Diamonds boss Harriman looking forward to Easter double header after Anstey stalemate
AFC Rushden & Diamonds picked up a creditable point in a goalless draw at Pitching-In Northern Premier League Midlands Division promotion chasers Anstey Nomads on Saturday.
And manager Michael Harriman was pleased with the performance from his side.
"It wasn’t the purest game of football, but we set out to frustrate Anstey and be rugged in our defending," said the Diamonds boss.
"We were disciplined in our shape and limited them to little up front. It was a well-earned point.’
Diamonds' defence was without the injured Ryan Hughes and the absent David Adegbola, while left-back Bleu McNeil got stuck in traffic and missed the start of the match, before being introduced as an 18th-minute substitute.
Harriman added: "It’s a squad game and I was impressed with our togetherness and the way we put our bodies in the way.
"We had to defend for large periods and the boys ran their hearts out It caps off a good couple of weeks for us."
With two games to play over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend, Shepshed Dynamo are the visitors to Hayden Road on Saturday.
They lie one place and one point behind Diamonds in 14th and have lost their past two games.
Harriman said: "We're finishing the season strong, but it will be a very different Shepshed side than the one we played earlier in the season."
On that occasion, the two sides played out a 0-0 draw.
On Easter Monday, a big crowd is expected when Diamonds make the short trip to Steel Park to play second place Corby Town.
The Steelmen need four points from their remaining three games to secure the runners-up spot and home advantage in the play-offs.
They are in good form having won six of their past seven games.
Corby also have the league’s leading scorer in Fletcher Toll, who has 30 league goals to his name. Toll has scored six goals in his past four league games.
With four points from two recent games against promotion hopefuls in Anstey and Worcester City, Harriman is upbeat about the future.
"It just shows that if we can keep the core of this group together next season - and add to one or two positions - we can push on," he said.
After this weekend's double header, Diamonds finish their league campaign against another high-flying side when Long Eaton United visit Hayden Road on April 26.