Rugby Town let a second half lead slip at Quorn to make it three defeats on the bounce.

Valley had themselves overturned an early deficit to lead early in the second half thanks to a Ruben Wiggins-Thomas double, but the hosts grew stronger and stronger in the second half and got their deserved and inevitable winner late on.

There were returns to Rugby’s starting line-up for David Kolodynski and Craig Kelly following the pair’s illnesses the previous week, with Sam Lockley and Jeff Woodward the players to miss out.

The visitors made a promising start to the game, and Kolodynski struck the bar in the opening few minutes after Isaac Cooper’s neat header back across the goal had picked him out.

A further effort from Kolodynski was tipped over the frame by Quorn keeper Haydn Whitcombe, with the home side going close in between these two chances when Daniel Brenan’s looping header was cleared off the line.

The opening goal came on 22 minutes after Sean Williams had created himself some space down the left before cutting the ball back to give George Bowerman a straightforward finish.

Stuart Hendrie curled a decent shot just wide as Town looked for a quick response, and Hendrie then put in another well-struck effort from distance which Whitcombe competently dealt with.

Rugby’s equaliser came when Sean Castleton’s deep cross led to another Cooper head down, and this time Wiggins-Thomas finished off the play by slotting home on the volley.

Valley went on to have a number of good opportunities to retire to the dressing rooms with a half-time lead.

First Kolodynski was just unable to convert a loose ball after Whitcombe had spilled Cooper’s powerful strike, with Ben Ashby then hitting the post and Sam Beasley also firing a decent chance just over the target.

Hendrie drew a good reaction save from Whitcombe shortly after the restart, but Town were soon ahead when Hendrie’s quick feet set up Kolodynski and his shot across goal was finished off by the sliding Wiggins-Thomas at the far post.

Valley’s lead was short-lived though, with the hosts drawing level again six minutes later when Nathan Dale executed an incredible finish with a side footed half volley into the top corner from the edge of the penalty area.

The home side threw caution to the wind in the final half an hour of the game in search of a winner and their direct tactics had Rugby on the back foot for large parts of it.

Niall Cooper saved well from Williams’s low shot, with substitute Jack Oldham unable to take advantage of the rebound, with the keeper’s namesake Isaac then making a great clearance off the line.

A great reaction stop by Cooper then denied Darious Darkin, with Kelly also saving the day with a well-timed block in the box to maintain the state of parity.

At the other end, Lockley did miss his strike not long after his introduction from the bench, but Quorn always looked the most likely to snatch a winner and Dale hit the underside of the bar from twenty yards with the ball bouncing down perilously close to the Town goal-line.

Williams had blazed over Oldham’s cross as the game drew to a close, before the same player provided Bowerman with a chance to win it four minutes into added-time and the striker made no mistake with a composed finish.

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

Quorn line-up: Whitcombe, Brenan, Maslen-Jones, Dale, Melligan, Darkin, Mulonga, Seal, Bowerman, Evans, Williams.  Subs: Gorman, Oldham, Payne, Brennan, Hoult.