Rugby Town completed their pre-season campaign with a defeat at Southern League Premier Central side Redditch United.

It was the final friendly for Grant Joshua to run the rule over his new squad before the action starts for real next Saturday against Coton Green in the FA Cup.

Both sides were without several players with Joshua having to do without Sam Tye, Ben Newey and Josh Thomas but it was Rugby who could have led inside three minutes when Rivel Mardenborough missed his kick from ten yards after being set up by Joe Palmer.

Moments later the hosts led when Rugby made a bit of a mess of an innocuous punt forward with Marcus Bald coming way out of his box to attempt to head clear before Callum Griffin then saw his pass cut out under pressure leading to Trialist beating the covering defenders and stricken Bald to open the scoring.

A neat move at the other end involving Griffin, Mardenborough and Nathan Kabeya resulted in the former flashing a cross across the goal only for Redditch defender Dexter Dudley-Toole to head the ball clear.

Redditch doubled their lead midway through the first half when Danny King stole in at the far post ahead of Bleu McNeil to prod home following former Valley left back Harry Eden's teasing cross from the left.

Robbie Bunn came close to making it three shortly after but saw his shot from inside the area deflected just wide.

Rugby had the chance to reduce the arrears from the penalty spot just before half time after Mardenborough was brought down in the box by trialist goalkeeper Tyrese Warmington following an excellent maraud forwards by Kabeya.

But the ex-Coleshill stopper made up for his mistake with a good save from Mardenborough's spot-kick.

Had it not been a friendly, the hosts would almost certainly have been reduced to ten men after Eden brought down Mardenborough as the last man 25 yards from goal after the Rugby forward had done brilliantly to beat two men and streak clear with a run starting midway inside his own half.

Substitute Cairo Taylor placed a shot straight at Warmington from just inside the area.

Valley were incensed to not be awarded a second penalty when Dudley-Toole appeared to clearly contact Ethan Hanson's header with an outstretched arm with Warmington doing well to smother Mardenborough's close range effort straight afterwards.

King weaved into the box and perhaps should have done better with his shot which was straight at Bald before Bald did well to come out at the feet of Redditch's Alex Cameron.

The final action of the game saw a fine run and shot from 25 yards from Kabeya which was excellently kept out by Warmington at full stretch.

Valley Line-up: Bald; Kabeya, McNeil (Bostock 79'), Francis (Lake 57'), E.Hanson; West (Ellis 66'), Elliott, Sahota (Taylor 57'), Griffin; Mardenborough (Sanderson-Ellis 79'), Palmer (Nee 57'). Subs not used: None.

Redditch Line-up: Warmington, Shambrook, Dudley-Toole, Ward, Eden, Runn, Flanagan, Trialist, Bruck, King, Cameron. Subs: Trialist, Richardson, Fielding, Brown, McNulty.