Valley's torrid run continued as Jared Bradshaw's late goal settled a hard-fought local derby at Coventry Sphinx.

The defeat marked five consecutive NPL Midlands defeats for Grant Joshua's men and also blemished Town's good record at Sphinx Drive in recent years, which had seen them record three wins and a draw in their previous four match-ups there.

Both teams named starting elevens which included two players that had featured for the respective opposition earlier in the campaign, with Callum Woodward and Ryley Nicholson lining up for Rugby against ex-Town men Bleu McNeil and Curvin Sanderson-Ellis.

There was also a place on Valley's bench for another to make the same switchover - Jamal Adams, who had made the short move earlier in the week.

Rugby were on top from the off and despite dominating the opening forty minutes, but unfortunately they were unable to make this count with a goal.

McNeil made a rotten start to his Sphinx debut when his attempted back-pass to Oliver Bosworth fell short - presenting Rivel Mardenborough with an opportunity in the first-minute, but he could only screw his effort from a tight angle wide of the target.

Bosworth then caught Josh Thomas's header to a Woodward corner, before Trey Charles had a shot blocked and Teddy Rowe's cross to the back-post was just cut out with Mardenborough poised to pounce.

Sam Tye's downward header to Charles's corner was also gathered by Bosworth, and the busy keeper also kept out a low Mardenborough effort after Charles had played his fellow front-man in.

Tye headed over a Mardenborough cross, and Caine Elliott chose to shoot early after he had run onto Rowe's through ball but his strike lacked the necessary power, with Rowe also having an angled shot blocked as the chances continue to come for the visitors.

Tye then almost finished off another Rowe delivery, with Mardenborough opting to cross one rather than shoot from a dangerous position when he found himself in space behind the Coventry back-line.

The hosts ended the first period brightly though, with Raymond Poku's on-target strike ricocheting off a Town head for a corner, and a further shot from Poku pushed up by Xander Grieves before Thomas was also forced to help the ball behind.

Patrick Zito headed one over, and Sanderson-Ellis scuffed his effort from close range into Grieves's arms after Bradshaw had helped on a Chris Cowley free-kick.

Poku poked a further chance wide from another Bradshaw set-piece just ahead of the interval.

The first chance of the new half again fell to Mardenborough when he put his well-struck shot straight at Bosworth after Archie Murray's long header had released him.

Nicholson did well to cut out a pass that looked like it was heading to Poku in a threatening position, before another great chance for the visitors went begging when Charles picked out Nathan Kabeya down the left-hand side, but the Valley full-back lacked support in the middle and was forced to shoot from a tight angle and was denied by Bosworth once more.

Mardenborough's effort from nearly thirty yards flew way over, before Adams marked his introduction from the bench by nearly getting on the end of a neat Murray cross to the back post.

Grieves's finger-tip save to Bradshaw's long-range free-kick acted as a reminder that things could still go either way, and with the arrival of a watery downpour onto an already soft playing surface, the art of defending became increasingly problematic.

Mardenborough's low cross from the right then skidded agonisingly beyond Adams, and Sphinx sub Damian Kelly fired one just the wrong side of the upright.

The game's decisive moment came on 80 minutes after Ryley Nicholson's attempted back-pass had held up in the mud, and although it appeared initially that the danger had been averted, Daniel Morby recycled the ball and following a brief scramble in the box, it fell to Bradshaw to wriggle himself some room before curling home past Grieves.

In desperate need for a victory, Town somewhat threw caution to the wind thereafter - committing numbers to attack in the search of an equaliser.

As a result, gaps appeared in the Valley defence and Grieves twice did well to keep out back-to-back efforts from Cowley, before also tipping over a strike from Kelly late-on.

Rugby failed to break down a determined Sphinx defence, with Woodward's searching free-kick into the box which Thomas failed to connect to representing the closest they came to salvaging a local derby point.

Valley Line-up: Grieves; Murray, Kabeya (Bivens 83'), Thomas, Nicholson; Woodward, Elliott, Tye; Rowe (Adams 64'), Mardenborough, Charles. Subs not used: Lundoloki, Woods, Cooper. Booked: None.

Sphinx Line-up: Bosworth, Dawson, Cowley, McNeil, Zito, Draper, Aduani, Somel, Bradshaw, Poku, Sanderson-Ellis. Subs: Lloyd, Kelly, Morby, Manseya, Fuseini.