SECOND HALF TREBLE SECURES LOCAL DERBY SUCCESS

Rugby Town eventually brushed aside their youthful near neighbours Atherstone Town after taking a while to get into their stride on a bitterly cold Tuesday evening at Butlin Road.

By Jon Venner.

Photo: Martin Pulley

Claudiu Hoban striking a solid shot to seal the victory for Rugby Town

Unchanged from the weekend’s victory at Aylesbury, Valley scored three second half goals to record a rare midweek home success against an Adders side who have already volunteered for relegation at the end of this campaign.

Therefore the spirited visitors played as if they had little more to lose and as such they worried Rugby in the early exchanges with the first two real chances of the game falling to them.

First Craig Tucker nipped in between Danny Hall and Dave Clarke to lift the ball over the top of the Rugby keeper’s head – although his lob did not have enough momentum and was cleared away before it reached the line.

Nathan Rolfe’s rising effort then had Clarke stretching to execute a high take, before the home side finally raised their game in the twenty minute lead-up to the interval.

The pressure grew and with the lanky Leon Simpson at the centre of most of the action, Valley had a number of good opportunities to open the scoring.

A goalmouth scramble on 27 minutes saw Simpson crowded out, then Claudiu Hoban’s surge across the by-line was followed by a cross ball which was too powerfully struck for his team mates and when Simpson cleverly played Richard Wesley in, the winger’s effort was smothered by Adders’ keeper Tom Allan.

After a Rolfe free-kick which Clarke got down well to parry, Town turned the screw again, with Simpson’s touch letting him in down when the ball came to him in front of goal and Wesley shooting wide from another Simpson assist.

The breakthrough came just after the restart, with Simpson heading home Hoban’s corner at close quarters.

The height of Simpson was now beginning to tell in the Atherstone penalty area, and two further headers of his threatened to extend the lead – with one cleared from the goal line and the other coming back off the crossbar.

Sandwiched in between this dual assault, Wesley tested Allan from the edge of the box.

Allan pulled off the save of the game on 67 minutes with an excellent reflex save from Niki Preston – with Simpson again the provider.

Liam Bailey sent one wide from distance for Atherstone, before Preston grabbed Rugby's second with a stooping header after Nick Heath’s delivery had been initially flicked on by Melvin Gourlay.

There was a momentary wobble for Rugby though when Tom Weale punished defensive uncertainty to score after latching onto a hopeful ball into the box on 82 minutes, but Valley’s two goal cushion was restored almost immediately when Hoban applied a clinical finish low into the bottom right of the net after substitute Simeon Smith and Preston had created the opening.

Valley line-up: Clarke; Moran (Goodbody), Phipps-Hall, Preston, Gourlay; Gundelach (Steane), Wesley (Smith), Heath, Connolly; Simpson, Hoban. Subs not used: Fagan, Edwards.

Atherstone line-up: Allan, Gore, Rolfe, Johnson, Harrison, Bailey, Weale, Latham, Tucker, Babington, Banks. Subs: King, Nicholls, Rickus, Albrighton, Watson.