Steely St Mirren snatched a crucial draw in Conference League qualifying as Toyosi Olusanya slammed home a last-gasp leveller.
In a match the hosts had no right to draw, Stephen Robinson's side defied the statistics to keep the tie alive ahead of the second leg in Bergen.
Brann had dominated throughout with Felix Myhre eventually making their pressure pay with a volley too hot to handle as it flew past Ellery Balcombe 15 minutes from time.
St Mirren were clinging on but conjured up the unthinkable to strike in the final minute as a Scott Tanser ball found James Scott in the box who squared for Olusanya to hammer home from a yard out.
All Brann
Within seconds it was Brann dominating proceedings.
St Mirren simply couldn't get a kick - and when they did it was a ball lofted long, gobbled up by the impressive Ruben Kristiansen in defence and recycled into another wave of offence.
Felix Myhre was at the heartbeat of the Brann midfield and effortlessly dictated large periods of play either surging forward with the ball himself or inviting tireless wing duo Niklas Castro and Ole Didrik Blomberg to test the St Mirren defence.
The visitors - sitting second after 18 games in their domestic league season - looked a cut above and a step ahead in Paisley.
On the evidence of the first leg, Brann will be confident of finishing the job in Bergen but it's far from over.
Brown and Balcombe
SK Brann manager Eirik Horneland will have been left wondering how his side were unable to break the deadlock after a breathless first half in Paisley.
Total domination with the hosts passed off the pitch, all that was missing was a bit of conviction in the final third.
Well, that and the ability to get through heroic defensive duo Jaden Brown and Ellery Balcombe.
The on-loan Brentford goalkeeper produced four big stops in a frantic first 45 minutes to keep the scores level.
And Brown was similarly responsible for keeping things tight first with a goal-line clearance after 22 minutes and then an inch-perfect challenge on Ole Didrik Blomberg.
In stoppage time the duo decided the ball simply wouldn't pass the goal-line with another inspired combined block to deny a certain goal.
The keeper would sensationally deny Blomberg again in the second half with Alex Gogic blocking Finne's rebound - however, there was no stopping Myhre's volley seconds later.
Bergen Bard
If Robert Tannahill was Paisley's answer to Robert Burns then he had competition in Brann's Bard Finne on Thursday night.
Tannahill - born just streets away from the SMiSA Stadium - was known as the Weaver Poet but it was Finne who was crafting poetry in motion on the European stage.
The tricky forward was causing mayhem in the St Mirren rearguard with Alex Gogic better in the physical duel on multiple occasions.
Fortunately, for the hosts, the 29-year-old wasn't clinical in his finishing with a handful of openings squandered.
But Stephen Robinson will have seen more than enough of the striker to know he's one of a number of dangermen in the Brann side.
Capable of holding it up, knitting together neat patterns of play and bursting in behind with pace to burn - Finne was a different calibre of striker for the St Mirren defence to come up against.
The battle was bruising but thankfully no knockout blow was landed leaving St Mirren with a puncher's chance next week.
History rewritten
The last time St Mirren competed in Europe Norwegian club Tromso came to town. Back then, Kenny McDowall scored in the first leg for the Paisley club to take a 1-0 lead on their travels.
Back in 1987, St Mirren then played out a 0-0 draw on their travels to advance before being knocked out by KV Mechelen in the following round.
This time a reverse of the scorelines leaves St Mirren with a small mountain to climb in Norway next week. But crucially, the Paisley club have a genuine shot at progression having refused to be beaten in front of a capacity crowd.
Squad goals
Stephen Robinson has been vocal in his desire to build a squad capable to compete on both the domestic and European front this season.
The most unlikely of draws proved there is serious squad depth in Paisley with three subs combining to find a leveller lifting the roof off the SMiSA Stadium.
Scott Tanser's lofted ball picked out James Scott to square brilliantly leaving Toyosi Olusanya - desperately unlucky not to start - with the goal at his mercy.
St Mirren were without captain Mark O'Hara and long-term absentees Greg Kiltie and Conor McMenamin but proved they have quality in reserve this season.
