Rugby Town comfortably kept up their 100% home league record with a comprehensive victory over Newport Pagnell at Butlin Road.
Goals from Romario Martin, Lewis Rankin, Danico Johnson and sub Charlie Evans punctuated an impressive team performance by a Valley side that showed five changes from the previous weekend's win at Eynesbury.
Centre-half Liam Francis made a debut for the club following his recent signing from Redditch, with Daniel Kavanagh and three of the scorers - Rankin, Tulloch and Martin - also in from the start.
Richard Blythe had already put a decent shot over the target for Rugby, when Martin gave them a 24th minute lead - showing good control to Tulloch's pass on the edge of the penalty before applying a precise finish low past Mark Osborn's right hand into the bottom corner of the net.
Tulloch could have made it two shortly after when he found himself through on goal, but he curled his effort wide. Matt Hill was finally called into the action when saving a strike from Pagnell's Josh Winters with his body, and an even better stop was to follow when he denied Dom Lawless with an excellent reflex one from point blank range.
Town continued to create chances of their own, with Osborn catching another Martin shot from twenty yards, and the visiting keeper also palmed away a powerful Lee Thomas strike - with Rankin unable to force the rebound home with his head.
Rankin was on target on the stroke of half-time though, with an exquisite lofted finish over Osborn after Blythe had broken quickly with the ball to set him up.
The away side started the new half in more determined fashion, but were unable to trouble to Rugby defence, and it was Town that were soon looking the more dangerous outfit.
Johnson's shot from the edge of the area was taken at the second attempt by Osborn and the keeper was also out well to deny Martin, after Blythe had played him in.
Johnson then made it thirteen in just eleven starts with a great individual goal - showing pace, power, poise and precision to drill home from the angle for Valley's third.
Blythe and Rankin put efforts over the bar, before Evans rounded off the scoring with two minutes of normal time remaining when he slammed one in after fellow sub Stefan Blake had displayed good strength to win the ball before slipping it through to him.
Rankin flashed a threatening cross across the face of the goal in the dying seconds of the game, but it was just out of reach of a Rugby boot.
Valley
Line-up: Hill; Kavanagh, Thomas, Recci, Francis; Hayden, Blythe, Rankin; Tulloch (Blake), Martin, Johnson (Evans). Subs not used: Perkins, Edwards, Rosser. Booked: None.
Newport line-up: Osborn, Wilkinson, Herbert, Smyth, Smeathers, Baker, Lawless, Lyons, Liversedge, Stratton, Winters. Subs: Stronge, Koriya, Snusher. |