For the second weekend running, Rugby were again edged out by a single goal margin at home to one of the division’s top sides .

League leaders Bromsgrove had to come from behind at a wet Butlin Road though, with two second half strikes surpassing Sam Belcher’s fifth minute penalty for Valley.

With top scorer David Kolodynski only well enough for the Town bench and Craig Kelly also ruled out through illness, there was a debut for new signing Isaac Cooper and a start for Sam Lockley up-front.

Ben Ashby also came in for the suspended Josh Ruff.

The hosts made the perfect start when Craig Jones clipped Ruben Wiggins-Thomas just inside the box, and Belcher stepped up to steer his spot-kick into the left hand corner of the net on five minutes.

Rugby were soon on the attack again against the shell-shocked visitors, and Stuart Hendrie’s effort from twenty yards was gathered by Sporting keeper Reece Francis.

As the first half progressed, Bromsgrove began to show the form that has set up the possibility of back-to-back promotions though.

Jason Cowley flicked a header to Aaron Roberts’s cross just wide and Town keeper Niall Cooper was a busy man – first punching a dangerous Robbie Bunn corner away for another corner and then turning a dipping Drew Canavan shot around the post.

Cooper executed another low stop to Cowley’s long ranger just before the tight opening period drew to a close.

The away side started brightly after the restart, with Canavan testing Cooper after a neat one-two on edge of the penalty area.

They were level seven minutes into the half, after Jeff Woodward was adjudged to have raised his foot too high when challenging Cowley by the byline, and ex-Valley man Richard Gregory made no mistake from the game’s second penalty.

Hendrie was denied again by Francis when his low shot came after a quick break by Valley had seen Wiggins-Thomas escape from his marker, but Bromsgrove struck what turned out to be the decisive blow on 67 minutes when Gregory headed down a cross to Cowley – who volleyed past Cooper.

Rugby’s response was almost instantaneous, when Lockley showed good strength inside the box, but his resulting low strike was kept out by the legs of Sporting keeper Reece Francis.

Sam Beasley also had a shot blocked and Ben Ashby’s header to a Kolodynski corner flew just over the crossbar, as Town continued to push for an equaliser.

To their credit – and unlike the previous Saturday’s Butlin Road victors Worcester – the visitors continued play the game in the right spirit and threatened Rugby’s goal on a couple of occasions in the closing stages, with Cooper keeping out low efforts from Bunn and substitute Sean Brain.

Francis denied Rugby a late equaliser when he pulled off a top class save to Kolodynski’s shot on the turn, with Woodward failing to take advantage of the loose ball with an overhit follow-up cross.

Valley Line-up: N Cooper; Woodward, Dance, Castleton; I Cooper, Ashby, Belcher, Beasley (Print); Hendrie (Kolodynski); Lockley, Wiggins-Thomas. Subs not used: Holloway, Wright, McGahey. Booked: Ashby, Beasley, Belcher.