Valley bowed out of the FA Vase as Midland Football League side AFC Wulfrunians scored a stoppage time winner to progress.
Town never really got going in the Second Round proper tie at Butlin Road, although Justin Marsden's 85th-minute equaliser appeared to have earnt them at least a penalty shoot-out from the game after the visitors had taken the lead on the hour mark.
Rugby boss Carl Adams was without the cup-tied Jordan Wilson for the fixture and he was replaced by Edwin Ahenkorah in the starting line-up.
Ryan Seal also returned in place of Alex Lock in the other change from the previous weekend's victory at Desborough.
The hosts made a decent enough start and could have taken an early lead when Seal sent one wide from a great position after David Kolodynski had done well on the right-hand side before pulling the ball across to his team-mate.
A powerful shot from Dan Summerfield was saved by Wulfs keeper Jake James, with James also keeping out Liam Francis's effort from a Seal corner, as Town continued their early probing.
Kai Adams had dragged one wide from a good position in between these openings for the home side, and the Wulfrunians wide man did the same again after Valley keeper Matt Hill had been unable to gather a floated delivery into the area.
Francis then nearly capitalised on an Ahenkorah flick-on to Luke English's long throw, but Hayden Reeves somehow managed to nip in ahead of the Town defender to divert the ball away for a corner.
For the rest of the first half, it was the visitors that were in the ascendance though, with Craig Gregg striking one over the bar after confusion in Rugby's penalty area between Josh Thomas and Hill, and then Thomas was back in the action to deny Aaron Bishop with a neatly-timed tackle down the right-hand channel.
Chances continued to come Wulfrunians way, with Hill quickly out to save another Adams' effort at point-blank range and then Matthew Gritton's deflected header was cleared off the line by Summerfield.
Gregg's instinctive chip from distance was just too high and nestled onto the roof of the net instead, with both Jamie Meddows and the dangerous Adams again also missing the target in the lead-up to the interval.
Town returned for the new period in a more purposeful manner though, but despite their increasing levels of possession, they struggled to test James to any great extent in the opening exchanges.
At the other end, the visitors still offered an occasional threat and Jumaane Meggoe should have done better when he shanked his shot wide of the goal after he had found himself in space twenty yards out.
Kolodynksi then got in behind the away side's back-line and he squared the ball to Seal whose well-struck effort was parried back to Kolodynski - who duly smashed his attempt wide.
The deadlock was finally broken by the visitors on 60 minutes, when the ball fell kindly for Gregg around thirty yards from goal and his speculative looping strike was too high for Hill before it dipped into the top corner of the net.
There was almost an immediate response from Town when Kolodynski broke free again down the left to tee up Summerfield for a mis-hit strike that fell into the path of English, who agonisingly fired one back off James's crossbar.
Hill saved Meggoe's shot to the near post as the game inevitably opened up further, while for Valley a dangerous Drew Kear cross was just cut out by James with Kolodynski ready to pounce.
Ahenkorah headed an English throw into the keeper's arms, just before another touchline delivery from English was flicked on by Francis to set up Marsden for a swivel and poked shot past James to level things up with five minutes of normal time remaining.
Aside from a saved headed effort from Ahenkorah header which would not have counted anyway due to a flag for offside, the closest Town came to a winner saw Kolodynski's overhead kick comfortably taken by James - immediately after an appeal for a foul on Ahenkorah in the box had been turned down.
However the sting in the tail for Rugby arrived in the 91st minute after Hill pushed away Jay Holdcroft's initial strike only to see Bright stoop to head the ball home.
Valley Line-up: Hill; Rosser, Thomas, Recci; English, Summerfield (Kear), Fitzharris (Lock), Elliott (Marsden), Seal; Ahenkorah, Kolodynski. Subs not used: Semahimbo. Booked: Fitzharris, Kolodynski.
Wulfrunians line-up: James, Adams, Jackson, Rowley, Reeves, Gritton, Gregg, Williams, Meggoe, Bishop, Meddows. Subs: Johnson, Ray, Bright, Holdcroft, Northwood. |