Rugby Town battled to a vital win over Hinckley Leicester Road at Butlin Road- the first victory in eight games.
Dan Summerfield's stunning strike on the half hour mark ultimately proved to be the decisive moment of the game, as Valley put in a solid display to earn a well deserved first three points of 2025.
There were debuts for Town's new two young signings Bodi Thistleton and Daniele Reka, with fellow teenager Will Ronald also back into the starting line-up in three changes from the side that took to the field the week previously at Rushden.
The hosts made a decent start, with Trey Charles delivering a dangerous cross to the near post, but Jahvan Davidson-Miller was just unable to control the ball and then Reka's poked effort on the turn was smothered away by the Leicester Roaders' defence.
Charles found himself in again on the left channel after neat interchange play between Reka and him, with his resulting shot kept out by the outstretched left leg of Hinckley keeper Jake Laban.
At the other end, Tyreace Brown deflected over an Aaron Nuttall strike after the winger had jinked himself an opportunity in the Rugby box, but it was generally Valley that were on the ascendance, with Charles having another effort blocked after a free-flowing counter attack from the home side.
Summerfield's low shot was easily gathered by Laban, before the opening goal came on 19 minutes when Davidson-Miller powered home on the turn from close range via a couple of deflections after Thistleton had helped the ball onto him from a Clements' corner.
The second soon followed courtesy of an absolute beauty from distance by Summerfield, with Caine Elliott initially winning the ball in the centre circle to feed Reka - who in turn set up Summerfield for his first goal of the season.
The visitors halved the advantage four minutes later though after a clanger from Town keeper Paul Hathaway, when he dropped an innocuous-looking free-kick from Dom Brennan back over his own line.
Davidson-Miller's low shot from twenty yards just before the half-time break was easily saved by Laban, with Rugby also having the first chance of the new period when a Charles' angled effort from was blocked.
Clements was then denied in the same fashion from a similar position after his initial corner had found its way back to him, with a third strike from an even tighter angle from Charles kept out again by Laban's left leg after Reka had done well to pick him out with a through pass.
Brown headed a dangerous delivery into the Rugby box away for a corner, as Hinckley then mounted their most threatening spell of the game, with Davidson-Miller also slicing the ball away to safety and Nuttall denied in the box by Ronald.
A Ben Humphreys effort from thirty yards was deflected away for another corner by Summerfield, but once Humphreys had headed over Brennan's free-kick with a quarter of an hour remaining, Town saw out the remainder of the game with relative ease.
In fact, it was Rugby that looked the more likely to add to their total in the closing stages, with Charles sending in another dangerous near-post cross which Reka just failed to connect with, and then Davidson-Miller also dispatching one from the other wing on the counter late on - which Laban was down well to claim.
Valley Line-up: Hathaway; Ronald, Thistleton, Thomas, Brown; Clements, Elliott, Summerfield; Davidson-Miller, Charles, Reka (Obeng 90'). Subs not used: Francis, Sahota, Warren. Booked: Brown, Charles, Reka.
