Rugby Town 0-0 Halesowen Town

Southern League Premier Division

Tuesday, 21st March 2006

Attendance | 207

Rugby put in a determined performance to grab a share of the spoils against Halesowen Town at Butlin Road on Tuesday night.

With the away side still in with an outside chance of forcing their way into the play-off zone before kick-off, it was a good result for a Valley side which went into the game on the back of three consecutive defeats and in desperate need of the extra few points needed to assure mathematical safety in the SLPD.

Manager Billy Jeffrey made four changes from the side comfortably dispatched 3-0 by King's Lynn ten days earlier, with new loan signings from Rushden & Diamonds Tom Shaw and Ricardo Joseph replacing Jamie Kearns and Steve Evans, Matt Green returning in place of Ryan Byrne, and Kevin Slinn preferred up-front to Robbie Beard - who had been suffering in the run-up to the game with illness and injury.

Rugby started positively, and after just 3 minutes Tim Wooding's free-kick into the box found new boy Joseph - whose shot was blocked, with the ball falling to Green - who in turn screwed his shot past the far post.

Another Wooding scooped cross created panic in the Yeltz defence minutes later, and then Delroy Gordon headed over the bar from close range from a corner.

Halesowen too were creating chances and Simon Fosdick followed Gordon's lead when he could only help on a high cross up and into the terracing. James Francis - son of ex-England international Trevor - had the visitors best chance of the half, when the ball fell to him into the box after Rugby keeper Farhad Afandiyev had made a hash of a Dan Thompson cross, but his finish lacked poise and direction and sailed high and wide of the goal.

Shaw was a constant threat for the Valley throughout, and looks a positive and dangerous addition to the side, and he was unlucky on a number of occasions not to mark his debut for the club with a goal. Midway through the first half, he broke through the heart of the Halesowen defence after good interchange play with David Stone, but unfortunately saw his shot bobble wide.

Stone's swerving volley on 27 minutes nearly deceived a shaky-looking Dean Coleman between the posts, who only just managed to parry the ball away for a corner. Gordon again was an aerial threat when he headed another Wooding set-piece back across the area, with Thompson just on-hand to clear the danger.

Towards the end of the first period, Shaw was unlucky to see his goal-bound effort blocked by a Coleman-Gary Knight combination, and Stone was only just unable to successfully follow-up the loose ball in the resulting goalmouth scramble.

The second half continued in much the same pattern as the first, with Rugby continuing to push forward in search of a much-needed three points, and the visitors continuing to threaten on the counter-attack.

Shaw put another effort on target on 53 minutes after good work from Stone, which hurried Coleman into making a save, and from the resulting corner Gordon was unable to capitalise on the keeper's fumble.

At the other end, Afandiyev was forced into saves from both Howard Forinton and Fosdick, and Yeltz skipper Nick Preston headed over when well-placed after a free-kick from the left.

The remaining best opportunities of the game all fell to Rugby, with Kevin Slinn unable to get the ball under control on the edge of the penalty after yet more clever and energetic work from Shaw. The Rushden youngster's whipped-in cross was then cut-out at the near post, and on 86 minutes substitute Beard created space for himself in the box, but he could only poke his shot into the arms of Coleman.