A fluke of a goal from Mark Durnan kept Dundee United’s unbeaten home record intact as they drew with Greenock Morton at Tannadice.
With just seven minutes to go the ball struck the big defender, who was in the box for Scott Fraser’s corner, and ricocheted into the net
He knew little about it but it was enough to keep the Tangerines unbeaten at home and just ahead of both Falkirk and Ton in second spot in the Championship.
The visitors had taken the lead six minutes before the break with a close-range header at the back post from skipper Lee Kilday.
The Tangerines made four changes to the line-up that kicked off the Irn-Bru Cup semi-final.
Back into the side came Cammy Bell, Durnan, Thomas Mikkelsen and Nick van der Velden.
They replaced Luis Zwick, Sean Dillon, Alex Nicholls and Simon Murray.
Also, right-back Frank van der Struijk won his fitness race after being a doubt with a dead leg.
The game took a while to warm up and it was 11 minutes old before home keeper Bell had to dive to save a freekick from Morton’s Ross Forbes.
United were getting forward but without really troubling Derek Gaston in the Ton goal.
The hosts woke up a bit on 24 minutes when Tony Andreu spun inside the box and tried to shoot as he fell to the floor but Gaston gathered easily.
A minute later, the Tannadice men came even closer when Nick van der Velden sent Mikkelsen clear but the Dane shot over the bar.
United were on top now and they almost took the lead on 29 minutes when Andreu fired a Fraser cutback over from eight yards.
However, on 39 minutes it was the Greenock men who edged ahead.
A corner was swung over from the right by Forbes and, with keeper Bell deciding not to come out to intercept, Kilday couldn’t believe his luck as he headed home at the back post.
In the second half, United would have been level on 53 minutes had Fraser shown more composure with his finish.
Andreu managed to poke the ball across to Telfer, whose pass forward reached the feet of Fraser inside the box. It looked like a certain goal until the midfielder blasted over the bar from six yards.
Unsurprisingly, given how things were going, United made a change on 62 minutes, bringing on Murray for the ineffective Van der Velden.
Murray was only on the pitch for a couple of minutes when he had a great opportunity to equalise after a knockdown by Mikkelsen but the shot – his first touch – was straight at Gaston.
With Ali Coote on for Mikkelsen, the Tangerines were searching for a way back into the game as the home crowd grew more and more frustrated.
On 80 minutes, Fraser tried his luck from the edge of the box but he fired it into the grass and it was an easy save for Gaston.
Three minutes later, though, the Tannadice men were back level.
The goal followed a period of sustained pressure that led to a corner on the right, which was taken by Fraser.
When the ball came over it hit a Morton defender then struck Durnan and spun into the net.
It was a huge stroke of luck but the big man celebrated like it had been a 30-yard screamer.
Murray almost nipped in ahead of goalie Gaston with two minutes to go but ti stayed all square.
Attendance: 6.065.
Dundee United: Bell, Dixon, Durnan, Fraser, Telfer, Edjenguele, Flood, Mikkelsen (Coote 68), Andreu, Van der Struijk, Van der Velden (Murray 62). Subs not used: Zwick, Dillon, Murdoch, Nicholls, Robson.
Morton: Gaston, Kilday, Lamie, O’Ware, Forbes, Tidser, Shankland (Donnelly 74), Russell (Oyenuga 87), McDonagh, Murdoch. Subs not used: McGowan, Doyle, Scullion, Tiffoney, Strapp.
Referee: Kevin Clancy.
