It was a bleak day for Newport IoW who were dragged into the bottom-two drop zone after a slender 1-0 defeat at second-placed Walton & Hersham.

Although there was plenty to applaud in the Islanders' performance, their afternoon was tarnished by a fluke Walton goal - plus news that relegation rivals Ashford had pulled off a shock 2-1 home win over Leatherhead.

It sneaks the Kent side just ahead of Newport on goal difference and, critically, both Ashford and fourth-to-bottom Banstead have a game in hand over the Islanders.

"I couldn't believe the Ashford result," Port boss John Linington admitted. "But if we play like we did at Walton for the rest of the season, we've got a strong chance of staying up.

"We kept them out for 68 minutes and then they got a fluke goal when the ball's gone over Steve Leigh and their bloke's (Mark Nwokeji) got up to head it before we could react."

The plus point for Newport was a highly promising debut from new defensive signing Adam Howarth, who was a titan at the back.

The 6ft 5in Hampshire under-21 skipper played for Southern Premier outfit Cirencester during his time as a student in Bath but recently returned to the Island playing for Cowes Sports.

On the down side, Adam Barsdell (hamstring), Ollie Fleming (groin) and Jon Holmes (blisters) were all doubtful for today's home clash with Bashley (3pm).