Dundee United snatched a stoppage-time 1-1 draw against Hamilton at Tannadice for the second successive season.
Accies denied by late United strike
Both managers agreed it was Groundhog Day as Dundee United snatched a stoppage-time 1-1 draw against Hamilton at Tannadice for the second successive season.
Accies were denied victory on their last Clydesdale Bank Premier League visit to Tannadice back in November and it was deja vu as Garry Kenneth powered home a 93rd-minute header to rescue a point for the hosts.
The struggling visitors looked set to break their away duck this season when on-loan Dundee striker Mickael Antoine-Curier fired them ahead in the 65th minute.
But decimated United piled forward in the closing stages, hitting the crossbar twice in the same move before their pressure finally told.
Tangerines boss
Craig Levein, who was without 11 first-team regulars through injury and suspension, said: "Just like last year wasn't it? The same, exactly the same.
"Last year, I was probably even more frustrated than I was this time round.
"I've got to look at some major factors affecting the team selection.
"For various different reasons, we've got 11 players who are in our first-team squad who are unavailable.
"So, I've got to compliment the guys for keeping at it and getting back into the match.
"I think if we'd played another five minutes, we would have won it, we were so much on top at that time."
Opposite number
Billy Reid said: "To come undone again, in the final seconds of the game - the same as last season - was hard to take for the players."
Reid admitted his side were under the cosh but queried the amount of stoppage-time played.
Decision
"I was wondering where five minutes came from," he said.
"But the referee's made that decision.
"We were hanging on, you'd expect that.
"I thought we had a wee bit of luck when the two crashed off the woodwork - I thought it was going to be our day.
"All credit to the boy Kenneth - it's a great finish in the air.
"But we're gutted. We came here with a game plan, to make sure we were in their faces, and we were, right from the kick-off."
Antoine-Curier was never going to be a popular scorer but his goal infuriated United's players and fans, who were adamant both he and Marco Paixao were offside when James McArthur played the striker in.
Levein, whose defence even stopped playing so confident were they, said: "The lads are telling me it's offside but I've long ago learnt never to listen to what players tell me after a match.
"They're saying he was offside; our video-technician people are saying he was offside.
"But, one thing I think's pretty obvious is how confident that far-side assistant was.
"If he's made a mistake, it doesn't really matter. It's one incident in a game and I only ever make a point of going off my head if there's half a dozen incidents in there."
Reid said: "I can understand them complaining about the goal.
"They seemed to just stop with two of our players sitting in the 18-yard box with no-one round about them.
"The linesman's looking at it so I don't really know."
Although they did not play at all well today, Levein praised his makeshift side for their persistence in the face of the current injury crisis.
"I've kept saying over the last two or three weeks, we just need to keep hanging on the coat-tails of everybody else at this minute in time," he said.
"We had a lot of troubles leading up to this game.
"Hamilton have got themselves parked in front of their goal and are defending for their lives.
"All credit to the boys."
