Donay O'Brien-Brady scored a very late winner as Posh moved into the knockout phase of the Vertu Trophy on a wet night in Sussex.
Holders Peterborough United are safely into the knockout stages of the Vertu Trophy after a last-gasp strike from Donay O'Brien-Brady earned a 2-1 victory over Sky Bet League Two side Crawley Town.
That win secured progress out of the group phase with the draw for the next round taking place on Thursday afternoon live on Sky Sports News at 2.30pm.
It was a first half of very few chances, but you got the sense that an error was coming from Reds goalkeeper Harvey Davies, who was keen to show off his skillset with the ball at his feet, only to be culpable for the opening goal.
The custodian dallied in possession and allowed Jimmy-Jay MORGAN to rob him of the ball and slot into an empty net to open the scoring for Luke Williams' men.
Jack Roles was superbly denied by Reyes while Flint fired over the bar as Crawley tried to get themselves back in the contest before the interval.
In the second half, Posh had a goal chalked off for offside following Kyrell Lisbie's back-post finish while ex-Posh front man Kabongo Tshimanga also had his celebrations cut short in similar fashion.
On 72 minutes, the hosts levelled the scores as Geraldo BAJRAMI headed home from a corner kick. Kotey then fired wide after good football from the hosts before the final 10 minutes saw the game become stretched,.
Substitute Gustav Lindgren was superbly denied by Davies and then a retreating defender on the line before midfielder Brandon Khela struck the crossbar with a superb free-kick from 25-yards.
Roles was a whisker away from giving the home side the lead on 84 minutes before Odoh was denied at the other end by Davies.
Three minutes into stoppage time, Posh found the winner as substitute Donay O'BRIEN-BRADY finished well after finding space in the penalty area, sending the holders into the knockout stages.
Crawley: Davies, Bajrami, Forster (sub Adeyemo 46min), Tshimanga, Roles, Radcliffe (sub Barker 46min) , Scott, Mukena, Loft, Kotey, Flint (sub Robertson 58min). Unused subs: Heater, Anderson, Brown, Showunmi.
Posh: Reyes, Johnston, Lolos (sub O’Brien-Brady 58min), Khela (sub Leonard 85mnin), Odoh, De Havilland (sub Woods 71min), Lisbie, Morgan (sub Lindgren 71min), O’Connor, Dornelly, Claxton (sub Mendonca 58min). Unused subs: Smith, Collins.
Half-time: Crawley Town 0-1 Peterborough United
Full-time: Crawley Town 1-2 Peterborough United
Attendance: 924 (212 Posh fans)
Referee: Carl Brook