Andy Peaks reflects on the draw with Biggleswade | AFC R&D 0-0 Biggleswade Town

 

AFC Rushden & Diamonds were held to a goalless draw by a resilient Biggleswade Town at Hayden Road on Saturday (23^rd).

It was a game where chances came at a premium with neither side able to break through the other.

The visitors were reduced to ten men in the second half when Robert Parker committed a second bookable offence but the Waders held on to take a draw.

Andy Peaks admitted that Biggleswade were always going to provide a stern test but was ultimately disappointed not to take all three points.

“I’m disappointed that we haven’t won the game if I’m being really honest,” said Peaks.

“Obviously we’re at home and you want to pick three points up against a team like Biggleswade, they’ve had some good results recently, but we’re at home.”

“I thought it was always going to be tough after the whammy we had the other night [defeat to Barwell] – well the last two games, conceding late goals and getting beat in games I thought we’d done well in at certain periods.”

There was one change to the side which was defeated in midweek by Barwell with Nathan Tshikuna replacing Tom Lorraine which pushed Ben Diamond into centre forward.

The Diamonds manager discussed his tactical approach and was pleased with his side’s first-half display.

“We took a slightly different approach today with Ben Diamond,” Peaks revealed.

“It was to try and get us to pass the ball through the thirds, slightly different strategy and I thought first half we played well. We played into some good areas, I thought Ben’s [Diamond] movement was really good. I thought we got into good areas down the outside – especially down the left and overall I was quite happy in the first half without carving out any particular chances.”

Diamonds enjoyed a lot of first half possession but struggled to conjure up any clear opportunities to show for it. The hosts came closest when Ravi Shamsi and Nathan Tshikuna saw long range efforts saved.

“I thought we were on top,” said Peaks.

“We got the ball down and didn’t just go long. We won the physical battle, then we passed it across the back, then into midfield and got people on the ball. Without creating a great deal [of chances] I thought we played some good stuff”.

The second half panned out in similar fashion with Diamonds holding possession but struggling to convert it into clear chances. Alex Collard had a low header gathered by the keeper before Nathan Tshikuna and Sam Warburton have efforts blocked in quick succession.

However, the Rushden boss felt that Biggleswade adjusted their approach as they started to press their opponents higher up the pitch and interrupt the Diamonds’ flow.

“I didn’t want to go gung-ho,” Peaks admitted.

“I wanted us to keep doing what we were doing. I think they [Biggleswade] came out slightly differently. I think they tried to mix it up, they were a little bit more physical, they shut us down a little bit more and stopped us passing it.

Robert Parker was dismissed for Biggleswade for a second bookable offence with 25 minutes to go which handed Diamonds a numerical advantage however Diamonds failed to generate enough momentum to break the deadlock and the visitors subsequently locked down for a draw.

Andy Peaks was disappointed with his side’s response to the red card and, despite the introductions of Tom Lorraine and Will Jones, was frustrated that his side did not utilise the ball well enough.

“I don’t think we passed the ball anywhere near enough,” said Peaks.

“I changed the shape, brought Shanks [Lorraine] on, went 4-4-2 to try and get wide and have someone closer to Ben Diamond. It seemed it wasn’t the message that it should have been.”

“We needed to pass the ball and we tended to go too long for me – the last 20-25 minutes we went too long which didn’t hurt them and it played into their hands.”