Dyce and Hermes fought out a 2-2 share of the McBookie.com Superleague spoils at Ian Mair Park, in a game which saw the visitors take the lead twice.
The visitors went ahead after 21 minutes, when Michael Dawson cut in from the left to fire home a fine finish for what was his 100th goal for the club.
Eight minutes later, things were level when Sam Robertson’s wicked cross was deflected into his own net by James Cairns.
Dyce then scored a great chance to go in front when Robertson missed from the spot and they were punished three minutes from the break when Dawson again struck from the left, his shot taking a deflection past the keeper.
Two minutes later it was again all square when Jordan Leyden volleyed home from the edge of the box to complete the scoring.
Dyce boss Alfie Youngson felt the outcome was about right.
He said: “It was two good teams and that’s us unbeaten in seven. You’re never completely happy with just a point at home, but Hermes are a very good side.”
Lochside Park assistant manager Steve Watson agreed in the assessment.
He said: “Defensively the goals we conceded were poor, but it was probably the right result. I felt we dominated in the second half and their keeper made some excellent saves.”
This weekend sees Dyce travel to Muirkirk in a bid to reach the quarter-finals of the Scottish Junior Cup (kick-off 1.45 pm) and, as far as Youngson is concerned, it’s a chance to make a wee bit of history.
He said: “This is the furthest a north-east side has gone in the competition for quite a while and it would be fantastic to go one step more.”
Gordon Forsyth, Daniel Bell and Blair Johnston are all expected to return for Dyce, while Nicky Gray has a 50-50 chance of making the squad.
Hermes are also in cup action on Saturday with a tricky League Cup quarter-final tie against Bridge of Don Thistle, and Watson knows it won’t be easy.
He said: “It’s a big game for us. If we had been at home, I would always fancy us, but going to the Sports Village against the side who have just taken the first league points off Banks o’ Dee will be a tough one.
“It’s a competition that we normally do well in and we were due to play Banks o’ Dee in last season’s final when football was stopped again, and we’d like to get to the same stage again this season.”
The match gets under way at 1.30 pm.
