Substitute Danny Swanson scored after less than a minute on the pitch to set Dundee United on to road to a crucial 2-0 victory over Motherwell in the race for Europe.
He broke the deadlock when he was introduced 15 minutes from time and team-mate Mark de Vries then slotted home a calm finish with just two minutes remaining.
The victory in the lunchtime match put the Tannadice side three points clear of their visitors and elevated them to third place in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League, two points ahead of Hibs who travelled to play Rangers later in the day.
Story continues below...
Dundee United manager Craig Levein made one change to his League Cup final line-up for the visit of Motherwell as Jim O'Brien, who had been cup-tied for the penalty shootout defeat by Rangers at Hampden six days earlier, returned in place of Ghana international Prince Buaben.
Motherwell were playing their first game in 10 days, and manager Mark McGhee made one change from the side which had lost at Hibs by handing a starting place to midfielder Keith Lasley in place of the benched Steven McGarry, while Bob Malcolm continued in place of suspended captain Paul Quinn.
Ross McCormack took a free-kick on five minutes after he had been pulled down in a challenge with Morgaro Gomis - his cross from the left to the back post was met by Malcolm, but his effort lacked power and was easily scooped up on the line by goalkeeper Lukasz Zaluska.
Keith Lasley then directed a half chance towards the goalkeeper, while his Motherwell counterpart Graeme Smith clutched a near-post header minutes later from De Vries following a Christian Kalvenes cross.
O'Brien's free-kick after 24 minutes drifted harmlessly wide.
Motherwell made an early substitution by withdrawing left-back Steven Hammell and replacing him with midfielder Simon Lappin.
He tried to create an opening for David Clarkson after 31 minutes but his cross was ruled to have hit the striker's arm.
United had their best chances of the half in the 10 minutes before the interval.
De Vries played advantage after O'Brien was fouled by Lappin and squared for Noel Hunt but his effort was blocked for a corner.
Hunt then headed over the bar after De Vries had found Gomis with a cross out to the left, and he in turn played it back for Kalvenes to cross towards goal.
Hunt and Kalvenes then got in each other's way as they both went for a ball fired in towards the left-hand post.
Motherwell looked livelier as the half drew to a close but McCormack rushed a volley six minutes before the break and ballooned his well effort over the bar.
Clarkson fired over the bar from 20 yards two minutes after the restart.
United then had their closest chance of the game when O'Brien fired in a free-kick from the left wing only for Garry Kenneth to send his diving header wide of the left-hand upright.
Mark Kerr tried his luck with a long-range effort after a Hunt throw was cleared but his drive rolled off target.
McCormack then had to settle for a corner when he raced onto a quickly-taken Stephen Craigan free-kick and held off Michael Kovacevic to try to turn the ball home from close range.
Hunt headed wide of the left-hand post when he rose to meet a Kalvenes cross.
Chances in front of goal continued to be at a premium, and neither goalkeeper was tested as Craigan's 25-yard shot from a McCormack lay-off was still rising as it went over the bar and De Vries sent the ball wide of the left-hand post from a turn and shot.
Kalvenes rushed to the edge of his box and stuck out a foot to block Chris Porter from Motherwell's most promising attack of the second half, started when McCormack pounced as Kenneth missed a harmless clearance into midfield.
Motherwell had a trio of McCormack corners from the left as the game entered its final quarter, with Hunt heading a clearance into the side netting and then Craigan having a downward header go just wide of the post.
United finally took the lead 15 minutes from time through Swanson who had been on the field for just one minute after being introduced in place of O'Brien.
He picked up possession on the right wing and cut inside, easily weaving post visiting defenders Malcolm and Craigan, and scored with a low drilled shot which evaded goalkeeper Smith and nestled in the bottom left corner.
De Vries sealed the three points with two minutes remaining, collecting Willo Flood's pass inside from the right wing, beating Craigan and rounding advancing goalkeeper Smith to slot the ball into the bottom corner.
A GUARANTEED PROFIT OF AT LEAST £41.20 ON PORTSMOUTH v FULHAM
Did you know that it is possible to win money on Sunday afternoon's Premiership clash between Portsmouth v Fulham, whatever the result?
The game kicks off at 3.00pm and we can guarantee you a profit of at least £41.20, whatever the result of the match. All you have to do is follow the simple instructions below and then sit back and enjoy the game. At full-time, you will be at least £41.20 better off, whatever the result of the match.
We must point out that if you want to take this bet, you should do it now because if the odds change, then the figures here will be invalidated. If they have changed, let us know and we will rework the bet for you.
You can still do this if you have a Betfair account but your overall profit will be reduced by £25.00 as you won't receive the £25.00 cashback as an existing account holder.
If you are unsure about this bet, you are most welcome to call us on 01642 223229 and we will help you as much as we can.
We're going to lay out a total of £71.00 on the Portsmouth v Fulham match and we will collect £115.00 if Portsmouth win, £112.20 if Fulham win and £114.13 if it's a draw. That's a minimum profit of 58%, a much higher interest rate than you will get in any high street bank.
Here's how it's done. Just follow these simple instructions.
1. Open an account with Coral. It is really important that you enter the bonus code of CORALTD when prompted. This is to ensure that you receive your bonus.
Open an account with Betfair. It is really important that you enter the promotional code of BFB425 when prompted. This is to ensure that you receive your bonus.
Place £20.00 on Portsmouth at 3.00 (2/1) with Coral.
Coral will now add a £10.00 bonus to your account. Place this on Portsmouth as well. You will now have £30.00 riding on Portsmouth.
Back the draw with £25.00 at 3.7 (11/4) (or higher if available) with Betfair.
Place £26.00 on Fulham at 2.2 (6/5) with Extrabet.
Extrabet match your first bet up to £25 so you will now have £51.00 riding on Fulham.
The £25.00 matched bet will not show in your account but you can read all about how it works on the Extrabet site. It's the purple box that says '£25 FREE BET FOR NEW CUSTOMERS' on the top right hand side. Click here to visit the Extrabet site.
If you are unsure about placing these bets, please feel free to mail us or call us on 01642 223229 and we will talk you through it, no problem at all. There is no such thing as a stupid question.
You have temporarily laid out a total of £71.00 on the Portsmouth v Fulham match. I stress, temporarily... Now sit back, crack a beer open and enjoy the match.
4. Here's what happens at the end of the game.
If Portsmouth win, you collect £115.00. That's £90.00 from Coral plus a £25.00 cashback from Betfair.
If it's a draw, you collect £114.13. That's £89.13 from Betfair plus a £25.00 cashback from Betfair.
If Fulham win you collect £112.20. That's £87.20 from Extrabet plus a £25.00 cashback from Betfair.
5. This means that the worst case scenario on the Portsmouth v Fulham match is Fulham win and you make £41.20 profit. However, if it is a draw you make £43.13 and if Portsmouth win you make £44.00. That's a minimum profit of 58%, a much better rate of interest that you would get at any high street bank or building society.
6. It is absolutely vital that you click on the links on this page to open the accounts with the two bookies and enter the correct bonus codes or you may not qualify for the bonuses.
Also, before you place your bets, you should check that the odds haven't changed. If they have, let us know by mail or phone us on 01642 223229 and we will rework the bet for you.
Please feel free to contact us or phone us on 01642 223229 if you have any questions at all about this bet and we will help you as much as we can.
Please note that the bonuses are valid for new customers only so if you already have an account with one or more of the bookies we are using, you won't be able to do this. If that is the case, mail us or phone us on 01642 223229 and we'll create an alternative bet for you using different bookies.
This method of betting was used very successfully during the 2006 World Cup and you can read all about how it was done right here.
We guarantee this bet
It's understandable that some people will not believe that it is possible to do this. "What's the catch?" I hear you asking. My answer to that question is that we have been publishing arbitrage bets for four seasons now and literally hundreds of people have profited from following the advice on these pages.
Only twice has our refund guarantee been triggered and that was when we did all the figures wrong and sent refunds out to those who had followed our advice and made a small loss.
Our refund guarantee works like this. If this bet doesn't work like we say it will and you end up out of pocket, we will refund your losses. Simple as that.
That means that you simply cannot lose on this, whatever happens and even if we messed up the numbers.
The only stipulation here is that you must click on the links on this page to be eligible for the refund guarantee, not that you'll be needing to claim anyway. Just enjoy the profit and stay posted for many more of these throughout the season.
