Rugby
Town host Blue Square Northern side
Hinckley United, kick-off 7.45pm,
at Butlin Road for their third pre-season
friendly.
Rugby
followed up their first outing - a
3-3 draw at Bedworth United's The
Oval, with a 3-2 win over a Luton
Town XI on Saturday at Butlin Road.
Hinckley
themselves started out with a draw
at Bedworth before a defeat to a strong
Leicester City side in front of a
record crowd of over 3,000.
Their game at home to Leamington on
Saturday was postponed due to a waterlogged
pitch at the new Marston Stadium.
Hinckley
had an impressive performance in the
Blue Square Northern league last season
and only lost out on promotion to
the Blue Square Premier (formerly
Nationwide Conference) in the play-off
final.
This
pre-season Hinckley have also looked
to strengthen the squad with the signing
of former Valley and Nuneaton forward
Gez Murphy and they also still have
ex-Rugby players Jamie Lenton and
Richard Lavery on the books.
Full-back
Aaron Stringfellow, who played 45
games for Rugby last season, is currently
on trial with Hinckley and is expected
to feature at some point this evening.
Valley
have not faced their Leicestershire
opponents since two FA Trophy ties
in November 2003 when the sides played
out a goal-less draw at Butlin Road
before Hinckley
came out on top with a 3-2 win in
the replay.
Manager
Billy Jeffrey will again be looking
to experiment with his side in preparation
for the new BGB Premier season. Midfielders
Willis Francis & Fabien Smith
returned for their first game of pre-season
on Saturday and will be keen to get
some more match practice under their
belts.
Billy
is still likely to be without last
season's top scorer Jason Taylor (knee
injury) while it is unsure whether
captain Craig Herbert will make his
first appearance of the pre-season.
Trialist midfielder Scott Musgrove
could return to the fold.
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