A gulf in quality shone through at the Checkatrade Stadium today as Coventry nudged past Crawley 2-1.

In a game of few clear-cut chances, Sky Blues' winger Jordan Ponticelli came to the fore with a classy double to take all three points for the visitors.

He put them in the lead just five minutes in, calmly stroking the ball past Glenn Morris from a neat Mark McNulty pullback.

Crawley worked their way back into the game with some steady build-up play, and looked dangerous on both flanks with Karlan Ahearne-Grant on the left and Enzio Boldewijn the other side.

Lewis Young provided handy support for Boldewijn, and got Reds back on level terms with a striker's finish from the right-side of the Coventry box eight minutes after going behind.

Thomas Verheydt played in the right-back after good link-up play with captain Jimmy Smith, and Young buried it in the far corner.

But from then on, the match had the feel of an end of season, nothing to play for fixture for Crawley.

Ponticelli bagged his second goal of the game in the 78th minute.

The strike was akin to Young's, from the same angle and finding the same part of the goal with Morris hopeless.

Substitute Max Biamou squandered an easy opportunity to put the icing on the cake for Coventry in the last minute, blasting the ball wide from six yards out when it looked easier to score.

Ponticelli's goals increase his side's chances of making the play-offs, moving up to sixth with four games left to play.

Crawley, meanwhile, drop a place to 13th in League Two.