Last-placed North Queensland have gone within a whisker of slaying competition leader Brisbane Roar after leading from the ninth minute until conceding five minutes from time in a 1-1 draw at Suncorp Stadium.
The cellar-dwelling Fury were willing combatants for the table-topping Roar, and David Williams in particular was outstanding, setting up the first goal and going close to a second assist in the 55th minute.
But the Roar were never out of it, trying hard all the way in front of 10,126 at Suncorp, and the draw, which came courtesy of Ivan Franjic's right boot, seemed a fair result in the end.
Brisbane had the lion's share of possession and played much of the game in opposition territory, but they appeared to be missing their usual spark after a heavy schedule of matches.
North Queensland had promised to play with confidence against the table-topping Roar, and the attacking approach paid immediate dividends.
Williams took possession on the right hand edge of the area, created space with a skilful touch, and then fed the ball into the area where Gareth Edds timed his run to perfection and hammered home the goal from point blank range.
The Roar had conceded first for the third consecutive game, and again the deficit seemed to provoke a greater sense of urgency.
Ivan Franjic went agonisingly close, hitting the crossbar with a right-footed effort, but the scrappy North Queensland Fury were holding on tight to their rare lead.
But, for all their possession, Brisbane were uncharacteristically disjointed, playing long and lacking imagination, perhaps as a result of their busy schedule.
Reinaldo had a great chance for the Roar after latching onto a probing through ball, but didn't have the control to seize the opportunity.
Defensive midfielder Erik Paartalu broke forward and had a well-directed header force a save out of Justin Pasfield before a 45th-minute shot from inside the area rounded out the first half.
The Fury should certainly have doubled their lead in the 55th minute when Williams went to work on the right hand edge, but this time his accurate cross went begging as Jason Spagnuolo somehow pushed his shot wide of the open goal.
Brisbane thought they had their equaliser soon after when substitute Jean Carlos Solorzano ran on to a through-ball and slotted past the keeper, but the linesman's flag was up and the Costa Rican was yellow-carded for playing past the whistle.
Minutes later he had an onside chance after a strong run from Reinaldo, but the left-footed strike was well off target.
Just as Brisbane seemed destined to have their 11-game undefeated streak broken, Franjic came to the rescue.
Roar skipper Matt McKay floated a pass over the penalty area from the left hand side to find his right-back streaking in to take the pass and fire past a helpless Justin Pasfield.
Brisbane Roar: 1 (Franjic 85)
North Queensland Fury: 1 (Edds 9)
Crowd: 10,126 at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane