Arbroath manager Paul Sheerin refused to be disheartened after seeing his side fall to the bottom of the table.
On any other day a point at high-flying Stranraer would have been a good result.
This, after all, is the team that held Inverness Caley to a draw just seven days earlier to force a Scottish Cup replay.
The problem for Sheerin and his players was that Angus rivals Brechin went down at Airdrie, a result which allowed the Diamonds to move above Arbroath.
“It’s not a bad result,” said Sheerin. “Better sides than us have gone away from here with nothing so we have to keep it in perspective.”
Arbroath dominated the opening exchanges and should have been ahead when Leighton McIntosh squandered a great chance when clean through but McIntosh turned provider when the Red Lichties deservedly broke the deadlock in 14 minutes.
His cross was perfectly measured for Paul McManus to drill the ball into the net.
The visitors had chances to increase their lead but, the longer the match went on, the more Stranraer began to threaten and Arbroath had debutant keeper Sandy Wood to thank for keeping out Blues top scorer Jamie Longworth.
However, Wood was beaten just 12 minutes from time when Grant Gallagher’s raking drive soared into the net.
Sheerin added: “We started the game really well and I thought we could have been more than one goal up.
“But they put us under real pressure in the second half and we were hanging on at the end so we’ll take the point.”
Blues boss Stevie Aitken admitted his side were given a real test, saying: “Arbroath are fighting for their lives and we had to match their battling qualities.”