Rugby Town boss Gary Moran’s first game in permanent charge ended with Valley’s fifth straight league defeat, after a goal in each half deservedly secured the visitors the full points tally.

Moran made three changes for the game at Butlin Road last Saturday, with his three new signings in the week Simon Fitter, Sean Brain and Aaron Moses-Garvey all starting in place of Tom Fishwick, Yannick Gomes and the new manager himself – with another recent recruit Adrian Boitos amongst the substitutes.

Town started well enough though and in a tight opening quarter of an hour’s play, both sides probed in search of an early breakthrough.

However it was the visitors that were successful in that respect, when Simon Lakeland’s clever ball into the box found an unmarked Daniel Cockerline – who duly opened the scoring for the Vics with an assured finish past Louis Connor.

From that point on, Rugby looked understandably disjointed, as the mutual unfamiliarity of their new-look line-up became increasingly apparent.

Moses-Garvey’s wild strike across the face of the penalty area represented their only opportunity of the first half, and it was left to Northwich to provide any real goalmouth action – with Cockerline having the ball in the net again ahead of the interval, but his effort was ruled out for offside.

Full-back John Pritchard’s teasing cross was also touched onto the bar by Connor ahead of the half-time whistle, although the first chance of the new period did fall to Rugby when David Kolodynski’s stooping header at the back post to Aaron Stringfellow’s deep cross was pushed away by keeper Mason Springthorpe.

Fitter scuffed one wide later in the half, but it was a rare attacking highlight for the hosts.

Cockerline had two further chances for Victoria – first denied by the speed of Connor off his line and then the striker dragged one wide, before substitute Kieran Nolan rounded off the victory in the 89th minute when Connor could only get a hand to his on-target volley from just inside the penalty area after Stringfellow had failed to deal with a Northwich high ball.

There was still time for Michael Brewster to have made it three at the death when Jamie Hinchcliffe picked him out, but he leant back to balloon one over the target.

Valley Line-up: Connor; Stringfellow, Bukasa, Appleton (Fishwick), Palmer; Fitter, O'Callaghan (Boitos); Brain, Woolley, Moses-Garvey; Kolodynski. Subs not used: Heath, Walker, Gomes. Booked: Bukasa.

Northwich line-up: Springthorpe, Olapade, Pritchard, Brewster, Fitzgerald, Regan, Gyimah, Lakeland, Cockerline, Hinchcliffe, Clarke. Subs: Nolan, Edwards, Mudimu, Hill.