Struggling Hamilton Accies pulled off a miraculous comeback from 4-1 down to earn a vital point at home to Cove Rangers and move off the bottom of the Championship table.
Cove were two goals to the good after Mark Reynolds' 10th minute header and a Mitch Megginson penalty in the 42nd minute.
Accies pulled one back through Andy Winter just before half-time but conceded twice in quick successsion at the start of the second half when Megginson netted his second goal from the spot and then Gerry McDonagh slotted in their fourth in the 52nd minute.
Andy Ryan quickly responded to pull a goal back and Steve Lawson's penalty after 63 minutes had given Accies hope of completing a remarkable recovery.
And in the 89th minute, an indirect free-kick was awarded to Accies when Cove goalkeeper Kyle Gourlay held onto the box for too long inside his box - with Ryan striking to earn an unlikely draw in an eight-goal epic.
Accies are now a point clear of bottom side Arbroath after 13 games.
Accies made three changes from last week’s 1-0 defeat at Arbroath. The suspended Dan O’Reilly and Scott Martin dropped out alongside winger Dario Zanatta. Ellis Brown was handed his first start of the season and Miko Virtanen, making his first start since January, also got the call in midfield alongside Lewis Smith.
And with Ryan Fulton still on the sidelines, Jamie Smith got the nod in goal again and emergency signing Ryan Scully took a spot on the bench.
Cove assistant Jimmy Boyle took charge of the side as gaffer Jim McIntyre was ruled out due to a positive Covid test, and among his starting 11 was former Hamilton Accies goalkeeper Kyle Gourlay.
But it was Gourlay's opposite who was tested first at New Douglas Park when Connor Scully's weak effort on the turn inside the box, forced Smith into a save down low inside the opening two minutes.
Moments later Accies came close to an opener when Steve Lawson's corner to the near post was almost poked in by Andy Winter, but the ball deflected narrowly wide of the target.
The hosts were given a scare when Charlie Gilmour's corner picked out Jack Sanders and Smith was forced to tip his towering header over the bar. From the resulting corner, Scully's strike was defelected over for another set-piece.
And it proved third time lucky for Cove as they opened the scoring in 10 minutes. A Gilmour delivery into the box was cleared only as far as Scully and when he returned the ball back into the danger area, former Aberdeen star Reynolds looped a header over Jamie Smith from 10 yards to break the deadlock.
Cove almost gifted Accies an equaliser in 22 minutes when Sanders misjudged a header back to Gourlay and Smith pounced on the loose ball, but the keeper reacted quickly to thwart his former team-mate.
The visitors were still looking threatening going forward and neat link-up play between Scully and Megginson created a chance for the latter inside the box, but his low, first-time strike was kept out well by Jamie Smith.
In the 36th minute a well-worked move from Accies ended with Andy Ryan drilling the ball across the face of goal for Lewis Smith to poke wide of the target, as they searched for an equaliser.
However, it was Cove who grabbed the next goal in the 42nd minute from the penalty spot. Miko Virtanen was penalised for handball just inside the box when he was deemed to have blocked Scully's cross with his hand, and Megginson stepped up to fire the penalty straight down the middle and double Cove's lead.
That prompted some vociferous comments towards Accies boss John Rankin from the stands, while chants of "sack the board" rang out from a section of the support.
To the players' credit, though, Accies hit back quickly to pull a goal back. A good move down the left found Lewis Smith and when he crossed for Winter, the striker made no mistake to net his sixth goal of the season and give Accies hope of a comeback going into the interval.
Accies made a change at the break as Jonny Ngandu was replaced by French striker John-Pierre Tiehi, but hopes of a comeback quickly evaporated just two minutes after the re-start.
Cove broke down the left and when played was switched across to Scully, his terrific ball across the face of goal gave Megginson a tap-in at the far post. That prompted more anger from the home support and a few fans decided they had seen enough.
Things got worse just four minutes later when Max Johnston's cross was turned home from close range by McDonagh, and it looked like Cove would really start running riot.
But, just as they did in the first-half, Accies found a quick response as Lawson's cross into the box picked out Ryan and he powered in a header at the back post to restore the deficit to two.
Cove had a lucky esape when Sanders could been seen clearing pulling the arm of Tiehi as he raced in on goal but nothing was given by referee Chris Graham. That infuriated Andy Ryan, who received a booking for his protests and also earned John Rankin a talking to.
Accies were still fighting and in 63 minutes they reduced the deficit to one goal when Lawson's scored from the spot, following a late tackle by Reynolds on Winter just inside the box.
A low drive from Elis Brown was well saved by Gourlay as Accies pushed for that levelller.
Two minutes from time Accies were handed a great chance to do just that and they took full advantage. Gourlay was penalised for timewasting, holding on to the ball for too long inside the box, and Accies were awarded an indirect free-kick just inside the box.
The ball was laid off to Ryan and his strike deflected into the bottom corner to complete a miraculous comeback.
HAMILTON: J Smith, Brown (One 80), Doyle, Easton, Shiels (McGinn 54), Virtanen, Lawson, Ngandu (Tiehi 46), L Smith (Mimnaugh 55), Winter, Ryan.
Scorers: Winter 44, Ryan 53, Lawson 63 (pen)
Bookings: Ryan, Tiehi, Lawson
Subs not used: Scully, Owens, Newbury, Latona, Zanatta.
COVE: Gourlay, Reynolds, Logan, Johnston, Sanders, Scully, Yule, Longstaff, Gilmour, McDonagh (Masson 64), Megginson.
Scorers: Reynolds 10, Megginson 42 (pen), 48, McDonagh 52
Bookings: Masson, Gourlay, Gilmour
Subs not used: McKenzie, Towler, Neill, Dunne, Vigurs, Leitch.
Ref: Chris Graham
HT: 1-2
Att: 1,098
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