VALLEY SUFFER SIXTH SUCCESSIVE LOSS

It was a familiar story at St James’ Park on Tuesday evening, and ultimately a familiar result as Rugby suffered another loss.

By Jon Venner.

It was a familiar story at St.James’ Park on Tuesday evening, and ultimately a familiar result as Rugby suffered another loss.

Valley had played some of their best football of the season in the opening twenty minutes of the game, confidently stroking the ball around the slick surface, but once more they failed to take advantage of this period of supremacy.

However once the hosts broke the deadlock against the run of play on 25 minutes, there was only ever going to be one winner and another Brackley goal either side of half-time confirmed this – with ex-Coventry City and Leamington striker Ben Mackey grabbing all three.

Karl Fellows did get a consolation for the visitors after Mackey had wrapped up his hat-trick, but Rugby did not really look likely to add to that as the game fizzled out.

Valley showed one change from the weekend defeat at Evesham, with Matt Brown recalled to the starting line-up in place of James Farrow, and stand-in boss Michael Love opted for a 4-4-2 formation – with a new role for Aaron Stringfellow in the centre of midfield.

Chris Hollist’s shot from 30 yards flew over the bar, David Kolodynski’s effort from inside the box lacked power and Chris Tullin’s deep cross put home keeper Richard Morris under pressure, before the ball was eventually scrambled clear – as Town created a series of chances in their bright start to the game.

Morris was soon back in the action keeping out Shawn Richards’s strike at the second attempt, before Rugby wasted their best opportunity of this encouraging spell when Brown should have picked out Kolodynski with his cross – but instead delivered a poor ball that his strike partner could neither head nor make contact to with his feet.

Then Morris’s long free-kick from deep inside his half created the opening for Mackey’s first, with right-winger Simon Travis the provider for an easy finish.

The game swung at that point, and Brackley cranked up the pressure with a series of high balls into the Rugby defence – which the visitors were unable to deal with.

Another deep delivery brought about the Saints’ and Mackey’s second on 40 minutes, when the unmarked striker rammed the ball home at the third attempt after an excellent double save from Andy Stevens.

Both Michael Frew and Chris Wilmot could have added to the total before half-time, but it was not long before Mackey grabbed a third shortly after it – when he took advantage of some poor defending to have a free-run on goal, before rounding Stevens to score.

Fellows provided the away fans with a glimmer of hope when he curled home a free-kick after Kolodynski had been fouled on the edge of the penalty area, but there was little else for them to cheer as Brackley saw out the rest of the game without too much difficulty.

In fact it was the home side that looked most likely to score again, with Fellows clearing Wilmot’s header off the line and then denying Frew shortly after.

Valley’s best chance of the closing stages came when substitute Ibrahim Kwegyir ran down the right before finding Kolodynski – whose low strike flashed across the goal-line.

Valley Line-up: Stevens; Tullin, Hollist, Fellows, Birtwistle (Kwegyir); Gearing (Farrow), Richards, Youngs, Stringfellow; Kolodynski, Brown. Subs not used: Love, Bell. Booked: None. Sent off: None.