RUGBY TOWN: Double cup celebration for Youth and first team

There was a double cup celebration for Rugby Town over the past week, when the club’s youth team followed up on the first team’s FA Vase success to secure a milestone victory in the national under-18 knockout trophy.

Valley’s 5-1 FA Youth Cup win at Stafford Rangers in the final qualifying round of the competition came 11 days on from an equally impressive 5-0 performance in the previous stage at Bugbrooke, and puts Liam O’Neill’s side in the draw for the First Round Proper alongside the youngsters from League One and League Two clubs.

Academy Boss O’Neill reflected on the achievement to-date: “It was a wonderful result and achievement by the boys on Monday night and I am so proud of how they performed and how clinical they were.

“I believe the draw is on Friday, so fingers crossed we can get a home draw and attract a large crowd to Butlin Road to enjoy the quality of the players we are developing here at the academy.”

Meanwhile Carl Adams’ side navigated their way to a Second Round FA Vase fixture at Newark Flowserve on Saturday November 2, having seen off Newark’s MFL Premier Division counterparts Gresley at the weekend thanks to a solitary strike from Jazz Luckie.

Town made their first appearance in this season’s competition, after having received exemptions from the qualifying stages as a reward for their third place league finish in 2018/19.

Rugby return to UCL action this Saturday with the longest trip of the campaign to Boston Town.

Eighth placed Valley will be looking to build on their last league fixture, which saw another single-goal victory at home to Peterborough.

This time they will face a side three places and four points below them at the DWB Stadium.

Adams will welcome back Vase cup-tied duo Ben Bradshaw and Dylan Parker for the trip to Lincolnshire and he will also be hoping that Loyiso Recci, out with an ankle problem and Fazel Koriya who has been ill, are back available to him after the pair missed out on the Gresley win.

Rugby Town will then complete October’s fixtures with two home games, against Desborough Town on Saturday 26th and in the League Cup second round hosting Leicester Nirvana on Tuesday 29th.