Liam Francis' second half header finally settled a gruelling FA Cup encounter with Hellenic League Westfields in Tuesday evening's Butlin Road replay.

The two sides had battled out a two-all draw at the Hereford club's Allpay Park ground three days earlier, and the re-run was an equally tight affair, with Town earning themselves a Preliminary Round trip to Studley thanks to the recently-installed player-coach's intervention.

Francis was in for his first start of the season in place of the injured Josh Thomas, with Justin Marsden also on from the off in two changes from the weekend's fixture, but it was the visitors that made the brighter start to the game.

Harrison Iddles thought he had given Fields an early lead when he helped home a Jack Gittoes cross on three minutes, but this was ruled out due to an offside flag.

Iddles was then blocked out by Loyiso Recci, as Valley continued to stutter, with the hosts' skipper also doing well to get in the way of a shot from his counterpart Sam Rawlings.

Aside from a couple of dangerous Ryan Seal set-pieces - the first of which saw Recci, Francis and David Kolodynski thwarted and then a further one when Recci's effort was smothered at the back-post, it was the away side that looked the most likely to break the deadlock.

After Town keeper Matt Hill had comfortably taken a high effort from Gittoes, Rugby finally began to make their mark from open play too though, with Dan Summerfield fizzing in a dangerous low cross, whilst Seal continued to threaten with his dead-ball delivery talents to set up both Recci and Francis with unsuccessful headers before the half-time break.

The early exchanges of the new period were relatively benign, but the winning goal came eleven minutes into it from a predicable source when Francis bundled home a Seal corner from a few yards out.

The visitors initially responded well to the setback, with Ben Vine somehow heading over from virtually under Hill's bar and then Rawlings almost making a telling connection to Dan Stoneman's cross.

Vine was guilty of missing out on a further good chance with his head later in the half, but as things progressed it was Town that looked the more likely to score again as the game opened up.

Kolodynski's touch in the box let him down for once after Caine Elliott had picked him out with a nicely flighted pass, and Elliott himself put in two shots that drifted wide of the target.

An audacious effort from distance by Kolodynski also failed to trouble Matt Apperley, although the Westfields stopper did do well to keep out a low strike on the turn by Valley's all-time leading scorer shortly after.

Town probably should have settled any doubts late on when they broke quickly to create an overload on the away defence, however Elliott, Kolodynski and Seal were unable to capitalise on this advantage and the attack ultimately broke down.

Valley Line-up: Hill; Rosser, Francis, Recci; English (Kear), Summerfield, Fitzharris, Elliott, Seal; Marsden (Ahenkorah), Kolodynski. Subs not used: Bodycote, Seymour, Semahimbo. Booked: Fitzharris, Elliott.

Westfields line-up: Apperley, Rawlings, Hurrell, Davies, Vine, Murphy, Stoneman, McDonald, Hunt, Iddles, Gittoes. Subs: Pitman, Morris, Wakley, Richards, Havard.