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Dundee United came from behind to win a five-goal thriller against 10-man Falkirk and breathe fresh life into their hopes of catching the Bairns for a top-six spot in the Scottish Premiership.
It stops a four-match top-flight losing streak for the Tannadice side, earning their first league win of a frustrating 2026 so far.
Substitute Julius Eskesen was the late hero for the visitors, blasting past Scott Bain with seven minutes left after Falkirk had been reduced to 10 men midway through the half.
It followed a VAR review that encouraged referee Ryan Lee to upgrade his yellow card for Liam Henderson to red for denying Max Watters a clear goalscoring opportunity as he broke clear on the counter.
At that point, the game was finely balanced at 2-2, with United twice pegging their hosts back.
A nice finish from former Bairns midfielder Craig Sibbald levelled for the second time in the game, minutes after left-back Leon McCann crossed for right-back Filip Lissah to blast Falkirk ahead.
In the first half, a second goal in as many games from Aston Villa loanee Ben Broggio opened the scoring before a mistake from Bain handed United their first equaliser. His weak punch landed at the feet of centre-half Ross Graham, who finished coolly.
Lewis Neilson cut a frustrated figure for the hosts as the width of the crossbar prevented his looping header from restoring Falkirk's advantage.
Falkirk looked dangerous in the second period until Henderson's red card handed Dundee United the advantage, with the visitors profiting to claim their first top-flight win at the Falkirk Stadium in 16 years and go level on points with seventh-place Aberdeen.
Frustration for Falkirk but their successful season could easily end with them influencing the race for the title as they still enjoy an 11-point cushion over Aberdeen, who play the first of their three games in hand at Motherwell on Sunday.
There's a lot to like about this Falkirk side, who have rightly earned rave reviews for their progression up the league on their return to the Premiership.
Once again their silky, possession-based football caused all sorts of problems for opponents and made them look threatening every time they went up the park.
Both Falkirk goals were well taken, although exposed a familiar flaw in United's game. But John McGlynn's side were undone by the red card and struggled to match United's energy as the game came to a boil near the end.
This was a huge and vital victory for the Tangerines, who simply had to win to have any hope of dislodging the Bairns from the top six by the league split.
The visitors' defending at times will not have impressed boss Jim Goodwin, but he will have enjoyed the resilience his men showed.
The wide-open spaces enjoyed by Broggio and Lissah for their goals were conspicuous but you can't fault United's heart.
Twice they trailed, twice they clawed themselves back into the game and then claimed the win with a good striker's goal from Eskesen.
Staring down the barrel of a fifth straight league defeat, United showed good determination to avoid that unwanted statistic and breathe real life into their season.
Dundee United manager Jim Goodwin: "It was nice to get back to winning ways. We've been on a difficult run.
"We've come to a really difficult venue against a very good team and managed to get a valuable three points.
"Credit to the group, credit to the players. They showed good resilience, good character."
Falkirk manager John McGlynn: "I don't think we deserved to lose the game. We've scored two cracking goals.
"Second half, we lose [another] very, very quick equaliser, which I'm really disappointed about.
"And then it's 11 men against 10. Disappointed that we didn't deal with that better. We don't do enough to keep the ball out the back of the net, basically."
Falkirk travel to Tynecastle to take on league leaders Hearts next Saturday (15:00 GMT).
Dundee United are back in action on Tuesday (19:45) at home to Spartans in the Scottish Cup fifth round - live on BBC Scotland - and then host Kilmarnock in the Premiership on Saturday (15:00).
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