Peterborough boss Darren Ferguson called his players ‘bottlers’ after they lost a Carabao Cup penalty shoot-out 3-1 at League Two Mansfield.

Posh came from behind to lead but the game ended 2-2 when Lucas Akins netted a stoppage-time penalty.

Former Peterborough goalkeeper Christy Pym then saved two spot-kicks before Davis Keillor-Dunn netted the winner as the Nottinghamshire team ensured they remain the only EFL side unbeaten this season, making the fourth round of the competition for the first time since 1975.

Ferguson said: “I don’t like criticising my players in public and I very rarely do as a manager. But I am not letting them get away with that one. They absolutely bottled it.

“For the first 65-70 minutes, the penalty aside, I thought we were really, really good and they couldn’t get near us.

“But all of a sudden Mansfield started going back to front a bit more and we just bottled it, pure and simple. I can’t dress this one up.

“It is terrible result, there is no other way of putting it, and it is a massive opportunity missed.

“It was a massive chance to get in the last 16 and I hope Mansfield now get Manchester United away or something like that so our players can see it tomorrow night.”

Will Swan put the Stags ahead from the penalty spot in the fifth minute but the visitors piled on the pressure and levelled when Jonson Clarke-Harris’ 25-yard free-kick went through the wall and past Pym on the half hour.

Clarke-Harris swept home a second in the 47th minute but Mansfield raised their game and began to dominate and were rewarded with Akins’ spot-kick success three minutes into added time, before emulating their shoot-out win at Sheffield Wednesday in the previous round.

Delighted Stags boss Nigel Clough said: “We are into the next round for the first time in nearly 50 years, which is a hell of an achievement, but so is going 12 games unbeaten.

“For quite long spells we were second best as they were so good. There wasn’t too much we were doing wrong. They were just very competent.

“The respect they showed us by naming a full side said everything. They are a top side in League One and you can see the big difference, the pace and the speed they move the ball.

“We just hung on in there, trying not to concede a third goal and at 2-1 anything can happen in the last 20 minutes.

“I thought the equaliser was coming after Lucas Akins’ goal that was offside. It was no more than we deserved for hanging on in there.

“We have been good taking penalties in training and at Sheffield Wednesday so we saw no reason why we couldn’t win the shoot-out.”

Manager Nigel Clough praised Mansfield’s “absolutely outstanding” second-half display after they beat Sheffield Wednesday 5-4 in a penalty shoot-out after a 1-1 draw at Hillsborough in the Carabao Cup.

Rhys Oates produced a superb equaliser with five minutes left after Anthony Musaba headed the Owls in front in the first half.

Goalkeeper Christy Pym then saved spot-kicks from Will Vaulks and Liam Palmer in the shoot-out as Mansfield progressed.

Clough said: “I thought in the second half we were absolutely outstanding. It was just whether we could get the goal or not.

“What a goal it was in the end, with 32 passes leading up to it and a magnificent run and finish.

“It’s not a fluke, it’s not a one-off, we’ve played like that in most of the six games, which is why we’re unbeaten.

“I didn’t think we took advantage of the positions we got into in the first half but we just needed that one piece of brilliance, which came in the second half.

“I thought that on the second-half performance, it was deserved.

“We seemed to grow in confidence as the game went on. I thought he (Christy Pym) played very well.”

Wednesday manager Xisco Munoz was left to rue his team’s failure to capitalise on the chances they created.

He said: “I’m a little bit disappointed about the game. We need to change our attitude in some moments of the game.

“We shoot 20/25 times and you have clear chances and you don’t score. This is football.

“We will have a moment for reflection and we have to think how we will change the situation.

“It is impossible to lose the game. My job is to try and put the guys in the box and today they are in the box. We need to improve in the last third, of course.

“They shoot, I think, three, four or five times and they score. We shoot 25 – it’s five times more.

“We are the team of the Championship and they are a team of League Two. Sometimes it’s difficult in this situation.”

Sheffield Wednesday’s miserable start to the season continued as they were knocked out of the Carabao Cup 5-4 on penalties by Mansfield after a 1-1 draw in 90 minutes at Hillsborough.

Anthony Musaba gave the hosts a first-half lead before Rhys Oates equalised five minutes from time to force a shoot-out.

Wednesday applied pressure early on with Callum Paterson heading straight at Christy Pym and the keeper then saving a 25-yard effort from Josh Windass.

Windass also had a shot blocked and a header saved while Ashley Fletcher had an effort kept out before the hosts took the lead when Musaba nodded in at the far post following Paterson’s header back across goal in the 28th minute.

Lucas Akins had Mansfield’s first effort on goal with a header which was saved by Cameron Dawson and Davis Keillor-Dunn put a shot over the bar.

Windass then fired in a shot from outside the area which came back off the bar just before the break.

Pym made a great save to deny Michael Ihiekwe soon after the re-start and then saved a powerful 20-yard strike from Windass.

The keeper also did well to touch Juan Delgado’s header onto a post late on before substitute Oates drilled home a low shot from the edge of the area to take the tie to penalties.

Pym saved spot-kicks from Will Vaulks and Liam Palmer in the shoot-out as Mansfield progressed.

Mansfield turned on the style to see off Grimsby 2-0 in the Carabao Cup first round and delighted Stags boss Nigel Clough believes a team could be in for a real hiding if they can reproduce that form.

Lucas Akins netted a 27th-minute penalty in a one-sided first half and Rhys Oates added a crucial second on 55 minutes.

But it could have been many more and Clough said: “I think you can see already that someone is going to cop for one sometime during the season.

“If we do put in a reasonable percentage of the chances and crosses then we will get four or five on occasions.

“I thought some of the football tonight was from a higher level. Some of our play from start to finish was excellent.

“The lads have set the standard in the first two performances.”

Grimsby goalkeeper Harvey Cartwright brought down Oates for the spot kick after a poor touch from a backpass and then Oates flicked home the second from David Keillor-Dunn’s pass.

Grimsby boss Paul Hurst admitted: “That was pretty much as good a performance as I’ve seen from a League Two side for some time.

“They (Mansfield) went very close last season and are a group that’s been together for some time.

“They played some very good football – Nigel Clough wants his team to play that way.

“We did contribute to that by inviting pressure, but there is no doubt about it they were the better team on the night by far.

“Harvey made the mistake for the goal but then made some good saves afterwards.

“And when we did have some good opportunities, Christy Pym made a good save from Danny Rose.

“Mansfield are one of the favourites in terms of that top group and on tonight’s evidence it suggests we are short of that.”