BOSSLESS RUGBY WIN IN BOXING DAY BONANZA

Rugby stand-in boss Craig Herbert was victorious in his first game in charge of team affairs, following the departure of Billy Jeffrey from the club last week.

Valley made unnecessarily hard work of their first double success of the season though, against a Corby side that spent most of the game a player short after Jamie Patterson's sending off just past the quarter of an hour mark.

Patterson was dismissed for a two-footed lunge on Mark Edge shortly after Darren Lynch had given the home side the lead against the run of play with a near post header.

Before the opener, Rugby's Dave Pearson and Tom Breward had both seen their shots blocked in close succession after just four minutes, and Herbert himself had a header stopped on the goal-line from the resulting corner.

Scott Musgrove got Valley's deserved equaliser on 29 minutes, when he drove home from the edge of the area after David Stone had chased down a searching ball down the left.

Three minutes before the interval, Pearson nodded in David Staff's cross after a quick Rugby break, although the visitors did then suffer a blow ahead of the half-time whistle when Edge was stretchered off with ankle damage.

Ten men Corby equalised ten minutes into the second period when substitute Steve Diggin poked the ball home from close range, before Breward restored his side's lead with a near post header from Staff's corner.

Staff then capped a fine individual performance cutting inside from the wing, before sending his 20 yard effort over the head of Dan Crane, and could have easily grabbed his second and his side's fifth shortly after when his free-kick rose just inches over the bar.

Diggins ensured a nervy end to the game for the Valley faithful, when he chipped in from an acute angle on 71 minutes, but despite a spell of pressure from the home side, Rugby held on to record their fourth away of the season - and lifted themselves back into the top half of the table as a result.

Valley Line-up: Barcherini 6, Stringfellow 7, Morley 6, Herbert 7, Gordon 7, Breward 7 (Francis 6), Edge 6 (Evans 6), Musgrove 7, Pearson 7 (Kolodynski 6), Stone 7, STAFF 9*.
Subs not used: Aladetoun, Blake, Bolt,
Booked: Musgrove, Breward.
Sent Off: None

Report by Jon Venner.