Andy Peaks speaks after FA Trophy defeat | Matlock Town 2-1 AFC R&D

 

AFC Rushden & Diamonds were eliminated from the FA Trophy at the hands of Matlock Town on Saturday (30th).

 

The Diamonds produced a courageous and spirited performance, particularly in the second half where they almost completed an admirable comeback, but the visitors ran out of time.

 

Matlock scored twice in quick succession in the second half with Alex Byrne and Jesurun Uchegbulam both lobbing Dean Snedker within the space of five minutes. Ravi Shamsi halved the deficit with a superb strike from range but Diamonds could not convert their late pressure into an equaliser.

 

Andy Peaks fielded the same team which defeated Stratford Town during the week and was satisfied with his side’s performance despite their defeat.

 

“We played some good stuff against a really good team,” said Peaks.

 

“I said to the boys before the start that there wasn’t the pressure there has been in some of the other games. A lot of people didn’t expect us to get a lot against a team top of the Northern League. The pressure was from me because I felt if we played to our capabilities we could give them [Matlock] a game.”

 

“I said [to the players] the pressure you get is from me because I think we can compete with teams top of the leagues at our level and I think they’ve proved that – ultimately we’ve lost the game so that’s disappointing.”

 

Diamonds were aware that they had to defend well against the Northern Premier League leaders and they stood up to the task well as they kept their hosts at bay in the first half. Patrick Casey cleared an early effort from Alex Byrne off the line and Jerome Greaves failed to connect with a dangerous free-kick delivery.

 

The visitors also posed a threat at the other end of the pitch. Ravi Shamsi and Connor Furlong both had efforts wide and over respectively with Tom Lorraine finding the net to be denied by the offside flag.

 

“I think the gameplan was pretty good,” Peaks stated.

 

“They [Matlock] played for set-pieces, we had to defend them well and in the first half we did that. Equally, it was a case of winning the ball and getting it into wide areas where I felt they’d be vulnerable – again, that was the case. We didn’t do it enough. We did it alright in the first 15-20 minutes after that we didn’t.”

 

“I said at halftime that I was quite happy with the first half, they’d [Rushden] not really opened up, they’d [Matlock] had a few set-pieces which we’d dealt with really well. In the second half, I thought we’d get stronger and stronger which I thought we had for ten minutes. I thought we were in the ascendency and then we’ve got caught with a couple of disappointing goals.”

 

Matlock opened the scoring ten minutes into the second half as Alex Byrne pounced on Alex Collard’s headed clearance and expertly lobbed Dean Snedker from 35 yards.

 

The hosts utilised their momentum to add a second goal as substitute Jesurun Uchegbulam latched onto Callum Chippendale’s flick-on to scoop the ball past Snedker and double the lead.

 

“I thought we got caught a little bit,” admitted Peaks.

 

“They were good finishes but perhaps a little bit soft from our point of view. I was disappointed we didn’t clear the first one [and] the second one followed very similar very quickly”.

 

“That was a whammy to be honest and their heads dropped for a little bit but we rallied them. We made some substitutions and I thought we then got back into it, we got a lot of possession, I thought we passed it much better, Ravi [Shamsi] got us a great goal and the last 15-20 minutes was literally all Diamonds could we get one?”

 

Diamonds hauled their way back into the tie as Ravi Shamsi received the ball and fired his shot into the far corner from 25 yards.

 

The visitors piled on the pressure with a series of late opportunities – most notably as Alex Collard’s header smacked the outside of the post – but failed to convert their chances into an equaliser as Matlock held on to progress.

 

“Fantastic strike from Ravi – we know he’s capable of that,” said Peaks.

 

“That gave everyone a bit of a lift and I think the belief all of the sudden returned, put some doubts in their [Matlock] heads and I thought we controlled the last ten minutes. We were really unlucky when [Alex] Collard hit the post, another one flashed across the front of the goal and it just wouldn’t go in”.

 

“They’ve certainly put a shift in and showed loads of desire, loads of passion and worked their socks off. One of the reports we got from these [Matlock] was that they’ve got one of the most hard-working teams people had seen and I thought we matched them for that.”