RUGBY Town will return to the Aggborough Stadium for the second year running next Saturday (27th), after they were again paired with Conference North outfit Worcester City in the qualifying stages of the FA Cup.
A David Kolodynski hat-trick saw Town win 3-1 in Tuesday evening’s replay (after drawing the first 0-0) at Chasetown to set up a re-run of the 2013 tie, which eventually saw Valley lose out after a second match at Butlin Road – having returned from the away game with a 0-0 draw.
Last season’s ultimate defeat came a stage further in the Third Qualifying Round, but having put in a decent account of themselves at the ground City share with Kidderminster that day, Dave Stringer’s side will be looking forward to the chance of revenge this time round.
Before that cup trip, Valley must first make the trip to Buckinghamshire for a Southern League Central Division clash with Chalfont St.Peter.
Town’s league form has been patchy so far this season, and as a result they currently sit in twelfth place in the table – just one ahead of Saturday’s opponents Saints.
Both sides have accumulated ten points from their opening eight matches, although Valley’s superior goal difference just gives them the edge.
Rugby’s record in the head-to-head matches is good, with five wins from the six games to-date – with the only slight blip coming when the two teams played out a stalemate at Butlin Road in April.
Town’s midweek win at Chasetown saw a return to the side for goalkeeper Niall Cooper.
Cooper was an ever-present for Rugby last season, and having signed a contract in the summer was expected to play an important part in the club’s promotion push this time round too.
However personal commitments saw him absent at the start of the campaign, with Stringer having to turn to Joe Mellings between the sticks instead.
With both Mellings (back) and recent signing Nick Bennion (chest) both out of action for Tuesday’s replay, Cooper made a timely reappearance in the Valley number one shirt though, and Stringer will no doubt be hoping to persuade the ex-Leamington stopper to make his return a more permanent one.
Midfielder Jamie Towers may also return to the weekend squad after he missed the Chasetown win through work commitments, although there are concerns about the fitness of both Seb Lake-Gaskin and Alex Gudger ahead of the trip.
Lake-Gaskin sat out Tuesday’s game through injury, and Gudger was withdrawn late-on – with his replacement then Marcel Simpson likely to fill in again if the Town skipper fails to recover in time.
# The club coach to Chalfont will leave Butlin Road at 11.00am For latest information contact Tony Mann on 07970 691366.
# The club learned this week of the sad passing of one of its most loyal and colourful supporters – Keith Brown. The legend that was ‘Beazer’ had supported Valley over many decades and was known throughout the non-league football fraternity for his warmth of character and razor sharp humour, with opposition goalkeepers particularly often in the firing line for the latter.
