Elgin City were denied a return to winning ways as Stenhousemuir struck late to claim a 1-1 draw at Borough Briggs.
Aaron Reid’s second half goal looked to have ended a run of six straight defeats, in Elgin’s first game following the dismissal of Gavin Price at the weekend.
A last-gasp Ross Forbes strike came as an agonising blow for the Black and Whites though.
Despite the late setback, the result moves Elgin a point off the foot of the League Two table, however, it was undoubtedly an opportunity missed for the Black and Whites.
Elgin’s temporary coaching team of Charlie Charlesworth, Stevie Dunn and Ross Draper rang the changes in an effort to bring about improved fortunes.
There was a change in goals, with Thomas McHale restored in place of Daniel Hoban, while Reid, Owen Cairns and Dylan Lawrence were drafted in for Andy Tod, Evan Towler and skipper Matthew Cooper in an attack-minded setup.
Elgin made an encouraging start, with Lawrence showing some neat footwork, but he was unable to play in Kane Hester with his final pass.
It was Stenny who had the first serious threat on four minutes, with goalie McHale called into action to make an excellent block with his legs to deny Nicky Jamieson, who looked certain to score after getting on the end of Ross Forbes’ corner. Jamieson had another headed opportunity seconds later, but this time could not steer his effort on target.
Elgin should have taken the lead on 11 minutes when Owen Cairns showed courage to break forward before releasing Reid, whose cutback picked out Hester in an excellent position, but City’s leading scorer snatched his effort wide.
At the other end, McHale had to show good reactions again to palm wide after Adam Brown tried his luck from the edge of the box.
Another opportunity came Elgin’s way on 18 minutes when Reid lofted a ball to the far post which was narrowly missed by Lawrence, who suffered a nasty collision with the post in his run towards goal.
It was to prove the end of Lawrence’s night, as he was withdrawn to be replaced by Matt Jamieson.
Elgin kept up their pressure, with Russell Dingwall clipping the top of the crossbar with a curling free-kick on 31 minutes.
The home side spurned another glorious chance on 44 minutes when Hester robbed Jamieson of the ball on the byline, with his cutback blazed high over the bar by Dingwall.
Elgin looked to continue their dominance at the start of the second half, with Reid’s cutback struck wide by Brian Cameron shortly after the restart.
Stenny looked to impose their threat at the other end, however, with McHale forced to make a fine double save to thwart Adam Brown and Gavin Reilly on 56 minutes.
Elgin continued to try their luck, with Jamieson and Rory MacEwan both off target with strikes from distance.
The home side’s persistence eventually paid off on 69 minutes, when Hester’s through-ball picked out Reid, with the Aberdeen loanee showing excellent composure to drill a low finish past Curtis Lyle.
Hester then attempted to double the lead with an overhead kick, which whistled narrowly past.
The Warriors struck a cruel blow on the home side when Forbes’ fine strike flew into the far corner in stoppage time, with Elgin looking to build on a promising performance when they host Forfar Athletic on Saturday.
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