Fleetwood boss Charlie Adam admitted his side were masters of their own downfall after being left on the brink of relegation from League One following a 4-1 defeat at Peterborough.

The Cod Army are facing up to a future in League Two after being left six points from safety with just two games to go.

They only have themselves to blame after Promise Omochere and Bosun Lawal both missed penalties before Adam’s men were put to the sword by play-off bound Posh.

Lawal fired Fleetwood ahead after just 13 seconds and then earned the ninth-minute penalty that Omochere saw saved by Posh keeper Jed Steer.

Malik Mothersille fired Posh level with his first English Football League goal and the game was still in the balance when Lawal was denied from the spot by Steer with 15 minutes to go.

Posh then took command with Archie Collins’ 81st-minute strike being followed by a stoppage-time brace from substitute Jonson Clarke-Harris.

Adam admitted: “I’m gutted for the players and supporters. That performance did not deserve that result.

“To come here and show the character that we did, I’m really proud of the players, but we walk away extremely disappointed.

“We had the perfect start, but when you get big moments in games you have to take them and we have missed two penalties.

“The two lads stepped up and were brave enough to take them, but unfortunately for us they missed them.

“The dressing room is quiet and flat. Of course it’s going to be as we’re in a position we don’t want to be.

“We have to win two games and see where we are at the end of the season.

“The lads will be off tomorrow, we’ll come back in Thursday and prepare as we always do. The challenge is to finish on two positive results to take into next season.”

Peterborough are six points off the automatic-promotion spots with a game in hand.

Boss Darren Ferguson said: “Starting the game in the way we did – conceding a goal like that without even touching the ball – is bordering on the unprofessional.

“I never felt comfortable throughout the game, but we managed to get the reaction we wanted from Saturday by winning the game.

“If I was Charlie I would be really disappointed with the two penalties as they’ve both been pretty comfortable saves for Jed. It was a case of getting out of jail really for us.

“Jonno came on, set one up and scored two; Jed made the two penalty saves; Malik came in and scored so there were positives for sure, but there are things we have to tidy up.

“We’re in the play-offs now and another point secures us being at home in the second leg.

“Second place is obviously Derby’s to throw away but football works in many strange ways and they still need a win.”

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.

Charlie Adam praised Fleetwood’s “complete” performance as they claimed a 2-0 win at home to Northampton.

The victory – only a second in their last 13 games – keeps the Cod Army’s Sky Bet League One survival hopes just about alive, though they remain six points adrift of the safety zone with just three games left to play.

Boss Adam was clearly proud of what he also described as the best he had seen from his team since replacing Lee Johnson at the turn of the year.

“It was a complete performance from us today so I have to be delighted with that,” Adam said. “Right from the start of the game we were at it.

“We maintained a good shape throughout and we were well organised against a good Northampton team.

“Maybe two goals wasn’t enough – I definitely think we should have had more as we were so dominant.

“I’m just happy to take the three points.

“I always felt in control after the first 30 minutes when we just blew them away.

“This leaves us with three games now, and we need more clean sheets like this if we’re to have a chance of staying up.

“We can celebrate a brilliant win tonight but then straight away we have to re-focus on another huge game on Tuesday night.

“We’ve got to go to one of the best teams and toughest grounds in the league in Peterborough, but we have to go there with confidence now.”

Fleetwood were in control at half-time thanks to goals from Promise Omochere and Bosun Lawal.

Cobblers manager Jon Brady made a triple change at the interval and his side improved after the restart.

Ben Fox and Marc Leonard created decent opportunities but they rarely threatened a consolation goal.

Brady was disappointed with the outcome, and said: “I’ve already told the players that I’m not prepared to let the season just fade away because of the position we’re in.

“But fair play to Fleetwood today. They came out with all guns blazing and in the bad conditions here, we found it difficult to get out.

“I think it’s fair to say they out-fought us in the opening 20 or 30 minutes and they have got some really good players, despite their position in the table.

“We’ve conceded two poor goals, though. They came about due to our own doing, it was sloppy from us.

“It was quite difficult and they played the conditions well – we didn’t.

“It was as simple as that really. We overplayed things too much and with them getting the two goals quite early, we faced an uphill battle.

“We just didn’t do the basics right far too often. We didn’t get the ball forward quick enough or often enough.”

Fleetwood’s survival hopes continue to hang by a thread despite a hard-earned 2-0 victory against Northampton.

Charlie Adam’s men secured only a second win in 13 games but remain six points shy of the safety zone with just three matches to play.

Fleetwood opened the scoring after only five minutes, with Promise Omochere perfectly placed to tap home Bosun Lawal’s cross.

Omochere went close again with a header shortly afterwards, before the Cod Army did double their lead on the half-hour.

This time Lawal provided a tidy finish following a precise, measured pass from Brendan Wiredu.

Lawal later tried his luck from 35 yards but Cobblers goalkeeper Lee Burge was equal to the task.

Northampton came to life after making a triple switch for the start of the second half, with Sam Sherring and Kieron Bowie both going close to a leveller.

Bowie then saw a 20-yard strike deflected behind for a corner.

Ben Fox and Marc Leonard went closest to grabbing a consolation goal for the visitors as the game fizzled out late on.

Charlie Adam felt Fleetwood deserved their point after Brendan Sarpong-Wiredu’s late finish earned a dramatic 1-1 draw at home to Reading.

Deep in added time, the Fleetwood skipper popped up at the back stick to cancel out Lewis Wing’s stunning opener.

The home side may have felt aggrieved earlier when Promise Omochere’s chance seemed to have crossed the line, but neither the referee nor the assistant indicated it should be a goal.

Fleetwood manager Adam said: “A fully deserved point tonight. On the best chances of the game, I felt we had enough to win the match.

“We felt the goal was over the line. But we didn’t let our heads drop. We obviously conceded the goal, but we battled on and fully deserved that 90th-minute equaliser.

“I thought we dominated the game, I thought we had the best chances, I thought we passed the ball well but when we got in the final third in the first half, we never, our opportunities and selections were not what we wanted.

“The lads have given me everything since I’ve come in and they’ve given me everything tonight.

“We deserved that. We deserved that draw, but there are still areas we need to work on. Areas we need to get better on, and I’ll take that, the endeavour we had and the hunger we had for 96 minutes.”

Reading had chances in the first half to open the scoring. Femi Azeez was sent down the right flank after 30 minutes but the winger’s cross was too vicious for Harvey Knibbs who headed over from underneath the crossbar.

Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan also wasted a great one-on-one opportunity when he was snuffed out by Fleetwood’s Jay Lynch.

Reading boss Ruben Selles said: “We didn’t start well – the first 35 minutes we didn’t control the game the way that we wanted. They were on top of the game.

“After half-time, we controlled the game and had chances, two one-versus-ones with the goalkeeper where we needed to put the ball in the net. At the end, we concede a goal we should never concede. Frustrated at the end and we need to perform better.

“We need to know that it is difficult to go away from home and win points – we know it. Today we had it. A lot happened in the second action, a bad clearance and a bad recovery.

“They are disappointed because I think we have more to offer and for more minutes. We need to be more robust. We come from a very dark place and have some good performances; we don’t need to forget that, and we need to keep pushing. Games are close until you get the second one, so we need to keep growing.”

Blackpool boss Neil Critchley was left frustrated after his side were forced to settle for a 3-3 draw in a thrilling Lancashire derby against Fleetwood.

Sonny Carey’s brilliant brace cancelled out early goals from Promise Omochere and Jack Marriott.

Shayne Lavery seemingly secured the bragging points for the Seasiders, but Marriott popped up with a dramatic last-gasp equaliser.

Critchley said: “It’s really difficult to know where to start because there are so many incidents in the game.

“My overriding feeling is that it’s two points dropped and it’s a game we should have won.

“I don’t know how many shots at goal we had, or chances that we created but it’s numerous and as the away team.

“At 3-2 we’ve got ourselves into a winning position after giving ourselves a mountain to climb first half.

“It’s a game we should see out. Even when they equalise we’ve still almost gone on to win the game.

“It’s a difficult one to sum up. We created chances. We constantly got into the final third in the first half and failed.

“We conceded two really poor goals, but if we keep conceding twos and threes it’s going to be difficult to win games of football.”

The Cod Army made a fast start and looked set to land a first Lancashire derby win for five years.

But they eventually had to come from behind to earn a point.

Boss Lee Johnson said: “The boys are disappointed and I’m disappointed.

“Ben Heneghan, to give an example, had told the lads we should have had nine points this week and instead we’ve got five, which is not a disaster.

“We’ve started a bit of an unbeaten run, but we need to deal with oppositions’ spells better.

“I thought there was a lot of character on the pitch, from both teams. And the fans really made it that derby atmosphere, and I love that.

“I want to see that against Exeter when we play them at home. We can create that with our spirit on the pitch and our spirit off the pitch.

“The spell that we conceded three goals, you ask whether they were fantastic or if we were poor. We felt we should have defended those much better.

“They threw caution to the wind, they had bright, busy players but we should have dealt with it better. We can coach it.

“We’ve started to score goals regularly which is really positive. It’s a sign that we’re improving, but it’s a sign we can’t get ahead of ourselves at anytime in any match and we need to stay focused.”

Jack Marriott salvaged Fleetwood a dramatic late point in a six-goal Lancashire derby thriller at Highbury.

The Cod Army looked set to secure bragging rights against their neighbours for the first time in five years after a quick-fire first-half burst.

Blackpool had a great early chance when Jordan Rhodes’ strike rattled the crossbar after just six minutes.

Promise Omochere opened the scoring for the hosts after 13 minutes after he was left in plenty of space to pick his spot.

And Lee Johnson’s side doubled their lead five minutes later as the Seasiders made a mess of clearing a corner, with Marriott poking home the rebound.

Blackpool goalkeeper Daniel Grimshaw kept the deficit at just the two when he kept out Shaun Rooney with his feet.

Sonny Carey turned the game on its head with a three-minute brace early in the second half.

The 22-year-old, who opened his league account for the season last time out, curled home a nice strike in the 48th minute before quickly firing in a second effort from the edge of the box.

Shayne Lavery completed the turnaround in the 65th minute after being played through by Rhodes.

But Marriott’s stunning 90th-minute strike secured a precious point for the strugglers.