An unbroken eighth-wicket stand of 76 between Matt Nicholson and Jimmy Ormond ensured Surrey's encounter at Hampshire remained in the balance on day three.
Resuming on 204-7, Hampshire's innings was soon wrapped up for 227, with Pedro Collins taking two wickets early on.
However, despite missing Chris Tremlett through injury, the hosts were inspired with the ball, reducing Surrey to 75-7 in reply, Sean Ervine taking 3-26.
Nicholson and Ormond combined to take Surrey to 151-7, though, a lead of 202.
Surrey, who had finished off Hampshire in the first hour of a cloudy morning, began again with obvious prospects of pushing for a match-winning position with Tremlett (back spasms) out of the equation.
But the paceman's absence was not sorely felt as Ervine, James Tomlinson and Dimitri Mascarenhas made short work of the opposition's frontline batting.
Scott Newman had already edged to slip and Jonathan Batty fallen lbw when Mark Ramprakash, a century short of 100 first-class career hundreds, fell lbw to Mascarenhas.
Mark Butcher and Usman Afzaal provided brief respite for Surrey but Ervine accounted for both, and when Ally Brown and Chris Jordan fell, the visitors had a lead of just 126 runs with three wickets in hand.
Ormond and Nicholson therefore needed to eke out something to bowl at - and they batted sensibly to level this contest up again as Tremlett's inactivity began to prove costly after all.
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