Late penalty means points shared in Rugby Town's league opener

Report by Jon Venner. Pictures by Martin Pulley

United Counties League - Premier Division South: Rugby Town 1 Lutterworth Town 1

Valley kicked off their new season with a point from an often ill-tempered affair against their local rivals.

Summer signing Barry Fitzharris had given the hosts a 62nd minute lead, but Rugby were just unable to hold on to the victory in their first competitive outing of the calendar year with Tendai Daire stroking home from the spot with just three minutes of normal time remaining.

Fitzharris was one of four players in Town's starting line-up featuring for the club for a first time, with keeper Ben Newey, Max Johnson and ex-Academy prospect Josh Thomas the others to taste the action for real.

The home side made a relatively bright start to the game, earning themselves a series of corners in the process.

Danico Johnson's low effort was easily gathered by Warren Butlin in the first shot on target of the encounter, whilst at the other end Marshal Keenan sent a free-kick from a dangerous position just over the bar.

Butlin then did well to keep out a sweetly struck volley from close range by Lee Thomas, after David Kolodynski had chipped a cross over to the back post.

The visitors almost forced home the opening goal after an almighty scramble in the Valley goalmouth, before Lee Thomas squandered another great chance when he ballooned Dylan Parker's pull-back over the bar.

The opportunities continued to come Thomas's way, as he dragged one wide of the frame, with Parker also denied by a well-timed tackle from Abdul Raheem.

There was a let off for Newey just ahead of the interval when Daire beat him to a long upfield clearance, but the Swifts' man's header came back off the base of the post.

Ex-Valley man Craig Maisiri blazed over the bar just a couple of minutes into the new period, but Town soon settled to put it their best spell of the game.

A Josh Thomas header was grabbed at the second attempt by Butlin, with the away keeper then doing well to get his fingertips to a deflected strike by Kolodynski.

Butlin was again at full stretch to tip over Loyiso Recci's effort, before Rugby made their pressure count when Fitzharris finished things off after both Kolodynski and Liam Francis had tried to help home a Danico Johnson low ball across the face of the goal.

Abdul Rahman and Daire both went to close to levelling things up with headers as Lutterworth responded well to the setback, although Josh Thomas could have put the game beyond them when he fluffed his shot after neat play out wide by Kolodynski.

However a fifth Town debutant sub Jordan Hayward's clumsy challenge just inside the box gave the visitors a chance from twelve yards, with Daire calmly stroking home the resulting penalty past Newey.

Rugby line-up: Newey, Rosser, L.Thomas (Hayward), Francis, Recci, M.Johnson (O.Recci), J.Thomas, Fitzharris, Parker, Johnson, Kolodynski (Hancocks). Sub not used: Evans. Marsden

Lutterworth line-up: Butlin, Raheem, Hodkinson, Cooper, Peace, Lewis, Samuels, Rahman, Keenan, Maisiri, Daire

Rugby Star Man: Barry Fitzharris