With Notts County staring down the barrel of a fourth consecutive defeat at Hayes Lane, Macaulay Langstaff's 33rd goal of the season may have had a huge say not only in the contest, but the title race itself.
With a second consecutive defeat for the first time this season seemingly a real possibility in the third minute of injury time, the Magpies continued to showcase that resilience and mentality to keep them within touching distance of National League glory.
While many were disappointed with a point, it was celebrated just two hours later as Phil Parkinson's side were held to a draw at Maidenhead, with this remarkable race at the top taking yet another twist in this rollercoaster campaign.
READ MORE: 'Emotional' Luke Williams keeps comments in check as Notts County denied late on at Bromley
Here are the key talking points from the draw at Hayes Lane.
Action-packed debut
A penalty save, conceding a penalty, and then lucky not to give away another one. Welcome to National League football Tiernan Brooks. With an injury to Sam Slocombe in midweek forcing him out of the trip to Kent, Williams called upon the 20-year-old to stand in during his absence - and he made quite the impression during his first senior league start.
Early on you could see the similarities between Brooks and Slocombe, with the youngster confident with playing the ball out from the back and picking off some nice passes into midfield, and finding space to manoeuvre the ball into forward positions.
But when Geraldo Bajrami was caught on the wrong side and bundled over Corey Whitely inside the area on eight minutes, Brooks was tasked with keeping out Adam Marriott after scoring a spot-kick in their midweek win over Torquay.
As the Bromley number ten stepped up, the Notts keeper stood tall before diving to his left and repelling the effort with his legs - a much-needed confidence boost so early on in the contest that the home side had dominated.
However, just ten minutes later a moment of controversy occurred. A ball in behind the Magpies saw Brooks come out and seemingly get a strong hand to deny the Bromley attacker, but referee Scott Tallis had a different view and pointed to the spot, much to the dismay of the travelling Notts contingent to his right.
Brooks was unable to repeat his heroics as Marriott slid the ball in the opposite corner, but his afternoon was almost cut short following a lapse in concentration forced him into making a challenge inside the area - fortunately, the offence was given as a free-kick which on further inspection, was the wrong decision.
Despite that, the 20-year-old produced an encouraging showing on Saturday afternoon, rarely called into action during a dominant second-half display from Williams' side, but he remained focused to deny Louis Dennis with a save down to his right. All in all, a positive display from the stand-in keeper.
Formation risk
When the line-up was announced at 2pm, many predicted that Notts would stick with their usual back three formation despite the absence of Aden Baldwin as he served the first of his two-match suspension.
But upon further inspection during the warm-up, Williams had decided to opt for a back four - with Kyle Cameron and Connell Rawlinson adopting the two central positions, while Bajrami pushed out to right-back with Adam Chicksen out on the left.
It seemed unusual for the Magpies chief to disperse from a formation that has served his side so well this campaign, and that was evident in the first half showing at Hayes Lane.
We have become accustomed to both Aaron Nemane and Chicksen creating opportunities from the wide positions, but with a different formation, the onus fell on Jodi Jones and Nemane to create in the more advanced positions - with their threat nullified in the opening 45 minutes.
While a four at the back has been tried and tested in the cup competitions this season, Notts never looked comfortable during the first half, with Bromley able to exploit the spaces in the wide positions and in behind the defence far too easily.
Having seen enough at the break, the Notts boss opted for a change in personnel as Bajrami was replaced by Connor Lemonheigh-Evans with Nemane pushed back into right-back - a decision that most certainly paid off based on the second-half display.
While Notts' defence has been incredible this season, it does make you wonder how important Richard Brindley's influence is when playing in that back three with his pace and composure on the ball.
Equaliser importance
With the Magpies staring down the barrel of a fourth consecutive defeat away to Bromley, the man for the big occasions delivered once again in what proved to not only be an important goal in the contest but in the context of the title race.
Having fallen behind in the first half, Williams' side was restricted to few clear-cut opportunities, with Sam Austin forcing a fantastic save from Reice Charles-Cook before the Bromley keeper was able to keep out Langstaff's header just before half-time.
Their second-half display almost replicated their performance seen a week prior in their defeat to Dagenham and Redbridge, completely dominating in the attacking third and creating numerous chances to try and get the game back on level terms.
A huge opportunity was squandered when Lemonheigh-Evans was found inside the area by Nemane, miscuing his effort from six yards out as it squirmed past the far post, while Ruben Rodrigues also saw his effort tipped over by the fingertips of Charles-Cook.
But with two minutes left to play, Rodrigues' driving run ended with a pinpoint pass in between the Bromley defence to find Notts' number nine. As many rose to their feet in anticipation, Langstaff steadied himself before firing the ball into the net, albeit with a touch from the Ravens' number one.
Despite the point being regarded as two points dropped ahead of Wrexham's late kick-off at Maidenhead, Shawn McCoulsky's 90th-minute equaliser at York Road ensured the title race took another dramatic twist - with the day ending as it were ahead of Phil Parkinson's sides trip to Dagenham in midweek.
A shadow of his former self
Confidence is a huge thing in football, and Geraldo Bajrami looks deprived of that and a shadow of the player that was so influential during the early part of the season.
Having been deployed alongside Matty Palmer during Notts' seven-match winning run in the league, it looked impossible to see how anyone else could manoeuvre their way into the midfield partnership.
But with injuries to Baldwin and Rawlinson earlier in the campaign, the Albanian's versatility was seen as an option to combat the Magpies' defensive problems, often deployed in that back three or not risked given the injuries within the squad.
As was seen in their 4-1 win over Yeovil, Bajrami didn't look comfortable for the entirety - often giving away possession or being caught out with balls in behind, and that was evident once again during the draw at Hayes Lane.
A lapse in concentration saw him concede an early penalty but his mistake was not a costly one after being bailed out by Brooks' save. However, the majority of Bromley's play during the first half came down the left-hand side, looking to target the 23-year-old and getting some joy in the process.
His first-half showing resulted in his substitution at the interval, but it's quite difficult to pinpoint his recent downfall after being such a dependable player to call upon for the majority of the season.
Hint at new arrivals?
Following full-time at Hayes Lane, Williams was able to reveal the extent of the injuries suffered by Cedwyn Scott and Sam Slocombe in midweek.
The pair were forced to withdraw from the trip down to Kent after picking up injuries on Wednesday which the Notts boss described as a 'terrible' day in his preparations for the trip to Hayes Lane.
And Williams revealed that his side are looking at potential replacements in the goalkeeper position despite having Norwich City loanee Archie Mair within their ranks, but insisted they have a readymade option to fill the gap left by their 14-goal striker.
"In Connor Lemonheigh-Evans we have a player who can play in a similar way to Cedwyn, either just removed from the top line or right at the very top - and he had a great chance today that is unusual for him to miss.
"Of course, he is not in the complete flow but we know he is a very good player and everyone knows how good he is and we know he can score goals, so we have a great addition there.
"In terms of goalkeepers, I think we are going to look at the options that we have.
"Tiernan gave a great performance today in my opinion and so he has given us hope that he has a bright future with us - but we have to look at whether we have someone or not to come in because it is a big moment in the season - we have a number of goalkeepers we are looking at."
