Bostwick fired in a low drive from 25 yards which Jensen touched onto a post but Washington reacted first to tap in the rebound.

The situation got worse for Crawley six minutes after the interval as Bostwick fired a low shot past Jensen from 25 yards.

Crawley’s response was impressive, however, as they turned the game on its head with two goals in the space of nine minutes.

Sonny Bradley flicked on a long throw from Lewis Young for Pogba to volley past Ben Alnwick from six yards to make it 2-2.

Reds were in front in the 66th minute when Simpson fired a low shot through the legs of a defender into the far corner from 12 yards.

That looked like being the winner until Posh struck twice at the end to condemn Dean Saunders’ men to a harsh defeat.

Bostwick came back to haunt his old club by firing a superb shot in off a post after chesting down a crossfield ball.

Then in the final minute of normal time a header from substitute Jonathan Edwards came back off a post and fell kindly to Washington to sweep home from close range.