Notts County head coach Ian Burchnall rued a catalogue of missed chances as the Magpies were held by promotion rivals Halifax at Meadow Lane.
In a thrilling contest, Notts fell behind when Aaron Martin beat the offside trap before rifling into an empty net after rounding goalkeeper Vitezslav Jaros.
But Notts roared back and hit the post through Eli Sam before Jack Senior was sent off for a second bookable offence before the break.
That led to a siege before half-time which saw Sam equalise with a terrific strike from outside the box.
Notts dominated the second half but through a combination of wasteful finishing and stubborn Halifax defending, they couldn't find a way through as Kyle Cameron hit the bar in stoppage time.
Burchnall said he was pleased with the performance, but said that missed chances ultimately proved costly.
"It's the best 45 minutes we have played," he said.
"I think we make one mistake but other than that we were fantastic even against 11 men.
"They pressed high and we went straight through it. We missed some big chances.
"We missed an open goal, we've had two or three more after that.
"We've hit the bar once and the post. It's not easy to play against 10 men, but after the red card, they don't register an attempt anywhere near our goal.
"We controlled the entire game, the only thing is we don't finish the chances.
"But I thought the performance level of the players was very high. I have to give credit to Halifax in the second half as they defended the box immensely well and the goalkeeper was excellent.
"There were a lot of blocked shots and moments like that you need when you have 10 men. They had a little bit of fortune but on another day that can be five goals.
"We just have to replicate that level of performance again."
