Watch Valley striker David Kolodynski lift the ball over the goalkeeper and into the net with the help of the covering defender on the line
After a bright start during which Kolodynski’s wonder strike from at least forty yards gave his side the lead, Rugby were pegged back by an equally impressive goal by the visitors.
Despite dominating play in the second period, Dave Stringer’s men kept the crowd waiting until nine minutes from the end before finally killing off a diligent Chertsey eleven.
Kolodynski had opened the scoring after just seven minutes, when he spotted Chertsey keeper Gary Ross off his line and expertly delivered the ball over his head from just inside the attacking half.
Mason Rowley nearly made it two shortly after, but his downward header to Craig Kelly’s corner came back off the base of the post.
Sam Belcher, Craig Kelly and Seb Lake-Gaskin then all put their shots wide of the target, with Lake-Gaskin’s chance the most straightforward of the trio.
Chertsey’s 33rd minute equaliser was their first strike on target, with Dave Bevan standing no chance with John Pomroy’s angled volley into the top corner – a first goal against Town at Butlin Road in more than six hours of match action.
Lewis McBride flashed a ball across the face of the goal and Kolodynski also flicked a header wide of the target ahead of the interval.
The second half opened with a speculative long range effort from Chertsey’s Rob Carrick which drifted just wide, but from then on Rugby pretty much controlled the game – plugging away in search of a decisive goal.
However despite Valley’s superior ball possession, clear cut scoring opportunities were limited – with McBride the only player to trouble Ross on a couple of occasions before Stringer rang the changes with the introduction with three substitutes.
Photo:
Martin Pulley
Valley top scorer David Kolodynski takes his tally to the season to 21, expertly lifting home the winning goal against Chertsey with nine minutes remaining
This provided Rugby with a fresh impetus, and one of the replacements - Richard Blythe - chipped a neat ball through to Kolodynski, who in turn looped it up and over Ross with just enough momentum to see it cross the line.
The visitors did come out of their shell to almost level things up again though, but Bevan spread himself well in front of Mark Knight to deny the striker from close range.
The final chance of the game then fell to Nic Evangelinos, but the youth team striker’s frustrating pursuit of a first senior competitive goal was again denied – this time by a goalmouth block by Danny Cox.
