Valley Impress in Nailers Draw

Rugby Town produced an excellent display to draw at high-flying Belper Town leaving manager Grant Joshua encouraged.

The 1-1 draw at Christchurch Meadows ended a run of three successive defeats but Joshua was left frustrated that his side were not able to fully capitalise on the display to claim all three points.

"The players are gutted they haven’t walked away from Belper with maximum points," Joshua admitted afterwards.

"Saturday was a small step in the right direction - we’re turning a cruise liner around and it’s going to take time.

"A point is the absolute minimum we deserved, and none of the 500 in attendance could deny that. Realistically, that game should have been won comfortably.”

Joshua was full of praise for the opposition but felt his side more than matched them throughout. "I’m convinced that Belper will be in the top two come the end of the season. They've got a fantastic set-up, top players, a sound manager and everything geared to go up and good luck to them.

"Whether they overlooked us a little given our slow start or whether we simply played to the level I know we can, we looked comfortable.

"Apart from a superb save from Marcus in the first half and the biggest goalmouth scramble I’ve ever seen in the second, we controlled large spells and created chance after chance."

Although chances came and went, Joshua was buoyed by the team's attitude following a testing few weeks. “This group were questioned in training this week about how much they really want to be here, and I was pleased with the response.

"We were dominant on the ball, pressed with energy, and cut through them at will. The keeper kept them alive in the game. Nobody’s jumping for joy with a point, but it’s something to build on. The ruthlessness we needed just wasn’t quite there."

He also reserved special praise for the travelling Valley supporters: "The support was incredible – they took over the ground, took over the clubhouse, and sang for 95 minutes. I thank them for their ongoing backing in this process.

"The players have now set the standard, and if they dip below it like they did against Shepshed, then they should rightly be criticised. But at the weekend, they showed what they’re capable of.".

Meanwhile forwards Joe Palmer and Curvin Sanderson-Ellis have both left the club this week.