Burton Albion were unable to capitalise on Eric Lichaj's first-half red card as they were held for a frustrating goalless draw at home to Nottingham Forest.
Lichaj saw red just before the half-hour mark for a poor sliding challenge on Martin Samuelsen, and Albion took complete control from there.
But a combination of fine goalkeeping from Costel Pantilimon and a lack of composure in the final third prevented Nigel Clough's side from finding the goal that surely would have secured them a first home win since September.
That wait goes on, although the point takes Burton to within three points of safety.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the desperation of both sides to secure a positive result at the Pirelli Stadium, it began in a scrappy yet fiery fashion.
It was Forest who enjoyed the early pressure, with Joe Lolley firing a first-time effort straight at Stephen Bywater from Matty Cash's low cross.
The Brewers - unchanged from last weekend's draw at Ipswich Town - showed more sloppiness in possession than they had in the previous 180 minutes of Championship action.
But fortunes turned in Albion's favour just before the hour-mark when their visitors were reduced to 10 men.
The game had reached a fiery level following several challenges and contentious decisions when Lichaj slid in from on Martin Samuelsen, who was turning to break down the line.
Both players stayed down, before referee Andy Davies showed the Forest full-back the red card.
It was a poor challenge and there can have been few complaints over the decision.
That moment sparked the Burton crowd and players into a new life, with Samuelsen heading just wide from Jacob Davenport's corner.
West Ham loanee Samuelsen then forced a fine reaction stop from Pantilimon as he struck a sweet half-volley from Darren Bent's nod down.
Albion carried that momentum into the second half, when they have historically been shaky this season on home soil.
Davenport chipped a beautiful ball over to Samuelsen at the back post, and he cushioned it across for Bent, who headed just over.
After a small stutter following John Brayford's removal with an injury, the Brewers continued to press with their one-man advantage in the bag.
Samuelsen - lively all afternoon - saw one good shot blocked and another well tipped away by Pantilimon.
Stunning covering work from Danny Fox then denied Bent, who chested down Joe Sbarra's cross and had the space to let fly.
That was a symbol for the frustrating afternoon Burton endured in front of goal.
As the clock wore down, Forest were pressed deeper and deeper into their own territory.
But when the moments came, Pantilimon was again on hand, reacting well when Sbarra's cross-shot evaded everyone in the box except the visiting stopper.
Push as Albion did in the dying stages - with Liam Boyce again getting a late cameo - there was a sense of inevitability as cross after cross was headed clear by a player in a red shirt.
Almost 12 months ago, it was Burton's supreme rearguard that earned them the result they wanted against the Reds.
Here, you feel Forest will be very pleased with how their resilience earned them a share of the spoils, while the Brewers will reflect on a second successive game in which an inability to find the net robbed them of what they will have felt their performance otherwise deserved.
