Scott Vernon scored a treble of goals as Aberdeen increased their chances of a second-place finish on Tuesday night.
The 30-year old striker netted in the seventh, 55th and 76th minutes of the Dons' 3-1 triumph over fourth-placed Dundee United who were served by Sean Dillon's equaliser just after the half-hour mark.
The victory saw Aberdeen, who have one fixture remaining, move four points clear of third-placed Motherwell who have a game in on hand on their rivals but Vernon felt it was an extremely positive result for the club.
"It's a funny old game isn't it, football," he said. "Obviously I'm delighted to get the three goals but ultimately the win for the team is massive tonight.
"We rode our luck at times through the game and the big man (goalkeeper Jamie Langfield) pulled off some incredible saves, so we're just delighted to get the result really."
The match was just the 13th league start for Vernon this season and the six-goal Englishman admitted it had been a slightly frustrating campaign individually at the Pittodrie.
He added: "When you're not getting as many games as you'd like, you're just determined to get in there and prove your point, like any other time I get a game I want to score goals, that's my job and thankfully tonight I've done that."
