It says everything about the way in which both attacks were snuffed out and goal chances were at an absolute premium.
County went into the game on the back of a poor run whereas Mansfield were seeking to extend their best sequence of the season yet it was the home-side who began the more brightly.
Mansfield were penned deep into their own half for most of the first 15 minutes but Jason White in the visitor's goal was scarcely troubled as the Magpies completely failed to benefit from all their possession.
Then Mansfield broke away and Matt Hamshaw had the ball in the County net only for it to be ruled out for offside - one of many decisions which referee Nigel Miller got right.
Just before the half-hour mark it was Notts' turn to have an effort disallowed. Stephen Hunt forced the ball over the line at short-range from a free-kick but this was ruled out for a foul.
Then, at last, Notts put a really telling move together moments before half-time. Pipe, on the overlap, delivered a perfect cross which front-man Lawrie Dudfield headed narrowly wide of White's right-hand post.
Notts picked up the tempo at the beginning of the second-half before Mansfield carved their best opportunity of the game.
It came on 65 minutes when Hamshaw put Simon Brown through the middle and Saul Deeney came off his line in lightning fashion to put in a vital block.
Brown was immediately substituted, a fate which moments later befell the Notts' striker Junior Mendes when he blazed over.
Before the end, the best Meadow Lane crowd for two years had accepted it was to end in goal-less stalemate.