The win broke a six-year streak of never having beaten Hawkes Bay at home, while a recent string of injuries made big physical demands on coach Malcolm Fleming's squad, which was without strikers Nathan Knox and Dan Ede.
"Robbie Deeley broke a toe last week, but decided to give it a go on Saturday and was a valuable ingredient for us, against a very good Bay side that drew 2-2 with league leaders Waitakere recently," Fleming said.
Certainly the New Zealand Football Championship has never been so tight, and while a win moved Otago temporarily to third place on Saturday, a loss could have sent Fleming's side sliding down to second-bottom place.
The pressure clearly showed as Otago started nervously in the opening exchanges and Hawkes Bay, led by the impressive Joachim Rande launched a series of attacks.
Rande and fellow Solomon Islander Andrew Abba, who both attended Nelson College for three years, have given Hawkes Bay a cutting edge that really tests opposition defences.
But Otago captain Tim Horner was up for the challenge and in tandem with Tom Sadd, and another fine match by goalkeeper James Waggett the United defence repelled Bay's early onslaught.
Breaking forward, Otago's Ryan Faichnie showed that he too could go past defenders, striker David Dugdale made intelligent runs, and at the sharp end, target man James Reichwein battled against giant centrebacks Chris Greatholder and Stuart Ferguson.
Despite lesser possession, Otago created some clear goal-scoring chances as the midfield led by Andy Coburn released Stu Kelly, Faichnie and Deeley on forward runs, and after 38 minutes Otago hit the jackpot.
Coburn slid a clever ball across to Kelly who chopped inside and made scoring look easy with a well-placed low drive past Bay keeper Richard Gillespie.
The goal boosted Otago, but also ignited Hawkes Bay, and spectators were treated to an attacking display from both sides that should have produced many more goals.
Dugdale, Kelly, Reichwein, Mike Abbott and Deeley all launched shots, the best being a close-range miss by Kelly as he first-timed a Faichnie cross over the crossbar.
Bay coach Matt Chandler also had his head in his hands as his team spurned clear chances.
Matt Hasting skewed two good opportunities wide, and the Solomon Islanders' pace gave chances that were not taken, especially in the closing dramatic minutes, when Otago was buckling as Bay desperately pressed for the equaliser.
Keeper Wagget dived in among the bootlaces to defy two clear breakaways, and Horner homed in on a blistering run by Abba to produce a clattering tackle that earned a yellow card from referee Kevin Stoltenkamp.
Without Knox, Ede and Jenkinson, and with Deeley on his broken toe, Otago showed lots of character in defence.
"In attack we carved out some very good chances the best being our match-winner," Fleming said.
