Scorers: Arnott (70)
An Aaron Arnott strike was not enough to stop Bonnyrigg Rose from finishing bottom of the Scottish League Two table.
The Midlothian side came into the game knowing they needed a win and for results elsewhere to go their way for them to avoid finishing as club 42.
Stranraer came into the game with little to play for and a squad missing eight first team regulars.
That meant space on the bench for Harry Mitchell, Adam Wilde, Jake Ellis and Ally Hilferty.
Perhaps as expected, the visitors enjoyed plenty of the ball and Finn Ecrepont had to be alert to block a Kieran McGachie effort in the opening stages.
However, despite having plenty of possession, Josh Lane was relatively untested and it was Stranraer who could have opened the scoring midway through the first half.
Max Guthrie broke the offside trap and cut in from the left but Patrick Martin was equal to his fierce drive and turned it round the post at the expense of a corner.
Then, in the closing stages of the first half, both teams had chances to break the deadlock.
First, Elliot Dunlop and Ryan Edgar combined well with the striker sent through on goal, only for the offside flag to go up.
Lane then looked slightly unconvincing in pushing a Cameron Ross shot into the air before Murray Aiken hooked the follow-up off target.
At the other end, Guthrie turned provider in finding Ecrepont in plenty of space.
The full-back strode forward and his drive whistled just past the post with Martin at full stretch.
Finally, with the last action of the first half, Lee Currie should have done better than blaze over the crossbar from the edge of the box.
The action continued almost immediately after the restart when Stranraer came within a whisker of finding the breakthrough.
A corner fell kindly to Scott Robertson in the box and it took a goal line block from Neil Martyniuk to keep the scores blank.
Bonnyrigg were arguably a bit slow out of the blocks at the start of the second half but began to find their way back into the game around the hour mark.
Finally, their pressure paid off with the only goal of the game with 20 minutes left.
Substitute Ryan Porteous did well to get away from Lewis Reid on the right and fired in a tempting ball along the six-yard box.
Arnott had timed his late run to perfection and smashed home at the back post to send the sizeable travelling support wild.
Stranraer attempted to get back into the contest but never really found a way to test Martin.
In the end, it proved for nothing as Forfar picked up a point against Stirling Albion and Bonnyrigg Rose will now play East Kilbride in a bid to continue their stay in the fourth tier of Scottish football.
Stranraer: Lane, Ecrepont, Reid, Craig Ross, McKnight (Hilferty 83), Dunlop (Wilde 82), Quigg, Robertson (Brindley 75), Russell, Guthrie (Ellis 83), Edgar (Mitchell 60).
Not used: Kane.
Bonnyrigg Rose: Martin, Somerville, Martyniuk, Connolly, Mailer (Lennon 71), Currie, Aiken, Murphy (Watson 85), Arnott, McGachie (Porteous 68), Cameron Ross.
Not used: Ferrie, Young and Andrews.
Referee: Peter Stuart
Attendance: 852
HT: 0-0
Photos: Bill McCandlish
