Rugby Town 0-3 Market Drayton
Evostik NPL – South Division
Report by Jon Venner
RUGBY Town slumped to another Butlin Road defeat on Tuesday evening, suffering their heaviest reverse of a dismal league campaign to-date against a lively Market Drayton side.
The potential green shoots of recovery witnessed during the weekend draw at Stocksbridge were no longer apparent for a Town line-up which saw four more players make their competitive bow for the club.
Birmingham City loanee Edjidja Mbunga started up-front in place of the injured David Kolodynski, with Charlie Faulkner also restored to the opening eleven in two changes from the dogged defensive display last Saturday.
The borrowed youngster made an immediate impact surging into the Drayton box, with the ball eventually falling to Aaron Moses-Garvey – whose well-struck effort was touched over the bar by keeper Ashley Rawlins.
Rugby’s decent enough start continued when Lewis Rankin put one wide, but the visitors were soon in the game with Paul McMullen heading wide, and they took the lead on fourteen minutes after Kevin Buxton easily skipped past a number of Valley defenders on the edge of the area before teeing up Daniel Beddows to drill home from an angled position.
Market’s Glyn Coney pulled a good chance wide of the target ahead of the hosts brightest spell of the game, which saw a rising strike by Faulkner again tipped over by Rawlins and Mbunga’s attempted volley on the turn miss the target.
However with the first half deep into stoppage time, the visitors struck a further hammer blow when Joe Cuff powered in his side’s second from twenty yards after Rugby had failed to clear a corner effectively – ending any realistic chance of a home comeback at that point.
William Whieldon made it three on 58 minutes, after his strike partner Scott Ryan had worked his way behind the middle of the Town defence.
Town’s lack of familiarity and cohesion was all too apparent as the game progressed, although Mbunga did have a strike which was taken comfortably by Rawlins, and with their best opportunity of the game, Jake Woolley’s shot from a tight angle was parried by the keeper, but unfortunately did not fall kindly for his team mates in the box.
It was the Shropshire club that looked more likely to add to their tally in the closing stages though, with Louis Connor turning sub Thomas Edge’s effort round the post, before Coney lashed another chance across the penalty area.
