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 double in the fifth and sixth minutes of stoppage time.