It takes a lot to engender disbelief in an Aberdeen fan these days, but as they watched all three points evaporate within 30 live seconds in the depths of stoppage time, they may have ruefully wondered what else can go wrong in this hellish season.
Alarmingly, however, the answer is plenty – and the worst of all. On current form, there can be no doubt that this squad is on the road to the drop.
One way or the other, Saturday is likely to prove a significant day in Aberdeen’s recent history.
It will either be the moment when an already fragile squad shattered into pieces small enough to slide through the relegation drain, or the galvanising experience which fuelled them on the drive to mid-table sanctuary.
Time alone will tell, but the signs aren’t great. No fewer than 11 of the squad have experienced relegation in the past six years, most with slumping clubs considered too good or too established for it; their manager self-identifies as a specialist in the situation but displays barely the minimum knowledge of his own players or their opponents.
It is worth noting that it is less than five weeks since Dave Cormack described the league position to which Barry Robson had led his team as “unacceptable”. That position was eighth, with games in hand which could have converted that to fifth.
So what is it now? “Awful,” certainly. “Baffling,” maybe.
But then again perhaps not for those who have been paying attention.
Last summer’s recruitment always looked poor in a number of key respects, and now teeters on the brink of being ruinous.
Not for the transfer gurus involved, of course, but demonstrably for those left trying to fathom a cohesive recipe out of their supermarket sweep.
Ultimately, perhaps, for the entire club itself.
