Promotion-chasing Anstey Nomads proved to be just too strong for Rugby Town at Butlin Road.

The struggling hosts did at least make a good fist of things against the division's in-form team, but just as it looked like Rugby may find a way back into the game, two late Anstey strikes confirmed Town's seventh consecutive home defeat.

Jack Concannon and Kobi Bivens returned to Valley's starting line-up, with Town's five player bench consisting solely of current prospects from their academy.

The on-fire of late visitors made an expected bright start to the game, with full-back Oscar Tonge swinging in a dangerous cross early on, and then Luis Rose was denied a shooting opportunity by a well-timed tackle from Josh Thomas.

Nomads did take the lead on eleven minutes though, after Courey Grantham showed good strength and vision to play in Tonge - who duly fired one low into the bottom right-hand corner past Charlie Woods.

Woods then pulled off two decent saves to keep the margin at one-goal when first spreading himself well to keep out Rose's effort after Anstey skipper Jordan Annable had slipped him through, before he executed a full length stop to push away Tendai Chitiza's low strike.

The visitors continued to create the bulk of the chances though, with Tristen Thomas just unable to finish off Chitiza's low centre and Henry Bestwick then firing one way off-target.

Caine Elliott did put a free-kick from a threatening position into the defensive wall for Rugby, with Bivens's follow-up attempt flying well wide, and then a further effort from Bivens bouncing into the ground before again ending up wide of the target.

Tonge's swirling corner caused the Town defence problems before being cleared, with Elliott and Chitiza's poor shooting attempts at either end late in the half representing the final attacking moments of the opening period.

Anstey took control of proceedings once more after the restart, with Tonge again putting in dangerous ball into the box, and Rose lifting one off-target from the edge of the area after he had cut in from the right-hand-side.

Concannon did well to block Kyle Tomlin's strike after he had received a pass from Grantham, with Rose heading over the resulting corner from Tonge.

Town's most promising spell of the match then followed, and it culminated in a phase of play which saw Tyler Bruck set-up Concannon for a shot that was blocked and Concannon tee-up Rivel Mardenborough for another blocked effort - with unsuccessful penalty appeals for challenges on Bruck and Concannon also included within it.

Lewis Gibbens headed another Tonge corner wide at the back-post, before Nomads grabbed their second of the windy afternoon when sub Ronnie Kokkinos showed good feet on the left before laying the ball back to Chitiza to power home - with Woods only able to get a hand to the rising strike.

Liam Murphy's cross was cleared over his own bar by Thomas, before Anstey's goalkeeper-manager Conrad Logan was finally called into some proper action on 79 minutes when Town sub Alex Dulgheru's low shot was pushed away after the 39-year-old flopped down onto it.

Anstey made it three shortly after when Grantham's ball across the box was diverted into his own net by Archie Murray past the wrong-footed Woods.

Valley Line-up: Woods; Tye, Lundoloki, Thomas, Murray; Elliott, Concannon (Cook 88'), Nee (Petkovic 90'); Bruck, Mardenborough, Bivens (Dulgheru 71'). Subs not used: Cooper, Barker. Booked: Thomas, Lundoloki.

Anstey Line-up: Logan, Tomlin, Tonge, Annable, Gibbens, Liversidge, Thomas, Bestwick, Grantham, Chitizia, Rose. Subs: Kokkinos, Murphy, Redfern, Burniston, Gill.