David Kolodynski came off the bench to net a late equaliser in Rugby Town's final home league game of the season against Wellingborough Town.
With Coventry Sphinx romping to victory elsewhere though, the dropped points were immaterial in the UCL Premier South title race and Rugby had to settle for the runners-up spot in the table as a result.
Town boss Carl Adams made four changes to the line-up that had started at Butlin Road a week earlier in the win over Eynesbury, with Matt Hill back in goal and Liam Francis, Alex Lock and Tom Fielding on from the off.
The early exchanges of the game were tightly contested, and aside from a number of semi-threatening deliveries from wide positions, neither side troubled their opposing keeper.
Wellingborough's Rico Alexander and Nathaniel Gosnal-Tyler put in decent crosses in this period, as did Fielding and Josh Thomas for the hosts, before Jordan Wilson finally tested Daniel Farrell with a strike from a tight angle which the Doughboys' stopper pushed away.
At the other end Jack O'Connor's header to a Carter Price corner was palmed away by Matt Hill and Thomas Iaciofano curled one over from distance in other rare attacking highlights of a generally uneventful first half.
Rugby remerged for the new period looking a little more purposeful though, and Michael Taylor was soon putting the ball into the boards behind the goal after he nipped in on a short headed backpass to shoot from a narrow angle.
The dangerous Nehemiah Richard-Noel nearly picked out Wellingborough striker Jack Bowen after he had shrugged off Keenah Rosser down the left hand side, as both sides traded early opportunities.
Farrell pushed away Ryan Seal's free-kick from a dangerous position, before the visitors took full advantage of a free-kick of their own on 56 minutes when Iaciofano lifted one over the Town wall and then past Hill low down for the game's opener.
Another low free-kick from Iaciofano was gathered by Hill, before Richard-Noel missed a glorious chance to establish a two goal advantage when he blazed wide after he had got in behind the Rugby defence.
Valley upped their game from there on in search of an equaliser, and with the introduction of Kolodynski from the bench chances started to come their way with more frequency.
Thomas pulled one across the goal after Kolodynski and him had exchanged passes, and both Drew Kear and Alex Lock put in off-target efforts.
Kolodynski had a goal chalked off by a marginal offside decision, before he took his season's tally to twenty when he executed a neat finish after James Fry's looped delivery had fallen to him in the box with just four minutes of normal time remaining.
The best chance of the remainder of the match saw a Thomas cross from the right just fly beyond the heads of both Wilson and Kolodynski.
Valley Line-up: Hill; Rosser, Thomas, Recci (Seal), Francis (Fry); Fitzharris, Lock (Semahimbo), Elliott; Taylor (Kolodynski), Fielding (Kear), Wilson. Subs not used: None. Booked: Wilson.
