PERSISTENT Salisbury FC prevailed over Cowes Sports' dogged defending to retain a two point gap at the Wessex Premier summit following a slim 1-0 win.

The defining moment came in the 55th minute when livewire Claudio Herbert was tripped inside the area and the referee pointed to the spot.

Herbert, calm as ever, picked his place and Cowes keeper Edward Hatt was beaten, which brought a cheer of relief from the 567 spectators.

Whites looked to rack up their 30th league goal of the season, and they came close to reaching that milestone.

Thomas Whelan unleashed an audacious chip which had Hatt back-pedalling and Calum Brockway had a bullet header that skimmed the woodwork.

As Whites looked for another, the Isle of Wight visitors searched for a route back into the game.

Close-range efforts from Charlie Smeeton and Thomas Scovell forced stops from Gareth Barfoot in the Whites goal to keep a clean sheet.

In preparation for Saturday's FA Vase clash, the Whites played a friendly with Alex Pike's Gosport Borough on Tuesday night.

A free-scoring machine at Whites, Jamie White scored in a 2-0 victory for the Conference South side at Privett Park.

The game was put on so Whites could get some much-needed gametime before hosting Folland Sports on Saturday in the second round qualifying.

Other ties include Bemerton hosting Andover Town, who are one place behind Salisbury but have two games in hand, and Laverstock and Ford, who had a bye in the previous round, entertain Cowes Sports. All ties are 3pm kick offs.