Kieran Agard missed a penalty as MK Dons were held to a draw by Port Vale, which saw the hosts drop out of League Two's automatic promotion spots.
A largely quiet opening 40 minutes saw Vale happy to let the hosts play in front of them as MK Dons probed for the opener.
But when Mitch Clark's overhead clearance was deemed dangerous play, Dons' top scorer Agard saw his penalty and follow-up effort superbly saved by Scott Brown.
Tom Conlon's stylish finish early in the second-half put the visitors in front, only for David Wheeler to tap in Jake Hesketh's cross just four minutes later to restore parity.
Substitute Chuks Aneke had a glorious chance to win it for the Dons in the final quarter, only to find the outside of the post when clean through.
The result leaves Paul Tisdale's outfit with plenty still to do to secure a return to the third tier.
The Dons slip down to fourth place on goal difference with two games to play, ahead of a trip to Colchester and a final day meeting with Mansfield.
Match report supplied by the Press Association.
