Promotion-chasing Tranmere passed Keith Hill’s test as they followed up Wembley defeat with a hard-fought goalless draw against relegation-threatened Grimsby

After missing out on EFL Trophy glory to Sunderland, they moved to within three points of the automatic promotion places at Blundell Park.

And Hill said: “To come to Grimsby after what happened at Wembley, they have passed my test anyway; that they’re strong, committed and they’ve got great character. It’s a game they quite easily could have lost.

“It was a positive point, no question. It was a difficult game. It was almost like a free-hit for them. The expectation was all on us.

“Sometimes you’ve got to grind results out. We ground a point out tonight.

“It was an evenly-matched affair and I’ve got no disappointment. Sometimes you’ve got to cash out and make sure you don’t lose everything.

“We haven’t lost everything tonight. We have played against Grimsby twice and got four points, a decent return.”

In a game of few clear-cut chances, Peter Clarke came closest to earning all three points for Tranmere with a late header, while Lenell John-Lewis passed up the best opportunity for Grimsby.

Following a quiet start to the night, experienced striker David Nugent called goalkeeper James McKeown into action, while Kaiyne Woolery took aim from distance.

Upon the restart, George Ray rose highest from a corner and planted a header off-target, as Tranmere once again enjoyed plenty of possession without offering a killer instinct.

Grimsby came into the game from that point, though, as Julien Lamy volleyed wide on the hour-mark, before John-Lewis was thwarted by Scott Davies one-on-one.

With the clash in the balance, defender Clarke came up for a corner but sent his late effort over the crossbar as both sides had to settle for a point.

Grimsby manager Paul Hurst said: “Yes, we want to improve. Yes, we want to get points and wins on the board. But the fact of the matter is we are at the wrong end of the table. We are not going to suddenly turn up and blow teams away.

“Playing against a team that are full of good players, who are one of the favourites to get promotion, we managed to limit them to very little, in terms of chances.

“They had more territory first half, but I’m not sure how many chances they had.

“We didn’t do enough attacking and, to be fair, I had a bit of a pop at half-time. The scoreline was okay, but I felt that we gave them a little bit too much respect.

“The second half was definitely better and I think we created the best chance of the night, but unfortunately the keeper saved it.”