Rugby Town came up short again at AFC Rushden and Diamonds with Nathan Burrows' winner typifying the scrappy affair.
The sand-covered Hayden Road pitch was heavy-going for both sides but the hosts played the conditions better on the day although again Valley were guilty of missing a number of key chances.
Liam Francis and Jahvan Davidson-Miller replaced Will Ronald and Silvano Obeng in two changes from Town's previous starting line-up against Wellingborough as they looked to end a run of three straight league defeats.
Despite the agricultural playing conditions, Rugby made a decent enough start and Trey Charles put one into the side netting after just four minutes.
Charles then had a potentially-threatening cross cut-out, before he was denied by a decent tackle from Diamonds skipper Tarik Dallas when he had surged into the penalty area.
Davidson-Miller also had a shot blocked, before the home side had their first sight of goal when ex-Rugby striker Jamal Adams's low free-kick saw Paul Hathaway down well to push it around the post for a corner.
Hathaway also kept out a Burrows' header, with Aidan Webster then directing his cross/shot straight at the Town keeper.
Burrows fired over a cross from Adams, and Marcel Guzynski's strike was kept out by the now-busy Hathaway, before Town went close to the opener when Davidson-Miller's ball in behind the Rushden defence saw Adam Harrison just beat Charles to it and clear to safety.
A further Charles run beyond his marker also ended with Harrison dealing with the danger.
Charlie Green's downward header at the near post bobbled narrowly wide for the hosts, before Harrison denied Charles for the third time in quick succession with a good reaction stop to his header after a pre-rehearsed routine had seen Harrison Nee flick on Chris Clements's corner.
Clements's strike not long after the restart was blocked by Calvin Green, before Davidson-Miller's purposeful run into the box ended with an off-target angled strike.
Town sub Keiron Berry did have a shot blocked after he had cut in from a wide position, but this was in the middle of a period of more intensified pressure from Rushden in which they scored the decisive goal. Adams fired one way over, and then Diamonds just failed to scramble home from a well-delivered corner from Calvin Green.
Hathaway's low save from a Tejan Thomas strike after a quick break maintained the stalemate, but the winning goal came on 70 minutes in calamitous fashion after David Adegbola had danced past a couple of defenders before feeding Webster whose cross appeared to be handled by Burrows as he attempted to connect with a diving header before Charlie Green's cross hit the prone Burrows and ended up in the net.
Hathaway made a good save down low to deny Adams' shot on the turn, before Valley somehow survived a goalmouth scramble following a corner with Tejan Thomas's close range effort deflecting off target off his own man.
Rugby pressed late on for an equaliser, with Davidson-Miller seeing his rising snap-shot in the area well saved by Harrison, before substitute Silvano Obeng saw his header cleared off the line after Josh Thomas had headed on a corner.
Charles had probably Rugby's best chance of the game when he did well to take on Dan Summerfield's long pass, but his next touch was a little heavier and once more Harrison was able to thwart him.
A dangerous inswinging corner from Charles was then clawed away by Harrison, with Josh Thomas doing well to clear a threatening cross from Adams in stoppage-time.
Valley Line-up: Hathaway; Francis (Obeng 83'), Thomas, Brown; Summerfield, Nee (Ronald 75'), Clements, Paratore (Berry 57'), Elliott; Charles, Davidson-Miller. Subs not used: Tucker, Warren. Booked: Paratore, Thomas, Davidson-Miller.
