Aylesbury’s first Calor League match may have ended in defeat, but there was plenty of evidence to prove the promoted Ducks will be competitive in their new surroundings as they lost out to a quality Rugby Town side 2-0.

With four injured, two suspended and one unavailable, four debutants lined up for United – Dean Allen, Richard Armstrong, Dom Petrucci and Keith Williams – whilst their opponents had their major summer signings in goalkeeper Niall Cooper and midfielder Just Marsden on show.

Rugby looked to seize the early initiative dominated the early stages as an unsurprisingly nervy looking United took time to settle. Alex Gudger fired a near post corner over whilst two further corners came to nothing for ‘Valley’.

On sixteen minutes a neat passing move ended with Seb Lake-Gaskin pulling a shot wide from outside the box, and two minutes later Jack Sillitoe was called into action for the first time when full back Craig Kelly found himself slotted through inside the six yard box but completely miss hit his effort making it easy for the Ducks custodian to smother.

United had spent most of the game to that point working hard to contain Rugby, but they had a rare forward facing moment of their own when Williams’s free kick delivery was met by Allen but easy for Cooper to catch.

Back at the other end and former Aylesbury winger Lewis McBride hooked an attempt wide, and Lake-Gaskin struck another wayward effort. Sillitoe needed to be on top form with two saves in five minutes, firstly denying Kolodynski from point blank range with a sensational stop, and then beating away a Lake-Gaskin shot following a flowing counter attack and final ball from McBride.

Aylesbury’s best opening came on thirty four minutes as a result of great pressure by Ben Baines to win the ball back from Rugby’s defence, the backline then getting themselves in a horrible muddle briefly letting Allen in for a sight of goal, but the ball wouldn’t run for him and he could only produce a weak ‘half shot’.

The opener duly arrived, and it was no surprise that the visitor’s brightest spark Lake-Gaskin who scored it. Outstripping his marker en route to the box, he produced a finish which arrowed past Sillitoe into the far bottom corner of goal. 1-0 Rugby

Just before the interval and Aylesbury’s best chance went begging. Williams’s searching set piece found Jack Wood unmarked for a header, but his contact on the ball wasn’t clean and it bounced down and into the grateful arms of Cooper.

Half-time: Aylesbury 0-1 Rugby

Aylesbury started the second period brightly, determined to prove they were no pushovers as Reynolds played Baines in, but the ball stuck beneath his feet in similar manner to Allen earlier, and the chance was gone.

The Ducks did have the ball in the net when Cooper ‘dropped’ Williams’s swirling cross into the net under pressure, but Allen was unsurprisingly judged to have fouled the keeper in the process.

A couple of high, wide and not very handsome efforts from Reynolds and Petrucci then came about after Rugby looked to reinstate their earlier level of control, and should have extended their lead when the ball was cut back from the byeline for the waiting Richard Blythe who somehow slotted wide from close range.

Whether for tactical of injury reasons, Lake-Gaskin was then withdrawn and Aylesbury enjoyed some possession as their visitors adapted to a new system with his replacement Steve Palmer dropping into midfield.

The second goal subsequently came somewhat against the run of play, but was enough to put the result beyond question. Kolodynski was played in after a good passing move, and produced a finish so typical of the talented striker, dinking the ball over the advancing Sillitoe. 2-0 Rugby

With the three points safely in the bag, further chances were at a premium, although substitute Palmer fired well over after a shot had been charged down back into his path twelve minutes from the end.

Aylesbury had made a double substitution, introducing Joey Acheampong and Daniel Jones to the game and with a change of shape had Rugby under some pressure in the final ten minutes.

Their best opening came from Steve Hatch retrieving the ball, beating his man on the left and firing in a cross which was moving too fast for Baines to control.

Cooper’s goal wasn’t seriously tested any further and he was able to take a clean sheet from his first game in Rugby colours.

Two-nil the final scoreline, and certainly no disgrace from Aylesbury’s point of view in what was always to be a challenging fixture against a side said to be one of the best in the division. Next up Chalfont St. Peter.