All square against ten men.
Colchester United spurned the chance for an important three points on Tuesday night, as Chesterfield came from behind to grab a draw.
The visitors were down to ten men from just seventeen minutes in and, having shown some patience, it looked like the U's had got the all important goal with twenty minutes remaining.
But Macauley Bonne's strike had the U's in front for just three minutes, before a Spireites penalty grabbed them an important equaliser in their own quest for safety.
Chances were at a relative premium in the first half, not least after Chesterfield went down to ten men when recent signing Gary Liddle saw red for a tackle on Kane Vincent-Young.
Sitting with nine of their ten men behind the ball, the visitors provided a tough wall for the U's to break down, with Ambrose having a shot blocked at close range and Eastman firing just wide from distance.
The U's did have the ball in the back of the net two minutes before half time, but Chris Porter was flagged offside to cut short the home fans' celebrations.
The visitors showed more attacking intent at the start of the second half, bringing on Lee Novak to provide an extra body up top.
He fired just wide on 54 minutes to put a shot across the U's bows, and Kevin Keen responded by introducing George Moncur and Drey Wright on the hour mark.
The change paid dividends with twenty minutes to go.
Wright had already sent over a dangerous cross which just eluded the flying body of Porter, before he repeated the feat five minutes later.
He drove at the byline and sent over a low cross that found fellow youth team graduate Bonne waiting to slide home and put the U's in front.
But the home fans, who were lifted by that opener, were silenced by a Chesterfield penalty shortly afterwards as Brindley caught Novak in the box.
The front man picked himself up and, although Parish went the right way, it found the bottom corner to make it 1-1.
From there, the visitors were happy to protect what they had and the challenge for the U's was to find another way past the massed defence.
Porter knocked down for Moncur but his shot was straight at Lee, and Garvan also fired into the midriff of the reliable Spireites keeper.
There were five additional minutes added on at the end of the game, a spell in which Vincent-Young curled a shot just beyond the upright as it opened up in front of him.
But it wasn't enough for the U's, who forewent a good chance to pick up the three points that continue to elude them.