Milton Keynes Dons earned a 0-0 draw against Newport County in new manager Paul Warne's first match in charge of the team.
Only one change was made to the side that lost 1-0 to Gillingham last Saturday, with Liam Kelly coming in to replace an injured Alex Gilbey, a move that saw Joe Tomlinson take the captain's armband.
The Dons, desperate for a positive start, earned a corner almost immediately from kick-off. A well-worked passage of play led to a Joe Tomlinson cross being blocked and sent behind by a County player. The corner came to nothing.
Michael Spellman looked threatening as he carried the ball across the halfway line almost unchallenged. The ball got caught up in his feet and he lost his footing, seeing the Dons recover possession.
Callum Hendry looked to threaten early on, chasing down the last defender and almost catching him off-guard with the ball bouncing up in the air. Goalkeeper Nick Townsend leapt and claimed the ball in the air, knocking down the Dons striker and cutting out the danger.
Tomlinson sent a promising cross into the County box a few minutes later, with a defender inside the six-yard box heading the ball out for a corner. The ensuing play saw the Dons manage to get another cross into the box, but it was scooped up under pressure by Townsend.
Scott Hogan, fresh off the back of winning League Two Goal of the Month, opted to head the ball back into the centre of the penalty area rather than attempt a shot himself. The ball was collected by Townsend, who collided with Hendry, with the Dons striker requiring some medical attention.
Newport threatened with a shot from the edge of the box by Bobby Kamwa, but it landed comfortably for Craig MacGilivray to collect down low.
Jack Sanders was unlucky with a diving headed effort, connecting on a long free kick but unable to guide it goalwards. Moments later and Lemonheigh-Evans has a half-shot bounce up and nearly lob Townsend from close range, with the County goalkeeper just managing to palm the ball away from danger.
Dons were forced into making an early substitution as Hendry, who suffered a knock in his earlier collision with Townsend, was replaced by Danilo Orsi at the half-hour mark.
The match opened up and just over five minutes before the half-time break saw plenty of end-to-end action, with MacGilivray snuffing out a County attack, allowing the Dons to race down the other end for a counterattack before the away side then end up earning a free-kick inside the Dons half all in the space of a minute.
The whistle blew for half-time with the score still 0-0.
Another substitution for the Dons to start the second half as Tommi O'Reilly was replaced by Joe White.
After a stop-start opening, involving two fouls on Dons players, Jack Sanders had a promising shot from the edge of the box, striking the ball cleanly and on target for Townsend to claim in the air.
At the hour mark, Laurence Maguire had a good strike down low inside the Newport box, forcing Townsend to drop down to collect. The pace of the ball appeared to wind the goalkeeper, who needed some medical attention after.
Half an hour after the restart, very little had happened in the way of chances for either side. The Dons made a third substitution, bringing on Jonathan Leko for Liam Kelly, still searching for a breakthrough.
Lemonheigh-Evans had an excellent chance to open the scoring, dancing through space and into the opposition box with little pressure on him. Eventually, he tries to loft the ball towards the far corner, but it misses any Dons player and is cleared away.
Leko attempted a long-range shot in the dying minutes of regulation, cutting onto his right and letting rip from range, only to see his effort blocked immediately and cleared.
Neither team could break the deadlock, with the Dons dominating possession (65%) but struggling to get much of anything going in the final third, with just five total shots and one on target.
The result sees the Dons remain 19th in League Two, tied on points with Harrogate Town, and just seven points above the relegation zone thanks to Carlisle United's shock 3-2 victory over league leaders Port Vale.
The Dons travel to Crewe Alexandra on Monday (21st April), with just three matches left in the 2024-25 season, with points desperately needed to guarantee safety.
MK Dons Line-Up: MacGilivray, O'Reilly, Offord, Sanders, Maguire, Tomlinson, Thompson-Sommers, Lemonheigh-Evans, Kelly, Hogan, Hendry
