An Easter Monday defeat at Mickleover confirmed Rugby Town's relegation from the NPL Midlands.
Results elsewhere - including wins for Loughborough and Bourne and a draw for Bedworth - meant that Valley's three-year stint in the Northern Premier League officially came to an end.
It was an entertaining encounter with the scoreline feeling extremely harsh on Rugby, but it served as an archetypal game for the season they have endured with a lack of a finishing touch compounded by allowing teams to score all too easily.
With Nathan Kabeya available for the Bank Holiday trip to Derbyshire, he returned at full-back to allow skipper Sam Tye to reoccupy a midfield berth - with Kobi Bivens the player to miss out on the starting eleven.
Town's academy was once more well represented on the bench with places for four of the current crop of learners.
In routine fashion, Rugby found themselves behind within the opening minutes when Luke McCormick got in behind Geoffrey Lundoloki - with his low cross deflecting off Charlie Woods before going into the net off Josh Thomas.
Another McCormick cross was then almost helped home by Manni Norkett, but the Sports striker just failed to get a connection to it at close quarters.
It was two-nil on five minutes though when Mickleover captain Andy Dales curled one in nicely from just inside the penalty area.
However, Rugby responded well to the double set-back and threatened to get in behind the home defence on a number occasions in quick succession, with Tye volleying one wide after Caine Elliott had scooped the ball through to him. Town's persistence paid off on eleven minutes when Harrison Nee's excellent first-time pass released Rivel Mardenborough down the middle, and the striker rounded keeper Jay Alexander before poking in his ninth goal of the season.
McCormick almost restored the hosts' two-goal advantage when he got in behind the Valley back-line once more, but this time Archie Murray was back to stop his shot on the line before Kabeya cleared the ball to safety.
Will Atkinson nearly forced the ball home at the near post from a Mickleover corner ahead of another bright spell from the visitors which saw Tye miss out on a header at close range from Jack Concannon's deep cross from the left and then Kabeya almost pick out Tyler Bruck with a ball over the top of the defence.
A further Kabeya delivery was also just cleared by George Wilkinson with Bruck poised to pounce, and then Thomas missed the target with his free header to Nee's corner from the right.
Town continued to control possession, and both Mardenborough and Nee had shots blocked from similar positions, before both Dales and Paddy Webb had efforts smothered to safety at the other end.
McCormick's great threaded pass then picked out the run of Norkett, who skipped beyond Woods only to see his attempted finish cleared by the covering Thomas, with Dales curling one over and Webb's goal-bound half-volley on the turn smashing off the back of Murray's head as the hosts ended the first half back on top.
Valley were handed a good opportunity for an equaliser shortly after the restart after Mardenborough broke quickly down the left wing and his cross was only part-cleared into the path of Tye in a dangerous central position in the box, but his first time effort flew way over the bar.
Woods then did well with a one-handed save to Webb's well-struck shot from the left, before Mickleover's third came when Norkett raced onto a through ball down the middle, and although Woods managed to keep out the striker's first attempt, Norkett then managed to squeeze the ball past both the Town keeper and Thomas on the follow-up.
Webb fired one narrowly wide, before Tye headed over after Nee's shot had been pushed up to him invitingly by Alexander.
Another Tye header to a Nee corner lacked power and was comfortably gathered by Alexander, whilst at the other end Woods dealt with a Dales free-kick at the second attempt.
Nee blazed over from a wide position, and both Bivens and Bruck put in weak strikes as the two teams continued to trade chances in an open end to the game, with any lasting hopes of a Town comeback then extinguished by substitute Josh Carter who took advantage of Rugby's defensive uncertainty in dealing with a long wind-assisted ball forward out of Alexander's hands to execute a perfect lob from a tight angle to beat the stranded Woods.
