NEWPORT County AFC paid the price for a sluggish start that gifted Tranmere Rovers a lead that they happily held onto for a precious 1-0 win in the race for promotion from League Two.

The Exiles trailed from the seventh minute at Prenton Park and then drew a blank for the fourth time in six games, and this time their lack of a creative spark couldn’t be blamed on the Rodney Parade pitch.

They failed to trouble home goalkeeper Scott Davies, although they will feel an opportunity should have come at the death when a long , hopeful ball appeared to strike a Tranmere hand in the box.

In the end County paid the price for allowing Liam Feeney to break on goal and fire Rovers into an early lead.

That allowed the well-drilled Merseyside team, with the experienced spine of central defender Peter Clarke and midfielder Jay Spearing, to keep the Exiles at bay.

They enjoyed plenty of possession but were seriously lacking in inspiration in the box, a theme of their miserable winter.

It was a loss that led to the Exiles dropping out of the play-off spots again, ramping up the pressure ahead of Saturday’s trip to Colchester.

South Wales Argus:

Flynn made two changes to his starting line-up with fit-again captain Joss Labadie returning to form a midfield trio with Josh Sheehan and Scot Bennett while Padraig Amond got the nod ahead of Dom Telford up front.

The Exiles would have received a lift when the team sheets were exchanged shortly before 6pm and Rovers’ matchday squad didn’t feature James Vaughan.

The experienced striker has scored 21 goals in all competitions this season while Amond is setting the pace at County with just eight.

Tranmere may have been without their most potent striker but they got their noses in front in the seventh minute with a goal that was all too easy from a Newport point of view.

Centre-back Priestley Farquharson lost out in the middle of the pitch and Feeney was somehow clear in on goal with Mickey Demetriou in pursuit. He kept his cool to drive low past Nick Townsend into the bottom left corner.

It was a lethargic start by County with Sheehan unable to get on the ball to dictate play.

Matty Dolan tried a speculative long-range effort after 21 minutes but Rovers goalkeeper Scott Davies, like Stevenage’s stopper Jamie Cumming last Saturday, was not being called into action.

It took superb defending by the vastly-experienced Peter Clarke to deny County with their first big effort after 24 minutes, the centre-back blocking a Nicky Maynard shot behind after the striker had been played in by Bennett.

The forward duo were combining nicely and it was a combination of Maynard’s age and good scrambling that denied the 34-year-old another attempt after Amond’s lofted ball over the top.

It then took a solid stop by Townsend to keep the Exiles in touch after a free-kick from the edge of the box was blasted on target by Calum MacDonald after 32 minutes.

County headed to the break just a goal down but were given some encouragement after a Labadie shot was blocked in the box before it took some excellent defending by Lee O’Connor to deny Maynard a volley after Amond had timed a run down the right channel perfectly then dinked in a cross.

The Exiles had four shots in the first half but had not forced Davies into action and it took more strong work by his teammates to keep it that way early in the second half when a corner fell to Amond, whose effort was blocked by the switched-on defenders.

The visitors had reason for optimism yet Townsend was scrambling after 53 minutes after his poor clearance gave Kaiyne Woolery a sight of goal.

Tranmere, marshalled by their experienced spine, settled after initially being on the back foot and it remained 1-0 as the game passed the hour.

Flynn changed his front line with the little and large combination of Jake Scrimshaw and Ryan Taylor called on for Amond and Maynard.

Taylor nodded on a free-kick in the 68th minute for Labadie to at least call Davies into action, albeit it was hardly a power header.

County had to roll the dice and on came forwards Kevin Ellison and Dom Telford, then winger Luke Gambin, as they hoped for either some inspiration or a moment of good fortune.

They were bossing possession but Rovers were disciplined and untroubled with their solitary scare a long ball that seemed to come off a home hand, only for referee Ben Toner to away a free-kick the other way.

That led to anger from Flynn at the final whistle after a frustrating and pointless evening in the North West of England.

Tranmere: Davies, O'Connor, Clarke, Ray, MacDonald, Spearing, Lewis, Feeney, Woolery, Nugent, Morris.
Substitutes: Murphy, Blackett-Taylor, Ridehalgh, Kirby, Crawford, Lloyd, Monthe.

County: Townsend, Farquharson, Dolan (Gambin 85), Demetriou, Shephard, Haynes (Ellison 78), Sheehan, Bennett (Telford 78), Labadie (captain), Amond (Scrimshaw 63), Maynard (Taylor 63).
Substitutes: King, Lewis.

Referee: Ben Toner