Tranmere missed the chance to close the gap on the top three in League Two after drawing 0-0 at Newport.
Micky Mellon's men hit the woodwork twice but the draw left them in fifth place, four points off MK Dons in the final automatic-promotion spot.
Mark Ellis powered a header onto the crossbar in the 13th minute to send an early statement of intent as Tranmere looked to get back on track following their first defeat in nine games.
Joe Day endured two minutes of madness as some uncharacteristic kamikaze goalkeeping almost handed Tranmere the lead.
First he spilled a simple take as a long ball trickled his way, before he strayed from his goal to force Mickey Demetriou to rush back and deflect his effort behind.
Then he came out to claim the resulting corner but let the ball slip through his grasp which allowed substitute Chris Dagnall to stab a close-range effort against the post.
Joss Labadie thought he had won it in the 87th minute but assistant referee Lisa Rashid flagged for offside and it ended goalless.