Brave Nine-Man Valley Push Corby All the Way

Rugby Town fell to a 2-1 defeat at home to Corby Town on Tuesday evening but the Butlin Road crowd were left applauding a spirited performance after Grant Joshua's side battled for over 35 minutes with just nine men.

The visitors, among the favourites for promotion this season, eventually edged the contest through two set-piece goals, butJoshua was proud of the way his players responded after a slow start and the dismissals.

"We didn’t get out the traps at all which has been unlike us," he admitted.

"We risked the ball too much in our own half and to be fair to Corby they have far more energy and legs than previous years and pressed us high up the pitch.

"We needed better solutions which we couldn’t find in the first half. That being said, we’ve lost the game to two dead balls.

"Neither goalkeeper has had much to do, I thought it was a game that lacked quality but was played at such a high tempo it looked end-to-end."

The game turned on a string of decisions which left Valley down to nine men and Joshua felt a couple could have been handled differently: "Olly West’s two yellows are nailed on and he should know better than to fly in on a yellow but the penalty wasn't a penalty and Josh Thomas' straight red isn't a red."

Despite the challenges, Town still looked capable of snatching a point late on. "Two-nil down, down to nine men, completely unbalanced and yet I’m disappointed we haven’t got a point from that game.

"The first 30 minutes I wouldn’t put my name to but the last 40 minutes I would.

"We only had nine lads but the fitness of 11 and we attacked with numbers and caused them all kinds of problems.

"I thought Corby had gone with 10 minutes left so we threw on three forwards and came so close to getting an equaliser."

Joshua was quick to look at the bigger picture after three testing opening fixtures: "Did I believe we would have more than three points from Carlton, Wellingborough & Corby? I did. But apart from the first half today we were well worthy of more points, and I’ve seen enough in the three games to believe we’re bang on the right track.

"It doesn’t get any easier with the games coming up but it’s a marker for us against what will be the top six in the division."