Southampton secured Premier League safety with a full-blooded 3-3 draw against Bournemouth.
However, they could have pulled just one point behind their South Coast 'rivals' if they had held on to the victory that looked so certain until just four minutes from time.
Ralph Hasenhuttl will get the plaudits - and rightly so - for coming into a team that looked doomed after the lacklustre reign of Mark Hughes, and making sure that they will play top-flight football for another year yet.
The story of the game
Saints started the game much the better side, with Shane Long taking full advantage of the woeful start made by the Dorset side when he stroked home a Nathan Redmond cutback to give his side a deserved lead inside 12 minutes.
Bournemouth responded by withdrawing Chris Mepham in a tactical change to facilitate the introduction of the impressive Ryan Fraser. The Cherries then scored completely against the run of play on 20 minutes, with Callum Wilson teeing up an easy finish for Dan Gosling after a lightning counter-attack from Eddie Howe's men.
It went from bad to worse for the home side as they seemed to disintegrate completely. A short corner was cleared by the Southampton defence but only as far as David Brooks, who hit a low drive that Angus Gunn could only parry right into the path of Wilson, who gobbled up his thirteenth of the season.
Hasenhuttl reverted to his tried and trusted five at the back formation through the introduction of Matt Targett, who replaced the below-par Oriol Romeu at the break.
James Ward-Prowse then took the chance to grab his seventh goal of the season with a rare left-footed effort after a brilliant, direct run in front of England manager Gareth Southgate.
Saints then took the lead for the second time in the game with just over 20 minutes to play, when a pinpoint lofty cross from one wing-back - Yann Valery - found another in Targett, who was only too happy to nod home the 1000th Premier League goal of this season (and his first senior Southampton goal).
In typical Southampton fashion of late, however, they retracted after taking the lead, inviting pressure in the process. Bournemouth grabbed the leveller just four minutes from time when substitute Stuart Armstrong was pickpocketed inside his own half by Ryan Fraser, who found Wilson at the back post to finish.
The takeaways
Southampton struggling to hold leads
Yet again, and as we saw in the week, Southampton have struggled to preserve a lead. This is down to the pressure that they invite upon themselves by retreating so far into their own half. Saints play their best football when they are pinning their opponents back and restricting the ways that they can play out of danger. It is certainly something Hasenhuttl will have to address in the off-season.
Eddie Howe's Mepham moment pays off
With the Cherries struggling early inside the first half against the rampant home side, Howe made the decision to withdraw the struggling Mepham in order to stretch the changed Southampton with the introduction of the deadly Fraser. Immediately after the change was made, the extra man in Bournemouth's midfield took full advantage, turning the game on its head.
Quality pairing needed for Saints
The first takeaway could link into this one, with Jack Stephens hardly cutting a popular figure among Southampton fans at the moment. It is very clear that a quality partner for the rock-solid Jan Bednarek is needed, and the home side will have been very jealous of the immense talent that Nathan Ake possesses. It will be a very important summer window for Southampton as they look to banish the lingering fear of relegation.