Football
Town reach last eight

Rugby Town 2 Daventry Town 1

Red Insure Cup Round Three

TOWN finally booked their place in the last eight of the League Cup on Tuesday night when coming from behind to win an entertaining local derby.

Robbie Banks and new boy Steve Palmer put in wayward efforts for the hosts early on before Daventry took control of the opening 30 minutes as home keeper Dave Bevan twice denied Stuart Hendrie and Tyrone Amery speared a shot against the inside of the post.

Hendrie gave the visitors the lead after 27 minutes with an easy close range finish though when Bevan could only parry Jon Powis' strike from the edge of the area.

Rugby equalised in similar circumstances ten minutes later when Robbie Banks' initial effort was pushed away by Joe Mellings but Ed Booth was on hand to head home from five-yards.

Mellings then kept out another Banks' shot from distance before Valley grabbed what turned out to be the crucial winning goal on the stroke of half time with Palmer nodding in after Mellings had watched Banks' looped cross sail over his head.

Whilst the second half generated no further goals it still proved an eventful affair.

Rugby played some free flowing football as they sought to make the tie safe but Daventry also put in a spirited display, especially in the early part of the half when Callum Burgess saw his effort blocked by Booth and Bevan once more denied Hendrie with a fine one-handed save.

At the other end, Palmer shook the woodwork with a powerful strike from 20-yards, Mellings clawed away a header from Nik Preston and both Hamilton and Williams saw powerful runs into the Daventry box denied by last ditch blocks.

Daventry substitute Scott Cross was then inches away from converting a dangerous cross from the left, before Tyrone Fagan had three good chances to finally seal things in the closing ten minutes, the last and best of which saw Mellings save well with his legs.