Rugby Town vs Long Eaton United
Northern Premier League – Midlands Division
29/03/2025 – 15:00 KO

We face Rugby Town this coming Saturday afternoon in the league.

The boys travel away to Rugby with nothing but confidence after last Saturday’s victory over Darlaston Town meaning that Brad Munn’s side
made it eight wins on the bounce.

Rugby will be a tough test as they are fighting for their lives in order to stay in the Northern Premier League – Midlands Division.

We will have our eyes set on that ninth win in a row and nothing else.
Saturday’s Opponents:

The Valley currently sit in 19th position in the league and are in the mix of a real relegation scrap.

With 27 points to their name they are chasing Bedworth United in 18th place who are three points ahead.

This could be a relegation fight that goes down to the wire.

Rugby Town have won four of their fixtures at Butlin Road this season whilst drawing six and losing seven.

Rugby had a respectable start to their league season, only losing one of their opening five games, this came against Corby Town on the second game week.

The Valley commenced their season in commanding fashion however after beating Darlaston Town 1-0 at home on the opening day.

A 5-1 loss against Loughborough Students on the 10th of September commenced a winless run that would stretch to 11. During this run, Rugby Town lost 5-1 to Hinckley LRFC and 6-1 to play-off rivals Worcester City.

The run came to an end when the Valley beat Lye Town 3-1, however only weeks later were thrashed 6-0 by already champions, Quorn.

Rugby claimed a huge win on Boxing day as they were victorious against Bedworth United. Come the end of the season that result could prove to be major.

Rugby Town’s recent form has gave them a chance of survival, only losing once in their last five.

Rugby have failed to score in 13 of their league game’s this season. Trey Charles is their top goal scorer, he has bagged 15 in the league (seven have come from the penalty spot).

The Reverse Fixture:

We welcomed Rugby Town to the Family Only Stadium on the 23rd of November 2024.

The points were shared as the game finished 1-1 after 90 minutes of action.

Callum Cocks opened the scoring for us in the fifth minute of the match.

Lewis King was shown a red card in the 32nd minute.

Rugby were awarded a penalty late on and Trey Charles stepped up and converted in the 88th minute.

We will be looking for the win this time around.

Current Form:

This part of the preview has been rather easy to produce over the past month or so.

The Blues remain at the top of the form guide after winning six from six. Overall, we have won eight in our last eight in the league.

In those eight wins we have only conceded three goals, whilst scoring 27 up the other end.

We also have four clean sheets in our last four games.

Rugby Town are 12th in the form guide.

Their recent form is a mixed bag however is positive given the situation they find themselves in.

Their two losses in their last six came against AFC Rushden & Diamonds and Worcester City.

Six points were earned in total in games against Hinckley LRFC and Coventry Sphinx, whereas draws came against Lye Town and Grantham Town who make up the relegation zone with the Valley.

Brad speaks ahead of Rugby away:

When asked about what the fans can expect to see on Saturday, Brad answered: “Same as what you’ve seen in the last eight games. We’re a team that certainly doesn’t settle to draw or lose games

“We’ll respect every opposition that we play but we fear no one and we need to take it to them

“They (Rugby Town) will be fighting for their lives so it will be a real, real tough task. But we’ll bring us and that’s the biggest bit of pride I can say, we have a clear identity, we operate in a certain way and I can take this group of players anywhere

“The squad conducts themselves fantastically, they’re good people first and foremost and secondly there’s some bloody fantastic footballers as well. We’re doing well

“Trust me, we’ll be ready to go next Saturday.”

The skipper has his say on Saturday’s game:

“Like we say, it’s another game. That’s done now (2-0-win vs Darlaston Town), we’ve had our enjoyment, we’ve got to move on now and focus on Saturday

"We’ll prepare properly through the week and we’ve got to go and get another three points, keep the win streak going, take it to nine and keep our place in the play-offs

"At the end of the day we can’t finish first so now we want to finish second. We want the games here so we’ve got to go and win as many games now until the end of the season.”

Match Preview: Sam Hargrave