Hibs scraped through to the fifth round of the Scottish Cup but were made to work for it by magnificent Cove Rangers.
The Easter Road side were taken all the way to extra time by the ambitious Aberdeenshire outfit.
Kevin Nisbet was the hero after 112 minutes of play as he ensured the 2016 winners would be in the hat for the next round with a 1-0 win.
But the performance and slender result gives manager Shaun Maloney something to think about given one key absence.
The team news almost threatened to make this tie something of a sideshow when Martin Boyle was scrubbed from the squad with a big money move to Saudi Arabia seemingly imminent.
And it might have been had they come up against a less ambitious lower league side, one just happy to be part of the occasion.
It was down to those on the park to get the job done and Maloney's side offered a vision of the future with Chris Mueller and Ewan Henderson making their debuts for Hibs.
Cove's line-up offered few surprises with talisman Mitch Megginson leading from the front - while new marquee signing Mark Reynolds started the tie on the bench.
The home side got some fright inside four minutes however when Chris Cadden's ill-advised backpass sent keeper Matt Macey into a panic.
His clearance smashed off the pressing Megginson - but it deflected kindly away from Macey's goal.
More sloppiness from Joe Newell gave the visitors some encouragement and though they didn't fashion any early chances it was hard to pick many faults from the League One side.
Fraser Fyvie - a Scottish Cup winner with the Easter Road side in 2016 - brought bags of composure in midfield while Leighton MacIntosh was an effective out-ball down the right and seldom did Morgyn Neill or Ryan Strachan lump it long like one might expect from a more panicked lower league outfit.
But it was Kyle Gourlay's ropey kick-out to left-back Harry Milne that ended up forcing his first save on 20 minutes. Mueller pounced and smashed one goalwards only for Gourlay to make amends with a solid stop.
They came close again when Henderson spotted one up for Christian Doidge but his beauty of a cross wasn't matched by an accurate header.
Cove refused to retreat and when MacIntosh scrapped for a corner Jamie Masson's delivery caused a bit of mischief in the area though Macey was able to gather from a Blair Yule snapshot.
But all their hard work in the first half was almost undone by a moment of madness from Fyvie.
The midfielder was the last man back when Josh Campbell charged him down and sent Doidge through on goal - but up went the far side linesman's flag just as the Welshman slid a finish underneath Gourlay.
Hibs turned up the heat as half-time approached with Doidge involved again, this time attempting an overhead kick that failed to test Gourlay, before Josh Doig volleyed over.
That final missed chance and the half time whistle prompted scattered boos around Easter Road.
Cove seemed to come back out with even more belief and they howled for handball when Paul Hanlon diverted MacIntosh's cross behind for a corner, though his arm was right by his side.
Then came more boos when Fyvie stormed down the left, cutting across for Megginson who prompted a low stop from Macey.
Maloney had seen enough as he threw on Nisbet and Jamie Murphy near the hour mark but another chance fell for Cove on the counter with Masson perhaps taking the opportunity too early outside the area.
Hibs began to dominate the ball as Cove tired but while their bodies tired the cool heads of Strachan, Neill and Milne remained.
They did manage to reach the 90 minutes unscathed but another half hour of pressure was some ask.
Hibs threatened when Doig ran through but poked his finish wide before the wing-back fizzed the ball yards across goal - but James Scott was too late on the scene.
Nisbet then missed arguably the chance of the match when sent through by Murphy as his dragged finish bobbled harmlessly wide from about 14 yards.
But minutes later he was on target from closer in having been set up by Doig as the resistance was finally broken after 112 minutes to ensure the home side didn't have to suffer a nerve-jangling shootout.
3 talking points
Huffing and puffing
With Gulf-bound Boyle in the stands and Nisbet only being introduced on the hour mark, there was a big test for Doidge up front.
But if this was a glimpse into what Hibs look like without their main man, it wasn't promising.
Supporting debutants Mueller and Henderson looked decent in flashes but it felt like there's far more was to come from those two while the Welsh striker was left frustrated and unable to break down a sturdy League One defence.
His fluffed header from Henderson's terrific cross was emblematic of a side in which the forward players all seemed hopeful somebody else would grab that first goal to take the pressure off.
With Doidge and Nisbet misfiring - despite the latter's winner - and Boyle on his way out is there an onus on Norwegian teen Elias Melkersen to deliver when that work permit eventually arrives? Or could Maloney now be forced back into the market in the next 10 days as Boyle departs?
Middle men
Without wanting to do the impressive Fyvie any disservice - he looked comfortable as anything against a top six Premiership side - it says something about Hibs when he's the best player in the middle of the park.
Just under six years ago he lifted this very trophy in green and white and Maloney could have upgraded his midfield by giving him back the green and white jersey at half-time.
Take your pick for the man he could have replaced because both Josh Campbell and Joe Newell turned in poor performances.
Henderson looks like he'll be a good capture but alongside him there was a total lack of ideas.
Dreaming big
And why shouldn't they? It felt like every penny ploughed into the Aberdeenshire side in recent years had been building up to this tie and the players didn't let down their noisy enclave of travelling supporters.
Cove Rangers play the game in the right way and smashed the mould of the plucky lower league outfit that sit 11 men behind the ball and hope for lady luck's intervention.
They've got a solid lead in the third tier and barring a remarkable collapse in the second half of the season it looks like Cove will be a Championship team next team. You'd be daft to cap their remarkable rise at that given how they fared against a top six side.
A part-time team is mounting a credible Premiership bid this season. And should Cove finish the job in the second half of the 2021-22 they'll now know they're capable of similar.
