RUGBY Town have been eliminated from the Birmingham Senior Cup following Tuesday night’s 5-1 defeat at the hands of Coventry City.
Carl Adams’ side battled it out against a strong Sky Blues outfit, which featured a number of the regulars who have guided the club near the summit of the League One table, following on from Saturday’s 3-1 loss at Holbeach United.
Valley’s preparations for last weekend’s fixture were hindered by the sudden recall of Stratford Town loanees James Hancocks and Dylan Parker – though the latter returned for the Coventry City tie three days later.
Speaking on the situation with the pair, Rugby director Neil Melvin said: “It appears that Stratford cut a number of players from their squad on Friday for financial reasons, and then decided they needed James and Dylan back at the club for their weekend fixture.
“It’s frustrating for us for this to happen so late in the day, but Dylan was back with us for the Birmingham Senior Cup game on Tuesday and hopefully it looks like he wants to stay here for the foreseeable future.”
Sky Blues forward Charlie Wakefield opened the scoring on the half-hour mark to reward the visitors for a dominant start when slotting past Town goalkeeper Matt Hill.
As soon as the first goal arrived, two soon followed, with Amadou Bakayoko charging down Hill’s attempted clearance to finish into an empty net, before Michael Rose headed home from close range to ultimately seal Coventry’s progression.
Parker, appearing back in the side after missing out on Saturday, ensured Rugby had the final say in the first half when finishing low past Ben Wilson before the break for his third goal in as many starts for Town.
The next goal arrived with 12 minutes remaining courtesy of Max Biamou, before Zain Westbrooke rounded off the scoring from the penalty spot after Jamal Clarke brought down Will Bapaga inside the box two minutes from time.
A hot-headed display in Lincolnshire proved Valley’s downfall in Saturday’s defeat to Holbeach after Lewis Hayden and Jamal Clarke were both sin-binned for ten minute spells, with the former being dismissed towards the end of the game.
Jonny Lockie put the hosts in front from close range after Town failed to clear their lines, before Jazz Luckie hauled the visitors level with a well-timed finish past Josh Carpenter from a long ball.
But following two goals in two minutes before half time from Liam Adams, Rugby were up against it in the second half and failed to find a route back into the game – despite half chances for Charlie Evans and Luckie.
Next up for Rugby is a home game at Butlin Road against Peterborough Northern Star, with Loyiso Recci and Hayden the notable absentees for Saturday (3pm).
