Diamonds aim to bounce back and end season on a high as they host Long Eaton

Last weekend, Michael Harriman’s side had a disappointing Easter going down 3-0 to Shepshed Dynamo and then 4-0 to Corby Town.

Defensive mistakes cost them dear, while again there was no end-product in the opposing penalty area.

And these defeats followed the news that assistant manager Dan Porter will be leaving Hayden Road at the end of the season ‘to take his career in a different direction’.

The search is already underway to find Porter’s successor.

Saturday’s match against high flying Long Eaton is Diamonds Community Day, where supporters can ‘pay what they want’.

The club shop will also be selling merchandise at discounted prices.

The visitors have already secured a play-off place so may rest key players before next week’s knockout games against either the Steelmen or Anstey Nomads.

Having won nine successive games to fly up the table, Long Eaton have lost three out of their past four, so the Derbyshire side will be hoping for a win to restore some momentum.

Eaton were 4-0 winners over already-relegated Grantham Town last weekend.

For next season, Diamonds have annouynced they have reduced their adult early bird tickets to £192 (down 11%), while the concession equivalent is down to £144.

Vice chair Alex Raspin said: “We were acutely aware that this year’s season tickets didn’t deliver the value that they should have done.

“This was partly because of decisions made with an uninspiring level of discount last year which impacted season ticket sales negatively, but was further impacted by the resignation of Walsall Wood FC which meant that a game was lost.

“We wanted to correct this ahead of the 2025/26 season to ensure that season tickets deliver much better value.

“However, we’ve taken it one step further with a saving of five matches compared with three for the current season.”

The offer ends on May 31, 2025.

In other financial news, Diamonds are urgently on the lookout for a new sponsor to replace Rebel Energy.