Colchester United escaped with a point in a match that visitors Plymouth dominated from start to finish.
It was a combination of poor finishing, bad luck and some good saves from keeper Simon Brown which denied the Devon side a deserved away victory.
The Essex hosts came into this fixture fresh from a 3-2 win at Notts County, but they were on the back foot as the Pilgrims created chance after chance.
Plymouth's misfortune was up when livewire striker Mickey Evans hit a post with a superb header in the 68th minute.
Evans powered in a header from a cross by Lee Hodges and the ball struck the inside of the far post before bouncing off the body of Brown. Yet the U's keeper was able to smother the ball before it crossed the line.
Earlier, Ian Stonebridge had been the chief culprit for missed chances in the first half. He fired a couple of shots wide with just keeper Brown to beat.
David Norris had most of the opportunities in the second half, blazing wide from various distances. Brown also came to his sides rescue when denying Marino Keith with a fine save at full stretch.
Colchester rarely threatened. Striker Kevin Rapley had a shot blocked on the edge of the penalty area in the 47th minute and the closest they came to a goal was when Frenchman Thomas Pinault sent a scorching 30-yarder over the bar in the 73rd minute.
Yet United were hanging on desperately for a point during a frantic finale, which featured several goalmouth scrambles.
Colchester manager Steve Whitton admitted: “It was very frustrating because we never got going and we never played our football.
“I was relieved to hear the final whistle at the end because Plymouth were pegging us back and putting us under some heavy pressure.”