Adams looking for continued Christmas spirit at Butlin Road on Tuesday

Rugby Town's playing squad have certainly earnt their ten day Christmas break following their gritty 1-0 victory at near neighbours Lutterworth last Saturday.

Fifth placed Valley will now not return to action until next Tuesday (28th) when Easington Sports visit Butlin Road for a 3pm kick-off, after they deservedly scooped all three points at a murky Dunley Way despite playing the entire second half with ten men.

Midfielder Alex Lock was undeniably the central figure at the weekend, after he had come off the bench on the half hour mark to replace the injured Luke English.

Having grabbed his first goal for the club he joined at the end of September with a towering header to a Max Johnson corner on 43 minutes, Lock then received his marching orders for a late tackle in first half stoppage time.

Ahead of Lock's ultimately victory clinching positive contribution, Rugby had had the better of the game, with David Kolodynski twice missing out after he had got in behind the Swifts' back-line and the same player also striking the crossbar with a clever flick to another Johnson set-piece delivery.

Town boss Carl Adams reflected on another spirited display from his side: "Lutterworth have been pretty dominant at home in the league so far this season, with nine wins and only the one defeat against Hinckley there, but I thought we were excellent and could have easily scored more.

"The togetherness was there for all to see and we coped really well with being a player short, as we had done last week at Stourport when Max was sinbinned near the end.

"I do feel that we've been harshly treated by refereeing decisions over the past couple of weeks though, and that Alex was particularly hard done by on Saturday and will now have to miss the next three games as a result."

Rugby's defence and the in-form keeper Ash Bodycote stood firm in the second period though, and Kolodynski spurned a further great opportunity to settle any nerves late on when he steered the ball wide from ten yards out with the goal gaping.

Adams continued: "We've had tough back to back physical challenges now, with the intense Vase game at Stourport and then another testing one at Lutterworth, so it's good that we now have a little extra time to regroup and recharge the batteries ahead of the festive fixtures."

Rugby's Bank Holiday visitors Easington currently sit in 14th place in the UCL Premier South table having been a late addition to the division in the summer, when the Banbury-based club were transferred over from the Hellenic League.

Dylan Parker and Keenah Rosser both missed out on the Lutterworth game due to COVID related isolations, but Adams is hoping to have them back available next Tuesday.

Adams concluded by highlighting the impact of the travelling Valley faithful: "The supporters have been great over the past few weeks.

"We've come through three potentially tricky away matches and the contributions from the fans have been really appreciated.

"I wish them all a very merry Christmas and hopefully we can give them even more to cheer about next Tuesday and then into 2022."

Following the Easington home fixture, Town kick-off the New Year with the short trip to Coventry Sphinx on January 3rd before hosting league leaders Hinckley at Butlin Road five days later.