Town bowed out of the Integro League Cup competition, deservedly going down to a Rushden side that have only lost twice in the main league campaign this season.

Gary Moran made wholesale changes to the side that had earnt a point against Chasetown at the weekend, with only four players starting both matches.

The visitors were quickly into the game, and soon went ahead after Mason Rowley handled Lewis Wilson’s shot in the box and giving Ben Farrell the opportunity to stroke his penalty past Louis Connor.

Robbie Parsons had another shot blocked by Rowley in the penalty area, but this time the referee decided it was the defender’s body, before Connor did well to keep out Tom Lorraine’s effort after the Diamonds’ man had cut in from the right hand channel.

Meanwhile, Rugby had been creating little of note – with only a wild effort from Ryan Quinn and a weak shot by Aaron Moses-Garvey to show for the opening forty minutes of play.

However they then levelled things up when Chris Sterling found the net at the third attempt, after both he and Moses-Garvey had struck the crossbar – the latter’s an exquisite curling effort from distance.

The state of parity was short-lived though, and within a minute the visitors were back in front when Farrell speared one low into the corner from twenty yards.

Parsons also went close before the half-time whistle and then again shortly after the teams returned to action, with Connor also keeping out an on-target effort by Lewis Wilson.

Town went on to have their best spell of the game midway through the second half though, and within this Moses-Garvey put one over the bar after dogged work from Moran out wide.

However despite this brief Valley rally, it was really no surprise when on 80 minutes Rushden’s Taylor Orosz put the tie out of the home side’s reach with a neat finish from just inside the box after Connor had previously parried away Liam Dolman’s powerful free-kick.

Valley Line-up: Connor; Moran, M Rowley, Punter; Print, Hudson, Holloway, Hadland (Kolodynski), Quinn; Sterling, Moses-Garvey. Subs not used: Burgess, Thomson, Phillips, Jezeph. Booked: None.

Rushden line-up: Heath, Harris, Brown, Winters, Dolman, Farrell, Curtis, Parsons, Orosz, Lorraine, Wilson. Subs: McNulty, Leslie, Baird, Finlay.