Player-manager Paul Simpson carved out another point for his Carlisle team in their desperate bid to beat relegation, with goals seven minutes from the start and seven minutes from the end of a tense clash at Cambridge.
He might even have won the game in stoppage time, but when he rammed in a shot from 12 yards, goalkeeper Shaun Marshall pushed the ball for a corner with a full-length diving save.
Such a late winner would have been rough justice however for the Cambridge side recovered from an error strewn first half to grab the lead with two goals in three minutes.
John Taylor's team had managed only five goals in their previous eight matches, but caught out the Carlisle defence with a double boost in which David Bridges headed home in the 53rd minute and Luke Guttridge ran through a flat defence to score in the 56th.
Cambridge had more possession in the match but Carlisle, beaten only twice in ten games, created the clearer chances.
In the first half after Simpson took advantage of a poor back header from Stev Angus to score in the seventh minute, he blazed over in the 25th then saw Matt Fryatt fire straight at the keeper in the 32nd.
Simpson took his chance well in the closing stages when a scuffed goal attempt by Craig Farrell fell to him eight yards out.
He saw it very much though as two points lost, criticising his team for a poor display.
He said: "Despite the early lead we just weren't at it. I thought Cambridge were there for the taking, but we let them off the hook.
"We allowed them to get back into the game and take over and in the end I had to be happy with the point if not the performance." Cambridge boss John Taylor, under severe pressure after a run of only five points out of 27, was more impressed with his team.
He commented: "We showed a lot of character to come back from behind in such an important match and to take the lead.
"I thought we were good enough to win it when we controlled the second half, but the mistakes at the back which have been so costly for us were there again.
"A mistake led to Carlisle's first goal and our marking was not good enough when they got the equaliser, but it was vital we didn't lose this one."