MATCH PREVIEW: Stourbridge (A) | Southern League Premier Central

 



AFC Rushden & Diamonds return to league action this Saturday (9th) as they travel to the West Midlands to take on Stourbridge.
 
The Glassboys endured a difficult start to the season but they are now unbeaten in four matches and Andy Peaks was keen to acknowledge the recent form of his opposition.
 
"They’ve got a lot of good players", admitted Peaks.
 
"They’re finding their feet and they’ve had two good wins this week so it’s never easy going there. I’m quite pleased they’ve won a couple of games because they were going to – they’ve got too many good players not to".
 
A tougher test than meets the eye for Diamonds?
 
Rushden enter this match following two consecutive defeats which includes their elimination from the Southern League Challenge Cup last Tuesday and they are coming up against a side who, despite what the league table would suggest, have traditionally competed for the play-off places.
 
Andy Peaks has insisted that Diamonds must get ‘back to basics’ and tighten up defensively as they look to secure a first league clean sheet of the season and that will certainly need to be the case as they encounter the likes of Jason Cowley and Miracle Okafor.
 
In the attacking department, Diamonds have gradually created more chances as the season has progressed – particularly with the addition of Ravi Shamsi but will need to show more ruthlessness in front of goal. Rushden have scored nine goals from their eight matches which equates to the joint second lowest return in the division.
 
However, Stourbridge are one of four sides in the league who have conceded over 20 goals thus far and this may represent an opportunity for the Diamonds to rectify that record.
 
Last five: DWWLL
 
How are Stourbridge getting on?
 
The West Midlands side have been rooted to the bottom of the table for the majority of the campaign but Stourbridge got off the mark with a crucial win at Hitchin last week and hauled themselves out of the relegation zone.
 
Having followed that result up with a win over Coalville in the League Cup, there is a general sense of momentum being generated in the Glassboys camp and a feeling that there is still plenty of time to recover and challenge the upper end of the division.
 
Last five: LDDWW
 
Previous Meetings
 
AFC R&D have met Stourbridge on three occasions since their promotion to Step 3 in 2018.
 
The most recent of those will go down in the phoenix club folklore as Diamonds emerged victorious from a five-goal thriller in November 2019 with Tom Lorraine, Ben Acquaye and Jack Ashton all on the scoresheet at Hayden Road.
 
Stourbridge did the double over the Diamonds in the 2018/19 campaign with 1-2 away victory followed by a 2-1 home win in the reverse fixture.
 
Where is the match taking place?
 
AFC Rushden & Diamonds are travelling to War Memorial Athletic Ground this weekend. Supporters are encouraged to access the stadium via the Archway Entrance turnstiles. There is no supporter parking on site. The match is scheduled for a 15:00 kick-off.
 
War Memorial Athletic Ground
High St
Amblecote
Stourbridge
DY8 4HN
 
How can I follow the match?
 
If you are unable to attend the game, I will be live on Radio Diamonds as we bring you live commentary from the match. You can also find live updates on the official club Twitter feed (@AFCRD).
 
After the match, be sure to watch the post-match interviews on AFCRDTV and read the match report.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Andy Peaks reflects on entertaining draw with Rushall | AFC R&D 1-1 Rushall Olympic

Image
  AFC Rushden & Diamonds played out an entertaining score draw with Rushall Olympic at Hayden Road on Tuesday (12th).   Diamonds took the lead early as Ravi Shamsi finished off a counterattacking move but the visitors were level soon after as Rackeem Reid raced in to slot home the equaliser.   The game continued to open up in the second half with both sides enjoying spells of possession and creating chances but both goalkeepers were on form and prevented any further scoring.   Andy Peaks named an unchanged side to the team that picked up a draw at Stourbridge. There was no change in the result as Diamonds replicated a score draw against another West Midlands side.   Andy Peaks explained the rationale behind fielding the same side and was pleased with the performance that they delivered.   “I changed things on Saturday and I was pleased with that,” said Peaks.   “I thought they [Rushden] put a real workmanlike performance in,...
Read more

MATCH PREVIEW: Hednesford Town (A) | Southern League Premier Central

Image
  AFC Rushden & Diamonds return to league action on Saturday (6th) as they travel to Hednesford Town in the Southern League Premier Central.   Diamonds enter this game off the back of their elimination from the FA Trophy at Matlock Town but their second half fight back will provide encouragement and belief going into this match.   Andy Peaks was pleased with Diamonds’ commitment and desire in Matlock but he would like to see his side stretch the quality of performance across an entire match.   “I keep saying I want a complete performance” Peaks revealed.   “I think at Stratford the other night was probably the most complete performance we’ve had if I’m being honest – first half and the second half – it was pretty good right through.”   “Today [versus Matlock] was not bad. We’ve had a ten-minute spell where we’ve conceded a couple of goals which were avoidable but then I suppose all goals are. Other than that, I think we played well”.    Tailor...
Read more