Dundee United looked well on their way to a massive three points against Aberdeen but had to settle for one in the end.
The Tangerines stunned the Dons on their own patch when Vicko Sevelj came them and early lead and then Sam Dalby kept up his scoring form to make it two before the break.
But a priceless Kevin Nisbet double earned a share of the spoils, his 91st minute equaliser breaking United hearts.
Aberdeen were backed to claim third by pundits last week but Jim Goodwin’s side looked like making a mockery of that and claiming that spot back for themselves, which would’ve left Hibs in fourth and the Dons in fifth.
It is still set up for a three-way fight to claim the best of the rest tag, with Hearts surely now out of it after losing 2-1 to the Hibees in yesterday’s derby.
Goodwin has now been giving his response to his side’s up and down day.
Craig Sibbald puts body on line for Dundee United
The Irishman praised his side’s massive efforts despite being down the bare bones with injuries to key men Ross Docherty, Will Ferry and Louis Moult, with Declan Gallagher also forced off during the game.
It meant Craig Sibbald had to start the game despite not being fully ready himself.
And the Tannadice boss admits his side simply ran out of steam at the end.
“Our high press worked in the first half, we were positive in the turnovers and scored two really good goals from well-worked set plays,” said Goodwin in his post-match press conference.
“But the three games in a week is a really tough ask for this group, given how low we are in numbers.
“We have players missing – Ross Docherty, Will Ferry, Louis Moult – and Declan Gallagher coming off injured meant we lost a substitution we could have made later in the game.
“I asked Craig Sibbald to start when he’s not really ready for it. We knew we’d only get an hour out of him.
“It was a good effort from the team. It wasn’t a lack of fight or a lack of determination. I just felt that we ran out of steam.”
Goodwin admits Dundee United ‘kick in the teeth’
Despite that, he admits taking one point instead of three was a big blow, adding: “It’s another point on the board for us in terms of what our main objective is and I think we need to try and put a positive spin on it – albeit getting so close to taking all three points is a major kick in the teeth.”