RUGBY Town’s United Counties Premier Division pursuits continue over the next week with two matches at Butlin Road.
Newport Pagnell Town are the visitors on Saturday before Northampton ON Chenecks make the trip up to Warwickshire on Tuesday night.
Valley have edged up to sixth in the league table following their 1-0 win at Eynesbury last Saturday, a result which ended a three-game losing streak for Carl Adams’s men.
Following the third of these defeats last Tuesday in the League Cup against Leicester Nirvana, Adams had asked for a positive reaction from his squad.
Whilst Town’s performance at Eynesbury was far from their best, they did at least show they can dig in win ugly.
Adams had hinted there could be new arrivals imminently to keep his current players on their toes and the first of these was the delivered with the signing of defender Liam Francis.
The 28-year-old had been set to start the season at Butlin Road and therefore join up with his old Stratford boss Adams, but had a change of heart and decided to stay at Knights Lane instead.
He subsequently left there to sign for Redditch United and played against Rugby in the recent FA Cup clash between the two sides, which Valley came from behind to win 4-2 with ten men.
Francis was an unused substitute at Eynesbury on Saturday but Adams may give the experienced player a first taste of action against Newport this weekend, with Justin Marsden and Richard Bunting both struggling with muscle injuries.
Saturday’s opponents currently have three players which have featured for Rugby in recent times in Fazel Koriya, Stuart Smeathers and Tom Liversedge.
Koriya was a popular figure in two spells at Town, scoring 15 times in 46 starts, and was actually a target of Adams in his pre-season recruitment activities. Smeathers played twice under Billy Jeffrey in 2005, with Liversedge on board for the first month of the 2015/16 campaign.
Liversedge scored in Pagnell’s weekend home victory over Boston to end the Buckinghamshire club’s run of four games without a win, and they currently sit in 13th place.
Saturday’s match marks the 45th anniversary of Valley’s first ever game at Butlin Road when Burton Park Wanderers were the visitors.
This inaugural encounter, which ended goal-less, was also played out in the United Counties League.
Tuesday’s opponents Northampton were formed in 1946 to enable boys from the local grammar school to participate in competitive football and were initially known as Old Northamptonian Chenecks.
The end name of the club was formed from an amalgamation of the four school house names.
Following their league outings Rugby are back in knock-out action next on Saturday, October 13 when they travel to Midland Premier side Boldmere St Michaels in the FA Vase first round.
