Not even a wonder-goal from Newport County goalkeeper Tom King could take them back to the top of the League Two table after they were denied at Cheltenham.
It looked as if the Exiles were going to knock Carlisle off the summit when the County stopper found the back of the net with a wind-assisted goal kick.
But the hosts equalised on the stroke of half-time through Matty Blair to open the door for Cambridge to climb into pole position.
Michael Flynn had already waved goodbye to loan stars Brandon Cooper and Scott Twine before their heartbreaking FA Cup shootout defeat to Brighton.
The Newport boss was dealt another pair of hammer blows after striker Jamie Proctor and experienced playmaker Jamie Devitt were recalled by their parent clubs.
Goalkeeper King kept his place in the threadbare starting XI after a string of stunning saves against the Seagulls, but he was to make a stunning impact at the other end of the pitch.
Cheltenham had got to grips with the stiff breeze blowing in their faces to take control of the League Two encounter. But the wind, partnered with the giant boot of King, was to be their downfall after 11 minutes.
The Wales squad member could never have imagined that when he struck a goal kick that it would catch a gust of wind, bounce over the head of 19-year-old Cheltenham keeper Josh Griffiths and fly into the back of the net.
King couldn’t celebrate his goalscoring exploits for long though as he was called into action at the other end of the pitch.
Only his fingertips denied Cheltenham forward Alfie May who fired in a goal-bound effort after latching on to a touch from George Lloyd.
He was at it again moments later to deny Finn Azaz by pushing his fizzing shot around the post.
But he was finally beaten in the fourth minute of first-half added time as Blair forced the ball home from the right after a perfectly weighted pass from May.
After the excitement of the first half, both these promotion contenders seemed to go into their shells.
Flynn made a triple substitution and switched to a 4-3-3 formation with 25 minutes remaining to try to force some late drama.
County managed to avoid a Cheltenham goal at the death after some chaos in the area as the game fizzled out and ended 1-1.
Newport County : King; Haynes, Demetriou, Dolan, Longe-King, Shephard; Bennett, Labadie (capt), Willmott (Taylor 66); Scrimshaw (Abrahams 66), Amond (Windsor 66).
