Tranmere rescued a point with a stoppage-time equaliser from Connor Jennings in a 1-1 draw to Chesterfield.
The home side were looking for back-to-back wins, after beating Bristol Rovers away 4-1 last week, but it was the visitors who took the lead, after 12 minutes, through an Omari Patrick own goal.
James Berry was the creator as he picked up on a loose ball on the halfway line and drove forward and curled a teasing cross in the box. Patrick slid to intercept but could only divert it into his own net.
Rovers could not react to the goal but Chesterfield were looking close to doubling their lead after brilliant play from winger Dilon Markanday, as he made a weaving run into the box, only for his deflected shot to go just wide from a narrow angle.
The Spireites had another chance to get a second following sloppy play from Andy Crosby’s men after losing the ball from a short free-kick. The away side countered and Berry played a through ball finding Markanday, who shielded off the oncoming Rovers defenders, but his attempt was well saved by Joe Murphy.
After a tame half from the hosts they came to life in the final five minutes before the break. A Charlie Whittaker free kick from 20 yards out was well struck but saved easily by Zach Hemming.
From the resulting corner came big handball appeals from Rovers, as the ball bounced up on skipper Chey Dunckley’s hand, but referee Scott Oldham waived away appeals.
The flashpoint of the half came after a flurry of corners from Tranmere as they thought they got an equaliser from a Jennings flick on to Nathan Smith at the back post who headed in over the line.
But the linesman cut the celebrations short as he ruled it offside to the frustration of the home supporters and they booed the officials off at half time.
It was a positive response from Tranmere, nearly levelling in the first two minutes of the second half, but a Jennings scuffed shot was cleared by Lewis Gordon after it looked to be going in.
Chesterfield replied with a number of efforts, as Berry was becoming more of a threat, coming close twice and then a brilliant Aaron McGowan clearance from a Ronan Darcy shot as the ball was goal bound.
In the final minute Jennings scored with a composed finish to prevent back-to-back home losses in the league for Rovers sparking wild celebrations.
Crosby was pleased with his side’s spirited display. He said: “It was brilliant that we kept going right until the end, and I was so proud of that performance, because you can see the amount of players we don’t have available.”
Tranmere remain in 18th and will look to build on this point when they travel to Accrington in midweek.
