Boss Grant accepts responsibility as Rugby Town's winning run ends at Bourne

Valley went into the fixture top of the Nothern Premier League Midlands Division form rankings with five wins and a draw in their previous six games against a side that had not won for a month, but it was the Lincolnshire hosts who deservedly secured a three-point haul.

Town boss Grant Joshua took responsibility for the defeat, and said: "The result's on me. We got caught out by Bourne's change of shape for the game.

"We should've recognised the different system from the touchline earlier and adapted accordingly, but well done to them."

Zac Allen's neat finish had given the home side a half-time lead, but Caine Elliott's delightful strike shortly after the restart squared things up, before Aaron Eyett scrambled home on the hour, and then Eyett coolly struck again to round things off.

Rugby remain 11th in the congested mid-band of the table where just six points separate the fifth-placed team from 14th.

Joshua faces a week of uncertainty though, with a number of players facing fitness battles ahead of Saturday's visit to Butlin Road of St Neots.

Callum Griffin missed the Bourne trip with a hamstring problem, with Harrison Nee pulling out in the warm-up to join another struggling for full fitness Isaac Adegoke on the bench.

Joshua said: "I shouldn't really have put Isaac on with how his knee is, but Greg (Tempest) took a knock and he's struggling for the weekend too."

With Rivel Mardenborough now unavailable for a three-game stint and fellow striker Dan Organ's initial one-month loan spell ending, Joshua is likely to bring in cover ahead of the St Neots match, although skipper Sam Tye is back in the fold again after a two-match absence.

Joshua said: "It's a bit like the walking wounded at the moment, but the lads are still in high spirits.

"They've really put their bodies on the line for the last month or so with a lot of midweek fixtures - playing with injuries and knocks and still managing to go on a great run."

Town are back at home next Tuesday (18th) when they host a Coventry City XI in the Birmingham Senior Cup.