A controversial last-minute penalty salvaged Stenhousemuir's unbeaten record at Arbroath.
The home side looked to be cruising to victory after taking the lead in the 46th minute when Jay Stein volleyed high into the net from 20 yards to leave Willy McCulloch helpless.
Arbroath's prospects looked even brighter two minutes later when Stenhousemuir's Colin Cramb was sent off after retaliating to a hard challenge from Kevin McMullan. McMullan was booked for his contribution to the fracas.
But referee Scott MacDonald infuriated the home support in the 89th minute when he awarded the 10-man visitors a soft penalty after Paul McGrillen and McMullan tangled in the box. McGrillen kept his cool and slotted the spot-kick firmly past Mark Cairns.
Arbroath came close to regaining the lead in stoppage time, but Paul Watson's well-struck shot was saved confidently by McCulloch.
Arbroath manager Harry Cairney wasn't happy with the outcome. "I disagreed with the referee's decision about the penalty and that's all there is to it. My players didn't think it was a penalty, they thought McGrillen fell over the ball," he said.
Stenhousemuir boss Dex McKeown was unimpressed by his team's effort. He said: "It wasn't a good day for us, but we will take the point. We started well but then fell out of the game for no good reason and resorted to long balls, and that's not our strength. We can do much better."