Fleetwood were left hanging onto their League One status by a thread after missing two penalties in a 4-1 drubbing at Peterborough.

Promise Omochere and Bosun Lawal both fluffed their lines from the spot when being denied by Posh keeper Jed Steer before an avalanche of late goals secured Posh’s play-off place and left the Cod Army six points from safety with just two games to play.

Lawal fired Fleetwood into a shock lead after just 13 seconds and then earned the ninth-minute penalty that Omochere saw saved by Steer.

Posh striker Malik Mothersille tapped in his first English Football League goal from David Ajiboye’s cross to bring the hosts level in the 17th minute.

But Charlie Adam’s men had another golden opportunity to boost their survival hopes when Omochere was brought down by Josh Knight for another spot-kick with 15 minutes to go, only for Lawal to see his effort saved by Steer.

Posh then struck three times late on to wrap up a win that maintained their outside chance of automatic promotion with Archie Collins coolly slotting them ahead in a one-on-one situation in the 81st minute.

Substitute Jonson Clarke-Harris then finished the job by bagging a quickfire brace in the fifth and sixth minutes of stoppage time.

John Mousinho hailed a player he dropped for helping Portsmouth take another big step towards the Championship with a 1-0 win at Peterborough.

The Pompey chief left out two-goal midweek hero Kusini Yengi for a crunch clash at promotion rivals Peterborough.

But the Australian ace responded by climbing off the bench to grab the only goal that kept Portsmouth five points clear at the summit.

Yengi, sent on after Christian Saydee limped off in the first half, raced on to a pass from fellow substitute Gavin Whyte in the 77th minute to fire past Posh keeper Jed Steer.

Peterborough still look bound for the play-offs despite their five-match winning streak coming to an end.

Top-scorer Ephron Mason-Clark blasted against the bar midway through the first half as they drew a blank for just the third time all season in League One.

“I really feel for him,” said Mousinho about match-winner Yengi. “It wasn’t an easy decision to leave him out.

“He scored twice on Tuesday night and his overall performance was really good.

“He has been excellent whenever he has played and his goalscoring record is superb.

“It could have been a difficult one to take, but he was really professional about it when told yesterday. He trained really well in the afternoon, stayed positive around the place and thoroughly deserved his goal.

“At this stage of the season it is all about winning games, but it was a really good performance from us as well.

“The fans made it a special day. That was probably the best away atmosphere I’ve ever experienced.

“To be able to win the game and put in that performance was superb. It was pure relief at the final whistle.

“We’ve just got to keep our heads down and keep winning as many games as possible.”

Posh boss Darren Ferguson said: “I’m really disappointed with the result, but really proud of the performance.

“We were by far the better team on the day and they’re really lucky to come away with a win.

“If anyone from Portsmouth says otherwise, they are kidding themselves.

“We controlled large parts of the game. Some of the play was fantastic.

“But football can be a cruel game and we just couldn’t get that first goal.

“You always need that bit of luck in big games, but we didn’t have it when Ephron hit the underside of the bar.

“I’m gutted for the players as they didn’t deserve to lose the game. You’d rather win and have a bad performance like on Wednesday.

“But if we play like that in the last eight games, we’ll be fine. I’ve still got a lot of confidence that we’re in a good place.

“The break has come at a good time to freshen up for a last push.”

Portsmouth took another big step towards the League One title with a vital 1-0 victory at promotion rivals Peterborough.

Australian striker Kusini Yengi climbed off the bench to grab the only goal in the 77th minute to send an army of 4,000 Pompey fans wild.

Yengi slammed his seventh of the season past Posh keeper Jed Steer to complete a ruthless breakaway after being picked out by fellow substitute Gavin Whyte’s pass.

And that was enough to extend the table-toppers’ unbeaten run to 12 games while bringing Posh’s five-match winning streak to an end.

Captain Harrison Burrows was inches away from giving Posh a first-half lead when steering a low shot past the far post.

Top-scorer Ephron Mason-Clark came even closer to breaking the deadlock when blasting against the bar.

That was soon followed by the best Pompey opportunity of the opening period as Colby Bishop headed a Marlon Pack free-kick straight at Steer.

Malik Mothersille saw a volley fly across the face of goal as Posh started the second half well, but it was Pompey who eventually made the breakthrough to move nine points clear of third place and closer to a Championship return.

Peterborough boss Darren Ferguson insisted it is all about results after Posh kept themselves in the League One promotion battle with a 2-1 win over Exeter.

Kwame Poku struck the winner midway through the second half as Ferguson’s tactical tweak worked to perfection.

The attacking talent bagged his 10th goal of the campaign after being shifted into a central position from his usual wide berth.

Posh had hit the front in just the fourth minute through leading scorer Ephron Mason-Clark, but Exeter levelled nine minutes before the break with a long-awaited Tom Carroll strike.

The midfielder ended a near seven-year drought with a 20-yard half-volley which took a huge deflection and looped agonisingly over keeper Jed Steer.

But Poku ensured Posh pocketed the points and that’s all Ferguson cared about.

He said: “The most important thing today – as it will be going forward – is not the performance. It’s all about getting results.

“Credit to my players because I said to them at half-time that they had to find a way of winning the game of football and they did it.

“Kwame going central made a big difference. They couldn’t live with him in there.

“We knew there was space to exploit. He gets away from opponents so quickly and fortunately he got us a winner.

“The early goal gave us a great start, but sometimes that can be a hindrance.

“The whole atmosphere went a bit flat after that. I don’t know whether everyone just thought we were going to go and beat them by three or four, but they are a tricky team to play against.

“Getting back-to-back wins was really key. We know this is a pivotal week for us.”

Exeter chief Gary Caldwell admitted: “The result is a big disappointment, but I have massive pride in our performance and the way we went about it.

“We gave a bad first goal away the first time Peterborough had really got into our half, but the players got back into the game.

“I felt we were the better team in the first half. Our press was outstanding and we were really aggressive without the ball.

“The second half was a case of two teams going out to win the game, but we had a 10-minute spell where we gave the ball cheaply after winning it.

“We were just kicking the ball away and inviting more pressure rather than trying to pass out of trouble and Peterborough scored in that period.

“Peterborough are the best team in the league for me in terms of quality and the way they play, but for large parts we matched that and kept going right to the very end.”