An Abraham Odoh hat-trick and great bottle from Ricky-Jade Jones delivered a thrilling win for Peterborough United

Posh beat ‘The Reds’ 4-3 for the second time this season with Jones winning the game with a 96th minute penalty following a foul on Odoh. Regular taker Malik Mothersille was off the pitch at the time and there was some surprise when Jones was seen to place the ball on the spot, but his finish was emphatic.

Posh had played well in the final 15 minutes or so, but the rest of the second-half belonged to the home side as they quickly recovered from a 3-2 half-time deficit to draw level before hitting the woodwork twice as they sought the winner they desperately needed. Posh ‘keeper Jed Steer also made two cracking saves before Crawley ran out of steam and Posh took charge of the vital final moments. It’s often how you finish rather than how you start that matters.

Posh made three changes to their starting line-up, none of them unexpected. Carl Johnston replaced James Dornelly at right-back, while Oscar Wallin was back for Emmanuel Fernandez at centre-back and club captain Hector Kyprianou was back in midfield with Mo Susoho dropping to the substitutes’ bench. Fernandez dropped out of the squad altogether.

Crawley were seeking a third straight League One under returning boss Scott Lindsey. They only named six substitutes and named no substitute goalkeeper.

The teams fought out a seven-goal thriller at London Road in November and expectations were high of a repeat. Justifiably so as it happened as Odoh helped himself to a hat-trick in a first half that also included six cautions, all of them earned, two Crawley goals and two Kwame Poku assists.

The hosts dominated the first 15 minutes with their precision passing and excellent movement and deserved their 13th minute lead when a fine, but very straight pass, from Jeremy Kelly, found Armando, the man with one name, who went round Steer before scoring.

Posh had offered very little up to that point, but Jones started to make an impact and Posh started holding on to the ball. Tayo Edun saw a free-kick well saved while Jones just failed to reach a cross from Odoh.

But Posh levelled on 23 minutes after Jones laid the ball off to Poku and the main man advanced before feeding Odoh who delivered a first-time shot into the corner of the net. An Edun corner was then volleyed splendidly home by Odoh who pounced on a weak defensive header on 29 minutes, but four minutes later the hosts made it 2-2 after keeping the ball in and around the Posh area for several phases before a Kamari Doyle cross was played by Steer onto Sam Hughes who delivered his second own goal in a handful of days.

It was end-to-end stuff with Posh sneaking back in front just before the break when Mothersille sent Poku away down the right and his cross was swept home by Odoh at the far post for his first senior hat-trick. No-one expected the scoring to stop there.

It didn’t take long for that to come true. Steer saved well from Doyle after Kyprianou had been caught in possession on 47 minutes before a dreadful attempted backpass from Mothersille enabled Rushian Hepburn-Murphy to equalise three minutes later.

Archie Collins had seen a shot saved after good work from Odoh before the goal, but after it Posh disappeared as an attacking force and Crawley assumed complete control.

Doyle hit the base of the post after more weak defending and also clipped the top of the crossbar after Steer had been punished for handling outside his area. Steer then made a full length stop to keep out a fierce Bradley Ibrahim strike as Posh struggled to get out.

They did weather the storm and apart from a late Will Swan header which went wide Crawley faded quickly. Posh almost won it in added time when a remarkable sequence of events saw substitutes Cian Hayes, Ryan De Havilland and Susoho all denied by goalkeeper and defenders in the same attack.

But Posh and Odoh came one more time with the little winger’s progress towards goal rudely interrupted by Ade Adeyamo’s trip. Jones did the rest as Posh took a giant step towards safety.

Posh: Jed Steer, Tayo Edun, Sam Hughes (sub Jadel Katongo, 63 mins), Oscar Wallin, Carl Johnston, Hector Kyprianou, Archie Collins (sub Mo Susoho, 71 mins), Abraham Odoh, Malik Mothersille (sub Cian Hayes, 71 mins), Kwame Poku (sub Ryan De Havilland, 84 mins), Ricky-Jade Jones

Unused subs: Nicholas Bilokapic, James Dornelly, Gustav Lindgren.

Crawley: Jojo Wollacott, Liam Kelly (sub Will Swan, 76 mins), Charlie Barker, Toby Mullarkey, Josh Flint, Quitirna Armando, Bradley Ibrahim, Liam Fraser, Panuchte Camara (sub Ade Adeyemo, 77 mins), Kamari Doyle (sub Gavan Holohan, 90 + 4 mins), Rushian Hepburn-Murphy.

Unused subs:Ben Radcliffe, Max Anderson, Tyreece John-Jules .

Goals: Posh – Odoh (23 mins, 29 mins & 43 mins), Jones (pen, 90 + 6 mins).

Crawley – Armando (13 mins), Hughes (og, 32 mins), Hepburn-Murphy (50 mins).

Cautions: Posh – Odoh (celebrating a goal), Johnston (foul), Collins (foul), Steer (handball), Lindgren (unsportsmanlike conduct)

Crawley – Inbrahim (foul), Mullarkey (foul), Armando (foul), Adeyamo (foul),

Referee: Carl Brook 8.

Attendance: 4,111 (approx 550 Posh).