Ross County 3 Inverness CT 3: Late late show

Many people were disappointed, however, not least Ross County's players, manager Derek Adams and their supporters. When this match reached the 87th minute, they seemed happy enough just to have grabbed a merited second equaliser of the afternoon, but little did they suspect what was to come.

There was still time to squeeze in what looked like an injury-time winner, then have the joy snatched from them by a poorly defended equaliser for Inverness Caledonian Thistle, timed at fully 94 minutes and 10 seconds of play.

Considering the fourth official had only signalled for three minutes, and Richie Foran was offside when he used his face to deflect in the visitors' second goal, it was little wonder Adams was unhappy about the hand he had been dealt by Craig Thomson and his officials. "I've seen the replay and for the second goal Foran is in an offside position," Adams said. "Then in injury time, over the allotted time, they score, and get back into the tie.

"They went over the three minutes but that is the way it goes sometimes. Over the piece, we probably did enough to go through but we haven't and need to go to Inverness for a replay."

To compound his sense of injustice, Adams was unhappy about the Ross Draper challenge which will almost certainly mean he is without the excellent Stuart Kettlewell for the replay.

For Inverness, however, the late drama means they remain unbeaten in cup competitions this season, even if their derby rivals had gone one better than Celtic and Aberdeen, and in doing so depriving them of a hat-trick of away victories that would potentially have been the finest in the club's relatively short history.

"I asked Alan Muir [the fourth official] how long was left and he said 'we are nearly finished'," said Inverness manager Terry Butcher. "But you can't put nearly up on a board. That was the most bizarre answer I have ever had from a fourth official. I said to my players you never know when you are beaten and with that resilience it could be a great season."

Inverness had held the upper hand in the direct comparison between these two rivals, unsurprisingly considering the population of the city dwarves that of Dingwall, although it was worth noting that it was Ross County who had made it to this competition's final in 2010.

The visitors won the sides' previous meeting in the league this season 3-1 and, while the County matchday squad contained no fewer than five players who could uncharitably be termed Caley Thistle cast-offs, none had gone in the other direction.

With in excess of 5000 crammed into Victoria Park, or the Global Energy Stadium, the match began – after a brief hiatus following the launch of a flare on to the pitch by the visiting supporters – with Caley Thistle on the front foot and a low sun causing difficulties for the County defenders. But it took a moment of skill just after the half-hour from Billy McKay to open up this game.

Aaron Doran's deep free-kick was headed back across the field by Richie Foran, and the onrushing Northern Irishman caught it beautifully on the volley, the ball striking the inside of the post en route into the net. It was his fourth goal in a week.

The last minute of the first half hinted at the drama to come as both sides had balls cleared off the line, but County came out after the break like a team possessed. Before long, Rocco Quinn's curling shot sailed into the same top corner McKay had found earlier.

It was against the run of play when another McKay shot struck Foran's face to wrong foot goalkeeper Mark Brown and give the visitors the lead once more, before Iain Vigurs' shot deflected into that popular top corner.

Richard Brittain's angled free-kick made it into the net unmolested to spark mayhem from the stands, but the cheers were silenced when Brown could only parry behind a long-range effort from Owain Tudur Jones, then watch in dismay as Roberts prodded in from Foran's shot at the resultant corner.