Bojan Miovski denied St Mirren top spot in the cinch Premiership with a penalty equaliser for Aberdeen 10 minutes into stoppage-time in Paisley.
St Mirren looked to have sealed a thoroughly-deserved seventh consecutive victory after Greg Kiltie’s penalty and a goal from substitute Alex Greive turned the game on its head in the second half.
Jonny Hayes had put Aberdeen ahead in the 42nd minute totally against the run of play before the Dons had even mustered a shot at goal – the wing-back’s free-kick delivery from wide ended up in the net.
Aberdeen did not look a shadow of the side that fought back from two goals down in their Europa League play-off first leg against Swedish champions BK Hacken in Gothenburg on Thursday and only had one, off-target, effort at goal outside of their two goals.
But they somehow escaped Paisley with another 2-2 draw.
Just as the 7,492 crowd were preparing to celebrate, Alex Gogic was penalised for handball following a VAR review after charging down Leighton Clarkson’s shot on the edge of the box.
There was another VAR check after Miovski dispatched the penalty as Saints goalkeeper Zach Hemming claimed the North Macedonian striker had touched the ball twice after slipping while taking the spot-kick.
But the goal was given as St Mirren saw a seventh consecutive win slip away, forcing them to settle for second place behind Celtic on goal difference.
St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson handed a start to striker Toyosi Olusanya while Aberdeen made two changes following their draw in Sweden as Hayes and Angus MacDonald came in.
The hosts pinned the Dons back from the start, pressed them high up the park and created several chances from crosses.
Kiltie, Richard Taylor and Ryan Strain all forced good saves from headers and Keanu Baccus had a goal disallowed for offside after Strain’s shot had been blocked.
Strain’s cross just evaded two team-mates and Olusanya should have made more of Conor McMenamin’s delivery.
Aberdeen were rarely out of their own half until the few minutes immediately before their opener, which came after Taylor’s challenge from behind on Luis Lopes.
Hayes’ fee-kick went beyond everyone and nestled in the far corner with St Mirren goalkeeper Hemming motionless.
Robinson was soon booked after venting his anger over John Beaton’s free-kick award.
Aberdeen failed to build on their unlikely lead after half-time and St Mirren were quickly back on the attack.
McMenamin had an effort saved and Kiltie saw a goal ruled out for an earlier offside against Olusanya after Roos spilled a volley from Keanu Baccus. Olusanya soon raced clean through on goal but was denied by Roos.
St Mirren finally got their break when Beaton penalised MacDonald for handball after Strain’s cutback and Kiltie sent Roos the wrong way from the spot in the 59th minute.
Aberdeen brought on James McGarry and former St Mirren midfielder Jamie McGrath for their league debuts and Finland defender Richard Jensen for his first appearance for the club.
But it was the St Mirren substitutes that made a crucial impact in the 76th minute as Mikael Mandron played Greive through and the New Zealand international drilled home.
An equaliser looked unlikely until the late drama and Miovski celebrated again after the VAR check, missiles flying towards him after continuing them in front of the home support.
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
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