Burgess: Play-off place is now AFC Rushden & Diamonds' to lose

Nathan Tshikuna was AFC Rushden & Diamonds' late, late hero as his stunning free-kick secured a 3-2 victory at Lowestoft Town

Having held a first-half lead thanks to Connor Furlong’s goal, Diamonds found themselves trail 2-1 with 20 minutes to go as Jake Reed struck twice for struggling Lowestoft.

However, Ryan Hughes levelled and then Diamonds won it in dramatic fashion thanks to a 40-yard free-kick from Nathan Tshikuna in the first minute of stoppage-time.

The victory saw Diamonds move four points clear of sixth-placed Alvechurch with two games still in hand.

Things are looking good in the league table for Diamonds as they hold the final play-off place

When asked if a play-off place is now Diamonds’ to lose, interim boss Burgess replied: “It is, absolutely.

“When you look at the table after a result like that you say ‘it’s a good job we won’.

“We have pulled clear of Alvechurch and things like that are really important.

“It’s a huge three points for us and it’s now all about making sure we do ourselves justice and finish the season as strongly as we can.

“We will be taking it one game at a time but we have put ourselves in a really good position and we want to finish the job now.”

The win made it two out of two for Burgess since being appointed as interim boss.

And he was full of praise for the “amazing character” his players showed.

“It was a strange game with the way it ebbed and flowed and we probably should have gone in at half-time 2-0 up because we had a great chance after we’d scored our goal,” Burgess added.

“I just said that we needed to be on the front foot for the first 10 or 15 minutes of the second half and we needed to get the next goal but it didn’t happen and they got two goals in quick succession.

“It would have been easy to roll over and wave the white flag but the boys were unbelievable and they kept coming back.

“Lowestoft defended really well but the lads showed amazing character.

“It was a great finish from Ryan to make it 2-2 and then the winning goal was something special.

“I thought Nathan was our best player against Hednesford but things didn’t really go for him this time. But it was just an unbelievable strike.

“On the whole, I thought we deserved it but the lads deserve great credit for coming back.”