RUGBY Town director Neil Melvin says dual-registration deals for Valley’s all-time leading goalscorer David Kolodynski and Lewis Rankin will aid their promotion push significantly.
Kolodynski, who has 224 goals to his name in 410 appearances for Rugby, last turned out for Valley in the 2017/18 campaign and has recently been plying his trade at Midland League Premier Division outfit Long Eaton United.
Rankin, meanwhile, is set to arrive from Coleshill Town in the Southern League Division One Central.
Melvin believes the duo will be invaluable for the club in adding further experience and quality to the ranks, and expects the pair to play a big part in a hectic final few months of the season.
“With all of the matches that have been stacking up over the last few weeks, it is certainly going to be a busy time for everyone at the top between now and the end of the season,” he said.
“We thought it was wise to have extra options available to us as cover in case of injuries and unavailabilities to our current squad in the final couple of months of the campaign.
“We will of course be aiming to work closely with both Lewis’s and David’s parent clubs as to how this works on a match-by-match basis, but we felt it was important to get something in place now ahead of the cut-off point for signings at the end of March.”
As far as matters on the pitch have been concerned, the postponement of last Saturday’s trip to Peterborough Northern Star was the fourth-successive fixture to fall foul of a waterlogged pitch.
It means that Carl Adams’ men have still only played six games this year, last turning out in the 2-0 defeat of Harborough Town on February 8.
Melvin is nonetheless hopeful that that the ongoing preparations at Butlin Road can ensure that Valley’s four-week break from action can be put to an end when hosting Boston Town on Saturday (3pm).
“Our pitch drains pretty well, so unless there is a torrential spell over Friday night and into Saturday morning, there shouldn’t be any issues with waterlogging,” he said.
“We hope we can bring an end to the frustrations of the past month. Fortunately the weather this week has not been as wet and the forecast is looking okay too, so we should be able to get the game on.”
Incidentally, Boston were the only side in the United Counties Premier Division to turn out at the weekend, playing out a thrilling 3-3 draw with Harborough to rise a place to ninth.
The Lincolnshire side are currently enjoying a three-match unbeaten streak, having won successive games prior to their high-scoring stalemate by a 2-1 scoreline – seeing off Holbeach United and Desborough Town.
As far as recent history between the two sides is concerned, Rugby hold the upper hand having won the reverse fixture at Boston’s DWB Stadium 3-0, with Ryan Seal’s double and a Dylan Parker strike helping win October’s clash.
