Rugby Town hoping to get back on track after cup disappointments - The Rugby Observer

Rugby Town hoping to get back on track after cup disappointments

Rugby Editorial 27th Sep, 2018   0

RUGBY Town return to United Counties League Premier Division action this weekend with a trip to Eynesbury Rovers with the aim of getting back to winning ways after a disappointing week.

Saturday’s foray into Cambridgeshire comes on the back of two cup defeats, with Tuesday evening’s 2-1 UCL League Cup reverse at home to Leicester Nirvana coming hot on the heels of their 3-1 exit from the FA Cup in the second qualifying round against Hednesford Town at Butlin Road.

The Hednesford loss brought an end to Valley’s more than respectable run in the cup which had included victories against higher level opposition in Evesham United and Redditch United.

Town boss Carl Adams was understandably disappointed to miss out on a place in the next stage of the competition but also recognised the quality of their Northern League Premier Division opponents.




He said: “We started poorly on Saturday and looked a bit like the proverbial rabbits in the headlights and got punished for it.

“There was definite improvement in the second half, but Hednesford did look a quality outfit and the two level gap between the two sides was there for all to see at times.”


Focusing on the Nirvana league cup defeat, Adams continued: “In some respects it’s no bad thing to no longer have the distraction of the competition, but I was disappointed by the manner of our exit.

“We had a number of players out there who haven’t played many minutes for us this season and this was an opportunity to show me what they can do and stake a claim for a regular place in the side which on the whole they failed to do.

“On top of the league defeat at Oadby, it now looks like a bad week or so for us and we will have to try and lift morale ahead of what is now a big game for us at Eynesbury.”

Saturday’s hosts currently sit in third spot in the division following their 3-0 success last weekend at Deeping and have lost just once in six league outings to-date – on the back of a seventh place finish last season.

The two clubs previously met six times in the 1970s in the UCL Division One, with Valley winning only one of these encounters.

Town have slipped down to the ninth in the current rankings as a result of their cup exploits, although they do have games in hand over the top six teams in the table.

Adams added: “I will probably be looking at bringing in a couple of new faces in the near future to try and keep the existing players on their toes, but overall I’m pleased with the direction things are going.

“We have won eight out of twelve so far this season and I’m relatively happy about where we are in the league as long as we can kick-start things again over the next few games.”

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