Exeter fought back from 4-1 down to draw 4-4 in a thrilling Sky Bet League One clash with Crawley at St James Park.

Crawley opened the scoring after 15 minutes with Panutche Camara slotting the ball in from 12 yards, but Exeter equalised in the 35th minute with their first shot at goal as Millenic Alli cut in from the left and drilled a low shot that crept inside the near post from 20 yards.

The Reds were back in front inside two minutes when Will Swann rounded the goalkeeper and his shot hit an Exeter defender but rolled over the line.

It was 3-1 after 42 minutes when goalkeeper Joe Whitworth got his throw all wrong and gave the ball straight to Tola Showunmi, who made no mistake with an open goal from eight yards.

Crawley made it 4-1 in first-half stoppage time when they again walked through the Exeter defence and Armando Quitirna, from a narrow angle, fired across goal and into the far corner.

Exeter, vastly improved after the break, pulled one back on the hour when Vincent Harper cut onto his right foot and curled a beauty into the far corner.

Ryan Woods scored direct from a corner in the 82nd minute to make it 4-3 and Exeter levelled it up with another sensational strike, this time from Demitri Mitchell in stoppage time to complete a rousing fightback.