Crawley Town suffer late sucker punch at Grimsby Town
The home side had a good chance on 10 minutes but Joe McNerney was forced to head the ball of the line from Cardwell's volley with Morris stranded on the floor.
Lewis Young came closest for the Reds on 37 minutes when he shot from the edge of the area after cutting inside.
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Hide AdJoe Maguire made a brilliant tackle after Grimsby were through one on one but the Reds defender raced back to cut the ball out before Thomas could get his shot away.
In the 79th minute, Crawley had a great chance when Ollie Palmer reacted to a loose ball and played through Reece Grego-Cox, but his shot saved by the keeper and then hooked off the line.
But then came the sucker punch as Ahkeem Rose in the area from a free-kick and smashed the ball home.
There was still a chance for the Reds to equalise but Palmer's flying header was just centimetres the wrong side of the post.
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Hide AdThe attendance was was 4,459 with 68 Reds fans making the long journey. The club tweeted on the final whistle: "A heartbreaking late defeat for the Reds as Ahkeem Rose's 86th minute goal is enough for the hosts."