Diamonds breathe life into survival battle as they deliver on the road at last

The Diamonds players, and a supporter, enjoy Cairo Taylor's opening goal at Rugby Town (Picture: Shaun Frankham)

Saturday’s 2 -0 win at fellow strugglers and closest rivals Rugby Town was Diamonds’ first league win since October, and their first win on the road.

It was achieved thanks to strikes from Cairo Taylor and Miguel Ngwa, and assistant manager Tom Lorraine couldn’t hide his delight and relief to see the team finally get a victory.

"It was horrible on the sidelines waiting for the final whistle,” admitted Lorraine.

Action from Diamonds' win at Rugby Town (Picture: Shaun Frankham)

"But while we maybe had a bit of luck with our first goal, we got the job done and they rarely troubled us.”

Lorraine singled out player-boss Michael Harriman and central defensive partner Luca Purse for praise as Rushden also claimed their first clean sheet of the campaign.

“In my view, having Michael playing 90 minutes is a real game changer for us,” said the assistant boss.

"He is too good a footballer to be solely on the sidelines.

Action from Diamonds' 2-0 win at Rugby Town (Picture: Shaun Frankham)

"Luca did as we asked. He left the football to Michael and got rid of the ball as far up field as possible.”

Diamonds are still nine points behind second-from bottom Rugby, with Gresley Rovers one point further ahead.

Rushden do though have two games in hand on both of those teams, and Lorraine remains confident that Rushden can beat the drop.

They entertain Sutton Coldfield at Hayden Road on Saturday (ko 3pm).

AFC Rushden & Diamonds were too good for Rugby on Saturday (Picture: Shaun Frankham)

"We have 15 cup finals to go with every game just as important as the others,” he said.

"I think we’ll get out of it, and while this is only one win, we are full of confidence and looking forward to getting as many points as possible from the next four games which are all at home, starting with Sutton Coldfield.”

Diamonds are unbeaten in three games in all competitions, and Lorraine has no fears about what the next four home matches will bring.

"They are all winnable,” he insisted. “We’re performing well and now a more settled side learning how to win.

"We’re not sure which Coldfield side will turn up but we are aware of their strengths and weaknesses.”

Sutton Coldfield are currently ninth and without a win in their past three games.

Diamonds then host Boldmere St Michael’s next Tuesday at Hayden Road (ko 7.45pm)