Hibs 3 Aberdeen 3 as Dons held after THREE injury time goals in Easter Road thriller

A bizarre injury-time back-and-forth saw Aberdeen forced to settle for a point at Easter Road with THREE goals including an overhead scissor kick and a curling free-kick in just four minutes.

Joe Newell's deflected opener left the Dons trailing at half-time for the second time in as many matches, but Jamie McGrath's equaliser from close range pulled the visitors level soon after the restart.

Jimmy Thelin's substitutions worked their magic once again, but a goalkeeping howler from Jordan Smith handed Nicky Devlin the chance to take the points back to Pittodrie with a deft lob in the penalty area.

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Nicky Cadden stunned the Dons with a curling free-kick to make it 2-2 with four minutes to go before Ester Sokler's outrageous overhead finish put the visitors ahead.

Then came the Rocky Bushiri tap-in which proved to be the sickener for Aberdeen as they ended up leaving Leith with only a point to show for their efforts.

It's a disappointing outcome for the Reds who had looked to bounce back from their first league defeat of the season, losing the chance to close the gap on leaders Celtic.

Kevin Nisbet was quick to find himself at the centre of the action against his former club, forcing Hibs keeper Jordan Smith to gather the ball before landing on Rocky Bushiri's ankle trying to avoid his sliding challenge.

The first decent chance came when Jamie McGrath chased a loose ball in the box only for Bushiri to scramble it clear, but Hibs would fashion a big opportunity soon after when Elie Youan took aim from 20 yards, skipping past the Reds defence to sting the gloves of Dimitar Mitov.

The Bulgarian then missed Nicky Cadden's dangerous free-kick in the box which sailed past the defence, but the hosts failed to convert from close range.

Jack MacKenzie's cross teed up McGrath for a shot at goal, but Joe Newell slid in well to block the Irishman, with a quick VAR check for a penalty finding no faults with the challenge from the Hibs captain.

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Thelin's men looked to exploit the Hibs defence which was struggling to handle the likes of MacKenzie and Duk, but Youan's strike remained the only shot on target after a largely uneventful opening half-hour.

Then came the breakthrough as former Dons winger Junior Hoilett's cross was headed away by MacKenzie, but the ball could only land at the feet of Newell who took aim from distance.

A deflection off Devlin caught Mitov out and Hibs suddenly had the lead on the approach to half-time, leaving the Reds heading into the break behind for the second consecutive game.

Things almost got worse for Aberdeen when Mykola Kuharevich's header sailed just wide of the post, moments after the home crowd made their voices heard after the ball struck Devlin's arm in the box after the full-back hit the deck.

Lewis Miller and his manager David Gray both found themselves booked when the former tried to hurdle the sliding MacKenzie and clipped his head with his boot, with the manager fuming at the decision.

He almost then saw his side concede an equaliser in the final minute of five added on, as Nisbet's header forced a good save from Smith.

Aberdeen once again needed to come flying out the traps if they were to reclaim control of the game after a disappointing first-half, with Leighton Clarkson replacing Nibset after the break.

Immediately though the Dons were in trouble, as a misunderstanding saw Sivert Nilsen miss the ball and Newell take aim from distance again, this time rattling the woodwork.

Devlin did well to wriggle into the box, but selflessly passed to McGrath who could only fire well over the bar, with Shayden Morris sent on for Topi Keskinen soon after.

And once again, the substitutions were paying off, as Morris' cross allowed Duk a shot at goal, but the block landed with McGrath who wasn't missing from five yards out.

VAR checked for offside, but once again no faults were found and Aberdeen found themselves back level with 55 minutes gone at Easter Road, with the large travelling support making themselves heard.

Hibs came back charging towards goal, and Youan looked slip the ball in at the near post but Devlin was on hand to make an excellent block and shut out the hosts.

Gray's side then got away with one as Shinnie took aim and forced Smith into the save, but his spill of the ball led to a scramble in the box to clear the ball.

Bushiri almost gifted Aberdeen the lead when he flung a leg at a cross from Morris, with Smith reacting quickly to gather before a coming together between Devlin and Jack Iredale saw the latter embarrassingly throw himself to the floor.

Both ended up booked, with both sets of players growing frustrated with the referee who was quick to halt play for every foul as the game neared the final 15 minutes.

Clarkson's curling effort met the gloves of Smith - the Dons had gained control and were pushing for the winning goal while Hibs looked to be hanging on for the point.

Smith then made a mess of his clearance from a corner, and Devlin was able to loft the ball over everyone in the goalmouth to give Aberdeen the lead, sparking raucous scenes in the away end.

They had capitalised on a poor Hibs goalkeeping effort, but Morris was once again storming forward looking to punish the defence, with Iredale bundling the Englishman over near the box.

Immediately up the other end of the park, the Reds found themselves lucky as Nicky Cadden rattled the cross bar and a VAR check for handball once again failed to find a flaw.

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Ester Sokler replaced Duk with 10 to go at Easter Road, and goalscorer Devlin was forced off hurt, giving Jack Milne the chance to shut Hibs out in the final moments.

Youan rose highest to meet a Nicky Cadden corner but he couldn't find the target, with Martin Boyle sent on for the six minutes of injury time.

Then came one of the more insane endings to an Aberdeen game, and with the Dons leading 2-1, Hibs received a free-kick from the edge of the area.

Nicky Cadden took aim and curled a superb effort beyond Mitov to pull his side level with four minutes to go, as the Hibs faithful erupted.

They were then almost immediately sank as up the other end Sokler would volley an outrageous overhead scissor kick beyond Smith to put the Dons 3-2 up with a 95th minute strike.

And before the Red Army could even take in what just happened, it was all level once again as the ball was headed to Bushiri who poked it beyond Mitov to stun the visitors.

In the 92nd minute, Aberdeen led 2-1, and within four minutes the game end 3-3, and with that the chance to close the gap on Celtic had gone, with Thelin's men returning to Edinburgh looking for a first win in three against Hearts on Sunday afternoon.