NEWPORT IoW could have taken a major step towards Ryman 1 survival by beating second-to-bottom Ashford Town at St George's Park.
Instead they were held 0-0 by the Kent side, who remain six points behind them with a game in hand.
Port boss John Linington said: "We're disappointed not to have won, but giving nothing away is the next best thing.
"We didn't get at them like we should have done, but at least we didn't lose."
For once, Port's leading scorer Dave Greening didn't get a sniff of goal. The nearest they came to scoring was when sub Adam Barsdell pounced on keeper John Whitehouse's poor clearance, but his goalbound shot was deflected wide by Tony Ritrovato.
Encouragingly, Port's experienced midfielder Leigh Cole is ready to make his comeback from a broken leg in tomorrow's IoW Gold Cup quarter-final at East Cowes Vics.
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