Hibernian2–1Dundee Utd

They say lightning doesn't strike twice in the same place, but you'd have a hard job convincing United fans of this, as, for the second successive match at Easter Road, Hibs, somehow, snatched both points, from a seemingly irretrievable position. On the previous visit, three goals in the last twenty minutes turned defeat into an improbable home victory.

Hibs plight on this occasion wasn't so perilous, but turned out to be no less dramatic. Apart from a brief early flurry, United were very much in control of the match and within a minute of the start of the second half deservedly forged ahead.

A long clearance from defence found the head of Duncan Ferguson. He flicked the ball on and this allowed Paddy Connolly to home in on goal, neatly side-step Burridge before slotting the bail into the empty net from six yards. Frustration in the Hibs camp had manifested itself in the 5 yellow cards they had accumulated, but in the 71st minute came the first of the incidents which turned the match on its head. The ball was played up to Weir on the left. The standside linesman raised his flag to indicate offside against at least three Hibs players, but the referee chose to wave play on and Joe Tortolano scored easily when Weir's cross came over. We hadn't regained our composure when a second disaster befell us. Skipper Maurice Malpas was adjudged to have pulled down Keith Wright and Darren Jackson, playing against his former colleagues for the first time, chose this unfortunate moment to net his first goal in Hibs' colours by sinking the hotly disputed penalty -kick. It was, to say the least, an unfortunate manner in which to be knocked off our perch at the top.