Spartans are dealt late blow in League Two title pursuit
Spartans were denied a precious three points as league leaders East Kilbride converted a late penalty to earn a share of the spoils.
A crowd of over 1,300 descended on the Vanloq Community Stadium for arguably Scotland's game of the day as second hosted first in League Two.
After a tense 45 minutes, Spartans opened the scoring in the 54th minute when Jordan Tapping headed home James Craigen's corner.
However, John Robertson's spot-kick six minutes from time restored parity and ensured Kilby left the Capital with their one-point lead intact with just five matches left to play.
Elsewhere, Edinburgh City are edging closer to the relegation play-off after a 1-0 loss to Stirling Albion.
Corey Thomson scored the only goal at Forthbank in the 83rd minute, a result that leaves the Citizens ten points adrift of Dumbarton at the foot of the table.
Boss Michael McIndoe is realistic about his side's chances, saying: "We need wins and we've got to be realistic here at the moment. The teams above us are probably too far away for us to catch now, and the 15-point deduction has done us a little more damage than we thought."
Meanwhile, Bonnyrigg Rose manager Jonny Stewart believes his side's Lowland League title aspirations are all but over following their 2-2 draw at Berwick Rangers.
Rose are still a point clear at the top but both Clydebank, and Tranent, are just a point and two points worse off respectively, and have a game in hand. Linlithgow are three points adrift but have played two games fewer.
"We don't deserve to win the league if we defend like that," Stewart said. "The two goals we gave away are shocking. It's [the league] probably gone for us now, which is really disappointing. After a poor start to the season, we got ourselves into a great position when we went on a run that got ourselves to the top.
"Ultimately, we've not handled that pressure well enough. Our form since the Gretna game, we've won games but we've not been amazing to be perfectly honest, and we've dropped too many points recently. We need to go and win our final three league games."