Valley came through another tough away encounter at Eynesbury Rovers to take three points and maintain their lead at the top of the UCL Premier Division South.

Rugby had ridden their luck somewhat near the beginning of a goal-less first half, with David Kolodynski breaking the deadlock just after the restart and Ryan Seal adding a second from the spot, before a 73rd minute strike by the hosts set up a nervy conclusion to the game.

Josh Thomas was named in Town's starting line-up in place of the suspended Luke English, with Edwin Ahenkorah also drafted in just before kick-off after Keenah Rosser limped out of the pre-match warm-up with a hip inury.

Rovers made a strong start to the game and threatened to open the scoring on a number of occasions early on.

Tom Rowley dragged a good chance wide from the angle after Liam Francis had been caught out in the box, before another big let-off for Rugby saw Lewis Lynn afforded too much time ahead of his deflected shot which hit the post and then fell into hands of Town keeper Matt Hill.

Hill also gathered a low free-kick and a threatening cross, as Eynesbury's period of intense pressure continued.

Francis headed Seal's free-kick wide as Town finally created a chance of their own, with Ahenkorah then mis-hitting a cross/shot to send it high of the target.

Kolodynski's looping cross came back to him after Jordan Wilson had challenged home keeper Mahmood Suleyman, but he dragged his effort the wrong side of the upright, as Rugby's play finally gathered some momentum.

Lynn missed out again on a decent situation, after he cut in and fired one at Hill, who did well to parry the ball away to safety.

Seal and Kolodynski were both blocked out after the pair had initially done well to exchange passes, with Suleyman saving subsequent strikes from Kolodynski and Caine Elliott ahead of the half-time whistle.

The new period was only two minutes old however, when Kolodynski's delivery from the by-line was deflected in by Eynesbury defender Jonny Hall, and Wilson almost added another shortly after with a close-range header that somehow flew over the bar instead.

The home side were still offering the occasional threat, with Rowley executing a neat turn in the box before shooting wide.

Another good chance for Rugby went begging after Seal had broken through the middle of the Rovers' defence, but he subsequently bobbled the ball just behind Wilson, with Kolodynski then ballooning one over after another neat move from the visitors.

Hill was down well to keep out Kwadwo Bugyei-Kyei's rasping low strike, before Wilson rolled his marker in the box and was taken down in the process to earn his side a penalty.

Seal successfully stroked home from the spot to give Rugby a 68th minute two-goal advantage.

The hosts pulled one back five minutes later, when - amidst strong appeals for offside - Rowley took advantage of a parried rebound back off Hill to score from a few yards out.

Wilson was denied by a decent saving tackle, before a late charge from Eynesbury ensued after Town inevitably dropped deeper to try and preserve their match-winning margin.

Hill thwarted a potential tap-in for Lynn and then Rovers' sub Craig Grieve was just unable to get a telling connection to a whipped-in cross - putting his sliding effort into the side netting instead.

With Valley just about holding on, there were a couple of concerning moments in and around their penalty area in the closing minutes, with the hosts almost snatching a late equaliser when Francis's clearance fell to Jamal Batchley - whose great strike from 25 yards was excellently tipped away for a corner by the busy Hill.

Valley Line-up: Hill; Thomas, Francis, Recci; Summerfield, Ahenkorah, Lock, Elliott, Seal; Wilson, Kolodynski (Semahimbo). Subs not used: Rosser, Marsden, Sahota. Booked: Elliott.

Eynesbury line-up: Suleyman, R.King, Hall, M.King, Dunnett, Nickels-Benson, Bugyei-Kyei, Batchley, Rowley, Lynn, Ugarte-Edward. Subs: Disemelo, Grieve, Kusi, Mabrok.