There was late drama up and down the country on a busy Sunday in the Premier League as Newcastle, Wigan and Spurs all left it late to grab a point or three in the fight for the top four and the battle against relegation.
Elsewhere, Paolo Di Canio endured defeat at Chelsea in his first match in charge of Sunderland, whilst Liverpool were held to a goalless draw by West Ham in the early kick-off at Anfield.
White Hart Lane was the venue for a clash that could prove crucial in the race for Champions League qualification as the hosts were held to a 2-2 draw by Everton.
Emmanuel Adebayor's fifth goal of the season gave Andre Villas-Boas and the home fans a dream start when the Togolese striker put Spurs ahead with just 33 seconds on the clock, but goals from Phil Jagielka and Kevin Mirallas turned the game on its head.
Everton looked to be holding on to a victory that would put them within three points of fourth place, but Gylfi Sigurdsson struck in the 87th minute to ensure the spoils were shared.
The result leaves Spurs occupying the final Champions League spot with six games to play, but they hold just a two point advantage over Arsenal who have a game in hand against Everton at the Emirates a week on Tuesday.
Chelsea are the other side battling to secure a place in Europe's premiere competition for next season, and they moved into third place on goal difference after a 2-1 win over Sunderland at Stamford Bridge.
Rafa Benitez has overseen some patchy home form for the Blues during his tenure, and that looked set to continue when Cesar Azpilicueta's own goal on the stroke of half-time gave Sunderland a shock lead.
Unfortunately for the Black Cats the second half response was swift from the West Londoners, as Branislav Ivanovic hit the winner on 55 minutes after Matt Kilgallon's had put the ball into his own net to level the score just two minutes after the break.
Sunderland sit in 17th place, just one point above the drop zone ahead of a massive derby clash with Newcastle United next Sunday.
The Magpies go into that game in far better spirits after Papiss Cissé struck DEEP INTO INJURY TIME to seal a 1-0 win over Fulham at St James' Park.
Dimitar Berbatov had threatened to send Alan Pardew's men even closer to the bottom three, but the hosts had chances themselves and Cissé finally took advantage with one of the last kicks of the game.
Fulham remain comfortably midtable, whilst Newcastle move five points clear of the bottom three.
Chelsea weren't the only hosts in West London this afternoon, as Queens Park Rangers looked set to begin an unlikely surge to safety by coming within seconds of beating Wigan at Loftus Road.
A nervy affair between two sides in the relegation places was tight and edgy until Bobby Zamora's red card for a shocking challenge on Jordi Gomez after just 20 minutes saw play open up somewhat, but Wigan were unable to take advantage of their numerical advantage as Rangers dominated proceedings.
Their dominance was finally reflected in the scoreline with 85 minutes played when a lightning fast counter attack ended in a sumptuous strike from Loic Remy.
Unfortunately for Harry Redknapp there was to be a late twist when Stephane Mbiwa (who had been influential in his side taking the lead) conceded a needless free-kick on the edge of the box DEEP INTO INJURY TIME, which Shaun Maloney expertly placed beyond Julio Cesar (admittedly aided by some extreme cowardice from Adel Taraabt in the wall).
Despite the joy expressed by the travelling fans it wasn't an ideal result for either side; QPR require 13 points from their remaining 6 games to stay up, whilst Wigan remain in eighteenth place ahead of a nightmarish run-in that includes trips to Manchester City and Arsenal.
Anfield was the venue for the only goalless game of the day, as Liverpool and West Ham played out a drab draw that all but ended Liverpool's faint hopes of a place in Europe for next season.
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