Valley bounce back in emphatic fashion

Madundo Semahimbo in action as he scored Rugby Town's second goal in their 7-0 demolition of Rothwell Corinthians. Picture by Martin Pulley

Valley recorded their best UCL result in nearly three years against the Northamptonshire visitors to the delight of manager Carl Adams.

Speaking after the win, Adams said: "It was an excellent performance from the lads tonight and in all reality with a bit more luck, we could have easily scored more.

"It's certainly been a good start to the league campaign so far, but we know we'll have to maintain these levels week in week out, if we're to achieve our targets."

However Adams was left frustrated by a number of key refeering decisions made at Greenwich Avenue in Saturday's Second Qualifying Round 2-0 reverse, which saw the hosts progress through after an Anthony Dwyer penalty and Luther Munakandafa's strike in the 42nd and 50th minutes respectively.

He explained: "We feel that the free-kick they were awarded and the penalty that came from it were particularly harsh calls, and then we missed out on two stonewall penalties of our own after that.

"It was always going to be a tough ask to see off a team two levels higher than us in the pyramid, but we did well to get this far and now we have to get back to the main focus of the season."

Rugby's midweek win confirmed them as the only remaining unbeaten club in their Premier South Division, after Newport Pagnell's surprise home loss on Saturday to Bugbrooke.

Town's bumper return on Tuesday ensured they also have the second best goal difference in the table, although with games to catch up after their extended FA Cup run, they currently only occupy sixth place in it.

Ryan Seal claimed the first goal of the evening on 33 minutes, with Madundo Semahimbo and Liam Francis extending the hosts' lead before the break.

Valley were even more dominant after the restart, with Caine Elliott and new signing Tom Fielding scoring within a minute of each midway through the new half, before Alex Lock and a late Seal penalty rounded off the scoring.

Ex-Leicester City academy prospect Fielding had joined up with his new team mates after returning from a spell in the USA, with previous spells at Mansfield and Ilkeston also on his footballing CV.

Next up for Town sees the visit of Coventry United to Butlin Road this Saturday, with Adams's squad looking to extend their unbeaten league run to six matches against a United side that have won three and lost three of their opening half a dozen UCL outings.