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In difficult conditions and on a testing surface, the Bulls dug in to secure a clean sheet - the second of his four games in charge and the Bulls' fifth in the league this season.
The Hereford gaffer felt a clean sheet was just as important as chasing three points in the context of the relegation battle.
“I knew coming in that we’re going to need wins,” he said. “But there’s times to go and win games and there’s times not to lose games and tonight was one of them.
“It’s a tough place to come; tough conditions. I’m not going to moan too much because I told the players they’re not allowed to moan and there’s no excuses for tonight. But it is tough for numerous reasons - conditions, pitch, the travel, everything.”
Hereford had opportunities to take the lead, with George Munday seeing an early effort tipped wide and Fleetwood Town loanee Mikey Lane denied late on, but Downes was pleased with both the defensive discipline and the players’ application.
“To come up here, get a clean sheet, have opportunities to win the game and come away with a point. I think it’s a well-deserved point, but also a good point,” he added.
Scarborough created pressure through a series of set pieces late on, yet the Bulls stood firm.
“They’re very good at set plays,” Downes said. “The last sort of five or six goals they’ve scored, two or three have been set plays. They're very effective, good delivery, they scored against us at our place from a set play so we knew we had to be good at that and I thought in the main we defended them really well.”
With seven points from a possible 12 since taking over, Downes insists he is not setting survival targets.
“I’m not looking to limp to a certain number,” he said. “I’m looking to take each game as it comes and play each game on its merit.”