Hermes manager Steven Watson praised the character of his team as they mounted a dramatic comeback over Dyce to win 3-2 at Ian Mair Park.

The away side took the lead through an early Jack Craig header before two quick-fire goals from Kade Mahoney and Lee Simpson at the start of the second half had Dyce ahead. Two late finishes from Hermes substitutes Craig Mackie and James McMahon inflicted a first defeat of the season on Dyce and gave the Bridge of Don side a valuable three points.

Watson said: “I thought it was a superb performance; we played really well in the first half and apart from five minutes of madness where we concede twice I’m really happy.

Tonight showed how important a second goal can we; I felt we needed one at the start of the second half and all of a sudden Dyce get two and we’re on the back foot.

“I’m pleased that the substitutes and late formation change made the difference; we made it hard for ourselves but it’s the win that matters.

“This is going to be the hardest season in years; so many teams are vying for the top spot and results like this make sure we are in the fight too.”

Hermes took the lead after six minutes when a looping header from Paul Esslemont was nodded in by Craig. The away side were the dominant team in the opening stages; Dyce battled hard but couldn’t test Jacob Otto in the away goal.

Most of the action came in the second half and it started with an equaliser in the 50th minute. A curled through-ball was well collected by Mahoney, who beat Hermes defender Dominic Rae to drive towards goal and dispatch a calm effort into the bottom corner.

Dyce were the team in ascendance and took the lead three minutes later. Pressure on the byline was cleared by Hermes but only as far as Dyce left back Simpson, with his ranged effort curling over the defence past Otto.

With full time approaching, Dyce ‘keeper Morgan Cook was deemed to have held on to the ball for too long and Hermes were awarded a corner. A scramble in the box delivered the ball to the feet of substitute Mackie, who tucked his effort through the legs of Cook to restore parity in the 89th minute.

There was time for one more dramatic twist, when McMahon collected the ball on the left from a long diagonal, dribbled into the box and dispatched an effort which deflected off the Dyce defence and rolled into the net in the 92nd minute.

Ugly scenes at the end resulted in four red cards, with Hermes holding on to record a vital win in their league campaign.

Dyce assistant manager Greg Culling said: “First half was poor, and we gave ourselves work to do. After making some adjustments I was hoping we could force mistakes and was pleased to take the lead through good pressure.

“I didn’t think Hermes had much to offer in the second half, but they got their equaliser and the momentum swung in their favour and the grabbed a winner.

“It’s a sickening one for us, but we’ll go again and learn from tonight.”