Dundee United edged through to the quarter-finals of the League Cup following their dramatic late victory over Dundee in a pulsating game at Tannadice.
The draw was made after the match with the Tangerines being pulled out of the hat to face Hibs at Easter Road.
The win over Dundee was, of course, United’s second in just four days.However, this was a much tighter affair with Paul Hartley’s side giving their local rivals a real run for their money.
In the first half, keeper Rado Cierzniak came to the rescue for United when he saved a Greg Stewart penalty.
Then for the second game in succession, the Dark Blues were reduced to 10 men with Martin Boyle being sent for an early bath after he was adjudged to have brought down Stuart Armstrong as he burst through on goal.
The Tangerines though struggled to take advantage of their numerical advantage and the game looked to be heading for extra time and possible penalties before Jarek Fojut scored with a last-gasp header.
United boss Jackie McNamara admitted that his players never hit the heights they reached at Dens on Sunday but the result was all that mattered.
Speaking before the draw had been made, he said: “It was a frustrating night but we are just delighted to get through to the next round.
“I thought Dundee started better than us, were on the front foot and were winning most of the second balls.”
“Rado was excellent with the penalty. Then Stuart running through there, he gets the wrong side of the lad and he brings him down and it is a red card.
“I think from then on, the game changed. Being a derby, the most important thing for us was getting through to the next round.
“Performance wise we can play a lot better but you have to give them credit the way they battled for each other.
“It was frustrating at times as I thought we kept coming too deep for the ball and making it easier for them.
“Most of our attempts were from outside the 18-yard box but as I said, we are just delighted to get through.”
Despite the loss, Dundee restored much of their pride which took such a battering on Sunday.
And their manager hailed their performance in defeat while admitting he was disappointed with the sending off.
Hartley said: “I think we were outstanding tonight. We have had to put up with the criticism over the last couple of days but we showed that we are a good team.
“I felt in the first half hour we were outstanding. The sending off changes the game, to be honest. We had been dominating. We do not think it was a sending off.
“Boyle’s an honest lad and he thinks he gets there but the referee makes the decision. He does brilliantly to get back but the ref decided it was a foul.
“But the performance was night and day from Sunday.”