Motherwell were left stunned by relegation-threatened Dundee United after the Terrors came from behind to win and move off of the bottom of the Scottish Premiership.
Kevin van Veen's first half strike - his eighth goal in five games - looked to be sending the Steelmen to a sixth win in eight games under boss Stuart Kettlewell, but an Ilmari Niskanen strike and a Jamie McGrath penalty in the space of eighth second half minutes stunned the hosts.
It means the Steelmen stay eighth and are now nine points off of bottom side Ross County and eight clear of Kilmarnock in the relegation play-off spot, so their survival is far from secure just yet.
Kettlewell named an unchanged Motherwell side from the one which beat Livingston 3-0 last week, as Calum Butcher shook off his injury concerns to make the starting 11 against his old side.
Ahead of kick-off, Hibs' victory over Hearts in the Edinburgh derby ended Well's very slim hopes of a top-six berth so the focus is on trying to end the campaign in seventh, which would also be a great feat considering Kettlewell took over two months ago with the side joint-bottom of the table.
It was the Terrors who were first to threaten and they had an effort cleared off the line inside nine minutes, when Max Johnston had the far post covered to clear a goal-bound Steven Fletcher header.
Fletcher went close again a few minutes later when Aziz Behich's teasing cross looked set to find him at the back post, but Dan Casey did superbly to glance it away from him. Fletcher felt he was impeded but, after a VAR check, the visitors didn't get the penalty they were seeking.
Motherwell's first real opening arrived in 17 minutes when van Veen collected a loose ball and drove into the box, before his powerful strike on the angle was deflected away by the outstretched leg of Scott McMann. A couple of corners followed and on the second one, Casey glanced a header millimetres wide of the post as United breathed a sigh of relief.
Six minutes later, Motherwell took the lead. Van Veen and Johnston combined on the right and when the Scotland under-21 international laid the ball back to the Dutchman, his initial effort was saved by Mark Birighitti, and he turned home the rebound from close range. A lengthy VAR check had the Fir Park faithful sweating, but the goal was eventually awarded after it was deemed to be onside.
United threatened to equalise just before the break when they broke on the counter attack and Fletcher picked out Niskanen darting towards the box, but a perfectly-timed slide tackle from Butcher denied him - and earned a round of applause from the home support.
As half-time approached, the ball fell to van Veen in the box and he knows he should have done better when he blazed over the bar from 10 yards.
Van Veen laid off Spittal two minutes into the second half and his low drive deflected over the bar.
In 49 minutes the Dutchman had the ball in the net after latching on to a through ball and curling a terrific strike into the far corner, but he was denied by the offside flag and the subsequent VAR check.
United knew they were by no means out of the contest and Ian Harkes brought out a good save from Liam Kelly in 51 minutes, reminding the hosts the job was far from done.
That man van Veen was involved again on the hour mark when he stole possession from Loick Ayina 30 yards from goal and honed in on the target, only for Birighitti to turn his effort behind.
And that would prove crucial.
Motherwell had a few warnings and United got an equaliser in 63 minutes when Harkes did well to get to the byline and he put his cut-back on a plate for Niskanen to fire a low strike into the bottom corner past Kelly.
In 70 minutes the hosts were looking for a penalty when Cornelius went down in the box with McMann leaning into his back. Those claims were waved away and United went straight up the pitch and won a penalty when Fletcher latched onto a through ball and Kelly brought him down in the race to get there first.
McGrath stepped up and stroked the ball beyond Kelly to turn the game on its head.
United sub Rory Macleod almost made it 3-1 in 83 minutes when his strike inside the box forced Kelly into a smart stop down low at his near post.
Eight minutes of stoppage time were played, in which Fletcher was booked for simulation in an almost identical incident to the penalty he won, but Motherwell couldn't find a way through as they fell to just a second defeat under Kettlewell.
The Steelmen now play their final game before the split next Saturday, away to champions-elect Celtic.
MOTHERWELL: Kelly, McGinn, Casey, Butcher, Furlong (McKinstry 85), Johnston, Goss, Cornelius (Paton 71), van Veen, Spittal, Mandron (Aitchison 71).
Scorers: van Veen 22
Bookings: Butcher, Kelly, Casey
Subs not used: Oxborough, Mugabi, Lamie, Blaney, O'Donnell, Slattery.
DUNDEE UTD: Birighitti, Mulgrew, Freeman (Macleod 66), Ayina, McMann, Harkes, Behich, McGrath, Sibbald, Niskanen, Fletcher.
Scorers: Niskanen 63, McGrath 71 (pen)
Bookings: Niskanen, Ayina, Fletcher, Birighitti
Subs not used: Newman, Edwards, Graham, Cudjoe, Thomson Djoum, Fotheringham,Anaku.
Ref: Nick Walsh
HT: 1-0
Att: 6,391
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