Town recorded their fifth away league victory of the campaign, with a generally convincing performance in Derbyshire.

The visitors had eased to a three goal lead within 65 minutes, but a late Gresley strike did set up a nervy final ten minutes or so for the hardy travelling fans that had made the trip to the Moat Ground.

Valley opened the scoring as early as the seventh minute when a lovely exchange in the penalty area between Mitchell Piggon & Kevin Thornton was rounded off by Thornton calmly rolling the ball into the bottom corner.

The restored-again David Kolodynski then fired over left footed from the angle after he had done well to chase down a long ball, before another great chance fell to Thornton after Steve Towers had slipped him through, but this time his low shot was saved by Matt Cottrell.

Piggon’s header at the near post went just wide and Kolodynski’s powerful low shot was also kept out by a busy Cottrell, as the visitors first half dominance showed no signs of abating.

Valley finally doubled their advantage when Gresley defender Jake Carlisle was harshly adjudged to have brought down Thornton in the box, after Piggon and Kolodynski had dovetailed neatly in the build-up.

Thornton duly picked himself up and sent Cottrell the wrong way from the spot – making it eight successful penalties from eight attempts for the ex-Coventry City man.

Rugby’s intensity levels did drop a little following the interval, although Thornton sent a free-kick just over the bar and Callum Powell struck one at Cottrell from the edge of the area, after Towers and Thornton had done well to set him up.

Town’s third came courtesy of Gresley’s Matt Roome, when the defender’s head connected with Thornton’s teasing cross and the ball flew past the helpless Cottrell.

Player-manager Gary Ricketts had headed wide at the far post for the hosts, before they finally got some reward for their efforts when Valley keeper Sam Andrew made a real hash of Albert Lansdowne’s long punt forward – skewing his clearance to the feet of Ryan King, who lifted the ball back over Andrew’s head from forty yards and into the net, despite the best efforts of the keeper to scramble back and atone for his error.

King went close again shortly after, but his lobbed effort this time bounced agonisingly over the target.

Valley Line-up: Andrew; Curley, James, Tullin, Ryan; Thornton (Delaney), Powell, Parker, Towers; Kolodynski (Wilkins), Piggon (Healy). Subs not used: Revan, Thorpe. Booked: None.

Gresley line-up: Cottrell, Roome, Richards, Carlisle, Guy, Lansdowne, Smyth, Slater, Ricketts, Ball, King. Subs: Barrett, Harrison, Machin, Street, Peet.