Valley suffered something of a sobering pre-season defeat to Southern League Premier side Banbury United at Butlin Road.

Banbury led by a solitary goal after a relatively quiet and close first half but the damage was done immediately after half time with three goals in ten minutes allowing the remaining 35 minutes to be played out as a complete comfort for the visitors.

There was a start in central defence for new signing Brad Harris while Chadd Birch (injury) and Josh Thornton (holiday) remained unavailable.

Rugby perhaps just about edged the opening first half hour with Ruben Wiggins-Thomas coming close on a couple of occassions before the breakthrough came when former Brackley winger Tom Winters fired in a 20-yard free-kick.

The second half was a completely different affair as the Puritans made five half time substitutions and had doubled their lead within three minutes when Sam Humphreys applied a finish from close range after Niall Cooper had saved Matt Peake-Pijnen's shot.

It was soon three as Jack McKnight headed in unmarked from a corner before Harris put through his own net trying to cut out Winters' low cross from the left.

The scoring was completed just after the mid-point of the second period when a superb counter attack by the visitors ended with Humphreys getting his second with a delicate lob over the oncoming Cooper.

Valley Line-up: Cooper; K Rowley, Kelly, M Rowley (Castleton), Harris; Holt, Ashby, Dance; Ruff (Print), Wiggins-Thomas (Holloway), Kolodynski. Subs not used: Brathwaite, Chambers, Isherwood.

Banbury line-up: Harding, Westbrook, Bradbury, McKnight, Johnson, Carnell, Brown, Boitos, McDonagh, Singh, Winters. Subs: Self, Humphreys, Nash, Pond, Peake-Pijnen, Onakwai.