NO JOY FOR TOWN WHEN CHIPS ARE DOWN

Photo: Martin Pulley

Perhaps the only positive to take from the game was the return from injury of striker Jason Taylor

Rugby’s wretched run continued at Butlin Road last Saturday, when Sam Allison’s first half header was enough to separate the two sides – condemning Valley to their fourth defeat of the season.

There was a switch in formation for Rugby, and also four changes in personnel from the previous game at Bedford.

With Ashley Walker starting his three match suspension for the sending-off at Farnborough on the opening day of the season, boss Rod Brown opted for a 3-5-2 line-up instead.

Dolapo Olaoye has returned to Redditch, with Neil King and Matt Gearing the two other players to miss out.

This meant first starts of the season for Mark Taylor, Dave Pearson and Avun Jephcott, as well as return to action for Kevin Banner – who had missed the Bedford defeat through work commitments.

It was another generally uninspiring ninety minutes from Town against a side who also came into the game lacking confidence. However the visitors always seemed to have that little bit extra, and once their goal went in, they were rarely troubled by a Rugby side that seem to have lost the art of cohesive, attacking play.

The home side’s best chances fell to Daren Dykes in the immediate aftermath of the Bluebirds’ goal.

Just a minute after Allison struck, Dykes almost bundled in an equaliser after Chippenham keeper Chris Snoddy had spilled Rory Curtis’s original effort. Ross Adams was on-hand to deal Dykes’s follow-up though, clearing the ball away from a crowded goalmouth. Snoddy then pulled off a fine low save from another Dykes effort shortly after, following a good through ball from David Kolodynski.

Dykes’s acrobatic shot on 76 minutes was also kept out by Snoddy, representing Rugby’s best chance of an otherwise fruitless second period.

Both sides had traded wayward shots in the lead-up to the deadlock breaker on 29 minutes, although with Dave Pratt and Allison causing problems for Richard Scott and Craig Herbert with their pace and skill – it was always seemed likely that Chippenham would be the first to find the target.

The goal came after neat work between Kevin Halliday and Scott Lye, saw the latter chip his cross perfectly onto the head of Allison, who gave Andrew Stevens no chance with a powerful contact into the roof of the net.

Veteran Mark Taylor was at least bringing a little more calm to Valley’s midfield play, but there were still too many balls punted and poked forward more in hope than with any clear intention, which the Chippenham defence – well-marshalled by Cortez Belle – easily coped with.

Rugby’s Dave Pearson lasted just nine minutes on his first start of the season, suffering a hamstring injury. His early replacement Curtis once more struggled to recapture the promise he showed in a sky blue shirt towards the end of the last campaign however.

Aside from Dykes’s gymnastic effort, there was little else for Snoddy to do in the second half. Even when presented with set-piece opportunities, Valley were all too often unable to clear the first defender with their dead-ball delivery.

At the other end, Allison flicked Belle’s original header from a corner narrowly wide of the goal, and Ashley Williams also went close for the away side – lifting the ball over Andrew Stevens but just over the crossbar too.

Rod Brown gave a ten minute run-out at the end of the game to 2006-07 top scorer and player of the year Jason Taylor. Taylor had been out of competitive action for the previous sixteen months with a knee ligament injury.

There appeared to be no adverse reaction on his return – so hopefully he can strike up a successful partnership with Dykes in the coming months to help lift Town back up the table.

Valley Line-up: Stevens, Gordon, Scott, Edge, Herbert, Jephcott (Gearing), Kolodynski (J Taylor), M Taylor, Dykes, Pearson (Curtis), Banner. Subs not used: Ryan, Martin. Booked: None. Sent off: None.

Chippenham Line-up: Snoddy, Adams, Halliday, Holly, Belle, Harvey, Lye, Williams, Pratt (Seaville), Gullick, Allison. Subs not used: Gardner, Casey, Else, Kemp

Report by Jon Venner.