A 16th minute Simon Haworth goal proved to be enough to secure a hard-fought victory for Tranmere against Stockport County.
Haworth headed in his sixth goal of the season from a Ryan Taylor cross.
It was a ding-dong derby and Rovers had to thank loan keeper Phil Whitehead for several excellent saves.
The Merseysiders were unlucky not to double their lead in the 55th minute when Gary Jones headed against the bar from a Stuart Barlow centre. Shortly afterwards County keeper Lee Jones saved well from Ryan Taylor.
Whitehead made an excellent stop from Martin Pemberton midway through the first half and was also at his best when he kept out a Keith Briggs shot in the 52nd minute.
The visitors almost salvaged a point in stoppage time. A strike by substitute Kevin Ellison took a deflection and was pushed against the bar by Whitehead.
After the match Tranmere boss Ray Mathias praised Whitehead who only arrived on loan from Reading a few hours before the game.
"He did a fantastic job," he said. "He proved what a capable keeper he is."
Mathias was delighted his side kept a clean sheet in a hard-fought affair.
"Full credit to the lads," he said. "They defended superbly today. There were a lot of plusses in our game and hopefully we can now move up the table."
"This was an ideal opportunity for me," admitted Whitehead after his impressive performance.
"I'm fourth choice keeper at Reading and want away. When I had to make the saves today I made them which was fortunate.
"Hopefully I can stay fit for a month and get some games in. There is a bit of a jinx on goalkeepers here."
Stockport player-manager Carlton Palmer said: "I think we deserved a point and it is very disappointing.
"We battered them in the second half but the breakthrough wouldn't come. Once again we didn't start well and we can't keep wasting the first 45 minutes in each game."