Mitch Megginson could not conceal his frustration after Cove Rangers surrendered a two-goal lead to the Wee Rovers.
Cove suffered a similar fate earlier in the season when they conceded a late equaliser during a 4-4 thriller in Coatbridge and the League Two leaders again looked destined to record victory until two late goals earned the home side a deserved draw.
Captain Megginson rightly bemoaned a terrible surface which had passed an earlier pitch inspection but he refused to use it as an excuse.
He said: “It’s the second time this season that we’ve been in a leading position here but dropped points. With ten minutes to go, we had a great change to pick up three points on a poor surface.
“There’s no ground lost because Edinburgh City dropped points but it’s a missed opportunity to extend our lead. We should have seen the game out but let’s look at the positives and we’ve gained another point.
“The surface was terrible. I’ve not played on a worse pitch in the Highland League. It was shocking and there was no chance we could play any football on that surface.
“We had to change up our game and play the percentages. The second goal we conceded came from trying to play out from the back and we need to learn from that. We played deeper in the second half and that went against our game plan.”
Megginson handed the visitors the perfect start when he netted his 21st goal of the season on 10 minutes. Josh Mulligan was afforded too much time on the right and he produced a pinpoint cross for the 27-year-old to tap into an empty neck.
Rovers were excellent in the first half but lacked the quality to turn their dominance into goals.
Scott Roberts was at the heartbeat of everything and he went close when his curled effort from the edge of the area sailed narrowly wide on 20 minutes.
The home support were furious when referee Barry Cook ignored two strong penalty claims in the space of a minute.
Declan Byrne was blatantly pushed in the box before Connor Scully appeared to handle in the area but the referee waved play on as Cove broke upfield and doubled their lead, Rory McAllister teeing up Jamie Masson who unleashed an unstoppable strike into the top corner.
The game appeared to be over but Albion produced a stunning late comeback to salvage a point.
Substitute Euan East fired a low drive beyond Stuart McKenzie from the edge of the area before Scott Roberts fired an excellent left-footed strike into the bottom corner on 87 minutes.
Cove rallied and spurned two great chances in the final few minutes, Albion keeper Ryan Goodfellow saving well from Harry Milne before substitute John Robertson smashed the bar to leave manager Paul Hartley disappointed.
The Cove boss said: “We didn’t manage the game well enough. We knew it would be a pitch that wouldn’t suit our style of play and we stressed that to the players. “We had to change our game plan and try to hit them down the sides because it wasn’t a pitch to play football on.”
Despite being held to a draw, Cove moved six points clear at the summit after nearest challengers Edinbrugh City were beaten 1-0 by Stirling Albion.
Hartley added: “I don’t even want to consider the Edinburgh City result. It was a case of deja vu today because we dropped stupid points here earlier in the season but we will learn and move on.”
