John McGlynn described it as ‘a roller-coaster’ and, indeed, Raith Rovers’ four-goal collapse against Hamilton probably left their fans feeling dizzy, discombobulated and a little nauseous.
The Kirkcaldy club followed up 65 minutes of champagne football with an inexplicable, porous finale to begin their Championship campaign in unforgettable fashion; one for the ages.
Saturday’s 4-4 draw immediately enters the annuls of ‘I was there’ comebacks along with some other classics of the genre.
Motherwell 6-6 Hibernian, 5th May 2010
This breathless recovery by the Steelmen in the space of 23 manic minutes has gone down in Scottish football folklore.
John Hughes’ Hibees were on easy street at Fir Park, roaring into a 6-2 lead courtesy of a Colin Nish hat-trick and goals from Derek Riordan and an Anthony Stokes brace.
Hibs may have banished the notion of ‘Hibsing it’ when they won the Scottish Cup in 2016 but, at the time, this was perhaps the peak of the genre.
Graeme Smith wobbled as Giles Coke, John Sutton and Tom Hateley reduced arrears heading towards injury time.
Lukas Jutkiewicz then channeled his inner Marco van Basten to lash home the leveller from a prohibitive angle — a stunning strike which never gets old. Unless you are a Hibs fan.
Stranraer 4-4 Montrose, 12 November 2011
This old Third Division encounter was the most recent example of a side recovering from a four-goal deficit to grab a point.
Astonishingly, Montrose — who had a youthful Martin Boyle in attack — wiped out Stranraer’s lead in the space of ten minutes, with doubles from Sean Pierce and Sean Winter levelling between the 64th and 74th minutes.
Hibernian 5-5 Rangers, 13th May 2018
What’s better than a heroic comeback? Two heroic comebacks in the same game.
This fixture at Easter Road brought the curtain down on the 2017/18 league campaign and culminated in a delirious Neil Lennon ‘doing the aeroplane’ across the turf. He was carpeted by the Scottish FA for that.
Rangers produced the first monumental recovery of the afternoon, wiping out Hibs’ 3-0 advantage in the space of 15 minutes courtesy of James Tavernier, Jordan Rossiter and Bruno Alves.
The Gers went on to take a 5-3 lead, only for Hibs to roar back and secured a draw thanks to a late Jamie Maclaren brace.
Dumbarton 3-3 Raith Rovers, 21st November 2015
It’s the Rovers again.
The speed of this comeback earns its place on the list, with Dumbarton roaring back from 3-0 down in just seven minutes.
The unlikely figure of Stevie Saunders headed home twice before Garry Fleming stepped up to lash home a penalty in the 87th minute following an Iain Davidson handball.
Hibernian 4-4 Dundee, 28th August 2004
Another Easter Road thriller came 17 years ago when Jim Duffy took his Dark Blues to Easter Road.
The hosts — boasting a plethora of young talent including Steven Whittaker, Scott Brown, Derek Riordan and Garry O’Connor — held a 4-1 advantage entering the final 25 minutes in the capital.
However, they were pegged back by substitutes Garry Brady and Glen Larsen, before Jonay Hernandez pounced at the death.
