Rugby Town kicked off life in the Midland Football League with a hard fought victory at Sporting Khalsa.

Town’s MFL journey started with a battling victory at the Aspray Arena last Saturday, with goals within the first half an hour from James Dance and Ruben Wiggins-Thomas proving enough to scoop the points against the fancied hosts.

Khalsa reduced the arrears ahead of the interval against a Rugby line-up showing just one change from the previous weekend’s FA Cup success at Coventry United with Josh Ruff in for the suspended Josh Thornton, but despite some second half pressure from the home side, Valley held on for the win.

Ruff was soon in the action after he capitalised on a poor defensive pass to play in David Kolodynski, who in turn squared the ball past Sporting keeper Tom Turner to allow Dance to slot home his first goal for the club on seven minutes.

Kolodynski’s low effort from distance was then gathered by Turner, before the forward was soon setting up another goal – this time for his strike partner Wiggins-Thomas, who smashed home a low finish into an empty net after the home keeper had made a hash of an original looping ball in behind the Khalsa back-line.

The hosts responded well to the double setback though, and after Harry Holloway had lost possession from a Rugby corner, Marvin Nesbitt broke quickly upfield before firing a powerful strike past Niall Cooper from the edge of the area.

Both sides had decent opportunities ahead of the break, with Dance’s poked effort and Wiggins-Thomas’s follow-up both blocked by Turner and then Cooper kept out Tes Robinson’s volley in the half’s closing seconds.

Aided by the strong wind, Khalsa’s increasingly direct approach started to pay dividends for them after the restart and Cooper was often a busy man in the Valley goal.

An acrobatic save from him denied Josh Cooke’s point-blank header early into the new period, whilst later in the half Nisbett ballooned one over the bar after he had found himself clean through on goal.

Despite the home side’s pressure, Town were also creating a number of good chances of their own though, and Thomas did particularly well to save Wiggins-Thomas’s powerful header to Dance’s cross with his legs.

Kolodynski twice failed to get enough power on his shots from decent positions, whilst at the other end Cooper was quickly off his line to deny substitute Rikardo Reid.

Khalsa played the final quarter of an hour with ten men after Mensah Kinch was dismissed for a two-footed lunge on Rugby’s Jamie Hall, with the last real chance of the game also falling to Kolodynski – but this time he lifted the ball over from close range after he had seized upon a poor defensive header.

Valley Line-up: Cooper; K Rowley, Hall, M Rowley, Harris; Holt, Holloway (Ashby), Ruff (Print); Dance, Wiggins-Thomas, Kolodynski (Shakespeare). Subs not used: Birch, Castleton. Booked: Holt, Shakespeare.

Sporting Khalsa Line-up: Turner, Franco, Boothe, Miles, Robinson, Perks, Bannister, Meese, Cooke, Nisbett, Kinch. Subs: Cooper, Haynes, Townsend, Reid, Henry.