WHAT an extraordinary end to this match. Hibs were dead and buried at 0-2 down before big Rob Jones got one back and set up a quite astonishing finale. In the last seconds of the third minute of injury time, Hibs camped in the Aberdeen area, and first Derek Riordan and Souleymane Bamba sent in shots, the latter one poked away by goalkeeper Jamie Langfield. Somehow Steven Fletcher managed to squeeze the ball over the line and Hibs had the equaliser which, to be fair, they deserved.

Metaphorically speaking, Mixu Paatelainen's sigh of relief could be heard around the ground, while Jimmy Calderwood's wail of anguish was just about audible.

It was sad in particular for Sone Aluko, one of the best players afield, full of inventiveness and guile and not afraid to chase the ball and take on bigger men either. As for his dead ball skills, read on.

Hibs started the better and some of their early passing play was of the delightful variety that we have come to associate with Easter Road in recent years. But too often a final pass would go just beyond a player or be missed entirely.

A couple of near things by Fletcher was all that Hibs had to show for their early dominance, and while Aberdeen offered nothing in attack, Andrew Considine should have done better with a 15th-minute "rebound" header that went wide. Riordan was certainly covering a lot of grass, and Hibs' best chance of the first half fell to him after 20 minutes, the former Celtic man skimming the outside of Langfield's right post.

Apart from Derek Young sending an effort wide, Aberdeen posed no threat in attack, and were well marshalled by Jones and his colleagues in defence. To be fair, Aberdeen's defenders were themselves disciplined and committed, and the match went into a lull, enlivened only in the 25th minute by a quite excellent turn and shot by Dean Shiels, matched by an equally excellent save low to his left by Langfield.

The lack of goalmouth activity did not make for pretty viewing. Hibs had the majority of possession, but couldn't penetrate while Aberdeen couldn't pass to save themselves. "If you play that badly in the first half, when you can't pass the ball from A to B, then you get found out," said Calderwood.

It didn't look like that when Aberdeen, who had not previously had a shot on target, took the lead after 40 minutes. It was all down to the wizard's wand doubling as the left foot of Aluko, who struck a curving, dipping free kick from far out on the right wing directly on to the head of Darren Mackie standing in the heart of the Hibs penalty box. He merely had to stoop to conquer, while Jones later admitted his fault at letting the ball beat him.

The second half was as good as the first had been poor. Hibs came charging out to make amends, but within eight minutes of the re-start they were a further goal behind and again it was a combination of Aluko's accuracy and Hibs' profligacy which led to the goal.

Aberdeen won a corner on the right, and with that deadly left foot, Aluko swung in a bullet which Zander Diamond met on the run, again with no marker on him. The ball was behind McNeil before he knew it, and just as quickly, the boos from disgruntled Hibs fans rang around Easter Road.

The goal startled Hibs into action, and with Murray on the left and Shiels on the right linking up with Riordan and the tireless Fletcher, they poured forward and created chances.

Fletcher's header over, and Langfield's save from Riordan's snapshot, presaged the Hibs' goal which duly arrived after 62 minutes when Riordan's cross was met powerfully by Jones, who buried his header in the Aberdeen net.

Hibs pressed for the equaliser, and came close when Fletcher's effort was clawed clear by Langfield from up in the postage stamp corner. An old-fashioned goalmouth scramble then ended with Riordan shooting narrowly past.

In the final minutes, Hibs left gaps at the back as they threw everything at Aberdeen, sending Jones up into attack. Aluko nearly took advantage, and if he had tumbled under substitute Alan O'Brien's challenge instead of staying on his feet and poking wide, no one could have complained about a penalty. "Should have gone down," said Caldwell, half-jokingly.

As it was, Hibs mounted an injury-time assault on Langfield's goal, Riordan and Fletcher both going close before the ultimate stramash ended in Fletcher's snatched goal. Thrilling stuff, especially for the Hibs' diehards.

"I'm gutted for the boys because the performance merited three points but stupid mistakes at the back cost us," said Paatelainen, who will now be able to return to what he calls "the panto" of the technical areas after his four-game touchline ban. Oh yes, he will.

MAN OF THE MATCH

Steven Fletcher's priceless injury-time equaliser eased the pressure on his manager and was just reward for a player who never gave up.

QUICK FACT

Mixu Paatelainen played for Aberdeen during season 1992-93 when the Dons finished runners-up to Rangers in all three domestic competitions. Paatelainen scored 20 goals.

TALKING POINT

Aberdeen manager Jimmy Calderwood said Sone Aluko should have gone down when he was tackled in the penalty box by Hibs' Alan O'Brien in the final minutes. Instead, the winger stayed on his feet and shot wide.