RUGBY Town suffered a third straight defeat in all competitions after slipping to a 4-2 defeat away at Lye Town.
Lye defender Adam Meacham scored a hat-trick as the home side punished Valley at set-pieces with Massiah McDonald and Drew Kear on target for Rugby late on at The Sports Ground.
The result means Valley sit 16th in the Northern Premier League Midlands table.
Lye took the lead on 16 minutes when Meacham scored a header from close range after Rugby failed to clear their lines at a corner.
And Lye doubled their lead on the stroke of half time as Meacham scored his second of the game with a glancing header from Ben Billingham’s free-kick.
Lye struck again moments later as Sam Hall’s header found the net from Billingham’s corner as the home scored scored twice in first half injury time.
And Lye all but sealed the points on 60 minutes as Meacham completed his hat-trick with a simple finish after Matt Hill initially kept out Ryan Bridgewater’s shot from another Billingham free-kick.
Rugby eventually reduced the deficit on 84 minutes as McDonald followed up Roger Lee’s initial effort to score.
And Valley grabbed another consolation goal in the final minute when Kear curled a fine shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the penalty area after the ball broke kindly into his path.
Rugby are next in action away at Cambridge City on Tuesday, September 26 with kick-off at 7.45pm at Westwood Road.
