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


 

AFC Rushden & Diamonds are back in action after a weekend off as they make the long trip to Leiston on Tuesday (16th).

 

Rushden are beginning to develop some momentum and have rediscovered the rhythm after impressive wins over Hednesford Town and Kettering Town.

 

Diamonds midfielder Fernando Bell-Toxtle has been in a rich vein of form since his return to the team and believes that his side should go to Leiston in a good frame of mind.

 

“Over the last four or five games we’ve played really well,” said Fernando.

 

“We won’t go there fearing them [Leiston]. We know they’re doing well in the league but we’ll go there with confidence. We went there with confidence last year and picked up a good result and I’m sure we can go there and definitely get a result.”

 

A Corner Has Been Turned?

 

Diamonds have rebuilt their confidence after some important victories over Stratford, Hednesford and Kettering. Despite falling to defeat against Matlock, the Northamptonshire side delivered a courageous battling performance against one of the elite sides at Step 3 and were unfortunate not to force the Gladiators to penalties.

 

Andy Peaks has experimented with different personnel formulas as the season has progressed but the Diamonds manager is starting to settle on a preferred team to fit his 4-2-3-1 structure. The performances of his defensive players have recently impressed – particularly those of Ryan Hughes and Patrick Casey who have become indispensable figures over the course of the last month.

 

Diamonds have picked up some significant results on the road this season which is a good omen entering this match and the momentum behind them could prove to be crucial as they head into one of the tougher tests this season.

   

Last five: DWLWD

 

How Are Leiston Getting On?

 

Leiston are undoubtedly the surprise package of the season so far. The early relegation favourites are perched inside the play-off places after a series of impressive league results.

 

The Blues also continue to march on in the FA Trophy and will feature in the Second-Round after victories over Hitchin Town and Harrow Borough.

 

Will Davies is going to be the main threat for the Blues having netted nine league goals this term and in doing so propelling himself towards the top of the scoring charts.

 

Leiston is always a tough place to travel – many teams will certainly agree this season – as they have registered 19 points from 8 games at the Watson & Hillhouse Stadium. Only Coalville Town, Banbury United and Alvechurch can boast a better home record than Darren Eadie’s side.

 

Last five: WWWLW

 

Previous Meetings

 

This is a fixture that has historically produced plenty of goals and there have been some classic encounters between the pair at Step 3.

 

Despite the long journey, AFC R&D have enjoyed their trips to Victory Road as they remain unbeaten in three visits (W2, D1). A comprehensive 4-1 away win in the 2018/19 season, coupled alongside Liam Dolman’s 90th minute winner in a 3-2 success, bring back fond memories in Suffolk. The only meeting of the 2020/21 season also took place in Leiston as the Diamonds emerged with a valiant 2-2 draw.

 

Rushden have hosted Leiston on two occasions. Tom Lorraine was the star of the show of an impressive 5-1 in the 2019/20 season with Leiston taking a 1-1 draw in the previous campaign (2018/19).

  

Where is the Match Taking Place?

 

AFC Rushden & Diamonds will travel to the Watson & Hillhouse Stadium where they will face Leiston.

 

The journey will take Diamonds supporters straight across the A14 which leads all the way in Suffolk before turning onto the B1078 and following the A12 into Leiston.

 

Watson & Hillhouse Stadium

Victory Road

Leiston

Suffolk

IP16 4DQ

 

How Can I Follow the Match?

 

If you are unable to make the journey on Tuesday, I will be there with Radio Diamonds to bring you live commentary as the action unfolds.

 

After the match, be sure to keep an eye out for the post-match interviews on AFCRDTV and the match report on the official club website.

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

MATCH PREVIEW: Hitchin Town (H) | Southern League Premier Central

Image
  AFC Rushden & Diamonds turn their attention back to league action this Saturday (25th) as they take on Hitchin Town in a bid to climb the Southern League Premier Central table. The Diamonds return to Hayden Road after almost a month on the road and Andy Peaks will be looking for his side to replicate their good away form in front of their own supporters. "I've had Hitchin watched a few times, to be honest, so I know quite a lot about them", said Peaks. "I think the team will change from time to time, they had a couple of departures and some others coming in. They play a good brand of football, we'll train tomorrow night, after tonight [Wednesday] with a game plan ready for Saturday but I'm expecting it to be a tough game". An opportunity to break into the top half? There can be no doubt that Rushden, on paper, were handed a tricky start to the campaign and so it proved with three defeats in their opening four league matches and an FA Cup exit. Howe...
Read more