Despite the heat this match proved to be a high tempo afair.

Rugby started brightly attacking down the left with Curtis and Haworth and down the right with Boddy and Tom Hughes and it was from one of these moves that Philip Haworth skipped his way past 3 Bedworth defenders to shoot low past the keeper for the Eagles' first. Bedworth continued to use their long ball game throughout the match but Hulme, Baxter, Saunders and Weston were more than a match for this tactic.

However the increased pressure paid off when a bouncing ball broke kindly for a Bedworth forward to equalise. No more scoring in the first half. Rugby put even more pressure on Bedworth in the second half, with Birse and Pittam giving the Bedworth midfield no time to settle on the ball, whilst they themselves produced quality balls for the Rugby wide men. Up front the Eagles ran themselves ragged and had to cycle the front men to keep up the pressure. The introduction of Denton to the front line brought yet more pressure for Bedworth to bear and eventually they cracked when Denton latched onto a through ball to fire low past the advancing keeper. Bedworth thought they had equallised when a shot was saved by Corcoran in the Rugby goal, but the player scoring from the rebound was offside. Only minutes later Rugby extended their lead when a fine cross from the left was met by Denton who turned and volleyed high into the Bedworth net.

Bedworth did manage to pull one back, but Birse and Hughes went close for the Eagles and Pittam hit the bar with a thunderous shot, Denton just missing out on his hatrick from the rebound. A well deserved result for a great performance.

A warm day and no substitutes, would the Eagles stamina hold out? Rugby started the game well, moving the ball across the pitch and down the lines at every opportunity.

A strong passing game is fast becoming a trademark this season and several good moves saw Daniel Weston, Callum Earle, Jordan Wilkinson and Jamie Birse linking down the right to great effect, carving out several chances in the first 10 minutes. However it was down the left that the first damage was done, Gregory Denton, Andrew Boddy, Philip Haworth and Thomas Curtis linking well for Curtis to send a strong cross low across the edge of the six yard box. The ball was too good for the defence and was met at the far post by Jordan Wilkinson who fired in to give the Eagles the lead. The Eagles continued to create attacks throughout the half, all built upon the solid defending of Laurence Saunders and Ryan Baxter, early into the challenge and quick to recover, these two were admirably backed by a confidant Ryan Corcoran in goals.

This strong defensive performance would eventually turn in a first, and well deserved, clean sheet of the season. The continuous pressure eventually told and following a Weston cross that was not cleared, a shot was spilled by the keeper and Wilkinson pounced to double his tally and make it 2 for the Eagles. Even the defence wanted in on the goal action, and late in the first half a poor clearance fell to Gregory Denton who fired just wide of the left hand post.

The second hald saw Rugby start as they had finished the first, on the attack. Time and again they played balls in behind the Market Bosworth defence and found willing runners there to meet them. Chances came and went until eventually the ball fell to Andrew Boddy who turned neatly in the box to send a low drive past the Bosworth keeper for Rugby's third.

The fourth came soon after as Curtis broke clear yet again to smash the ball into the net. As the game went on the Ealges' confidence soared, Earle came close with a long range shot and Haworth also tested the keeper with a couple of shots from the left. Birse tormented the defence, getting behind them, linking with the midfield and laying off for Boddy to break through on a number of occassions.

Eventually Birses persistence payed off when he latched onto a through ball from Boddy and slid the shot past the keeper to make it five. Market Bosworth had their chances, most notably a thunderous shot from the halfway line that went a yard or two wide of the mark. But this was Rugby's day, the standard of the football was a credit to them and the hard work that they have put in on the training ground.

It was a game of football that will live long in the memory of those lucky enough to be there.

A warm day and no substitutes, would the Eagles stamina hold out? Rugby started the game well, moving the ball across the pitch and down the lines at every opportunity.

A strong passing game is fast becoming a trademark this season and several good moves saw Daniel Weston, Callum Earle, Jordan Wilkinson and Jamie Birse linking down the right to great effect, carving out several chances in the first 10 minutes. However it was down the left that the first damage was done, Gregory Denton, Andrew Boddy, Philip Haworth and Thomas Curtis linking well for Curtis to send a strong cross low across the edge of the six yard box. The ball was too good for the defence and was met at the far post by Jordan Wilkinson who fired in to give the Eagles the lead. The Eagles continued to create attacks throughout the half, all built upon the solid defending of Laurence Saunders and Ryan Baxter, early into the challenge and quick to recover, these two were admirably backed by a confidant Ryan Corcoran in goals.

This strong defensive performance would eventually turn in a first, and well deserved, clean sheet of the season. The continuous pressure eventually told and following a Weston cross that was not cleared, a shot was spilled by the keeper and Wilkinson pounced to double his tally and make it 2 for the Eagles. Even the defence wanted in on the goal action, and late in the first half a poor clearance fell to Gregory Denton who fired just wide of the left hand post.

The second hald saw Rugby start as they had finished the first, on the attack. Time and again they played balls in behind the Market Bosworth defence and found willing runners there to meet them. Chances came and went until eventually the ball fell to Andrew Boddy who turned neatly in the box to send a low drive past the Bosworth keeper for Rugby's third.

The fourth came soon after as Curtis broke clear yet again to smash the ball into the net. As the game went on the Ealges' confidence soared, Earle came close with a long range shot and Haworth also tested the keeper with a couple of shots from the left. Birse tormented the defence, getting behind them, linking with the midfield and laying off for Boddy to break through on a number of occassions.

Eventually Birses persistence payed off when he latched onto a through ball from Boddy and slid the shot past the keeper to make it five. Market Bosworth had their chances, most notably a thunderous shot from the halfway line that went a yard or two wide of the mark. But this was Rugby's day, the standard of the football was a credit to them and the hard work that they have put in on the training ground.

It was a game of football that will live long in the memory of those lucky enough to be there.

The Eagles first fixture of the season saw them get off to a great start with a 3 - 2 win over Nuneaton Boys United.

In a high tempo game, the Eagles played a great passing game to frequently unlock the Nuneaton defence. Jamie Birse play up front was a constant thorn in the Nuneaton side and both he and his striking partner Tom Curtis held up play to bring the central midfield duo of Andy Boddy and Callum Earle into the attack.

The midfield wasted no time in getting the ball wide on both flanks to Philip Haworth and Dan Weston who took the game to Nuneaton at every opportunity and it was from one such attack and subsequent corner that Andrew Boddy latched onto a beautifully weighted cross from Dan Weston to give the Eagles the lead. This goaded the opposition into action and the central defensive partnership of Maciek Hulme and Lawrence Saunders worked hard to keep the Nuneaton strikers under raps. Captain Maciek Hulme led by example, easily winning the aerial battle and forcing Nuneaton to have to play the ball out wide.

There was little joy there for the opposition as Ryan Baxter and Greg Denton were on top form, limiting Nuneaton to a handful of corners all game. Anything that did elude the defence was snapped up by Ryan Corcoran who looked calm and assured in goals. Lee hughes came on early in the first half and provided some much needed bite in the midfield as Nuneaton tried to get into the game and Jordan Wilkinson also came on later in the half using his pace to keep up the pressure on the Nuneaton defence.

Early in the second half this pace led to a corner which was met sweetly by Callum Earle to give Rugby a 2-0 lead. Connor Pittam was introduced in the second half to shore up the defence and was quickly into the game, his strong tackles and headers turning defence into attack. Despite the Eagles dominance of the game Nuneaton clawed a goal back midway through the second half, but were soon disappointed again as Dan Weston pounced to touch the ball away from the keeper and into the far corner of the net to make it 3-1. A late headed consolation goal made the final score 3-2. All in all a great start to the season for the Eagles, well done lads.

1

Whitestone Sports

Date

H/A

Opposition

W/D/L

Score

10/09

A

Nuneaton Boys United

W

3-2

12/11

A

Stanton United

D

1-1

18/02

A

Whitestone Sports

L

3-4

01/04

A

Stanton United

D

0-0

Player

Goals

Thomas Curtis

8

Manager

Derry Birse

Sponsored by:

Boughton Road, Rugby, Warwickshire, CV21 1BU

Rugby Town Juniors have a fantastic team of coaches with qualifications to match.  Read more about them here.

Visit the league's website via links.