Diamonds '˜dig in' to maintain their unbeaten run

Andy Peaks was happy to see AFC Rushden & Diamonds 'dig in' for a fine victory at Gresley FC as they superb run in the Evo-Stik Northern Premier League Division One South continued.
Liam Dolman headed home the winner in AFC Rushden & Diamonds' 2-1 victory at Gresley FCLiam Dolman headed home the winner in AFC Rushden & Diamonds' 2-1 victory at Gresley FC
Liam Dolman headed home the winner in AFC Rushden & Diamonds' 2-1 victory at Gresley FC

Fazel Koriya marked his return to the club by giving Diamonds the lead and Liam Dolman headed home what proved to be the winner after Courtney Meade’s penalty had brought the hosts level.

But Diamonds had to withstand a lot of pressure in the second period.

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And Peaks was delighted to see his team grind out a sixth away win of the season as they made it 14 league games without defeat to move to within one point of the play-off places.

“We had to dig in, particularly in the second half when they had a right go at us,” Peaks said.

“But we played extremely well in the first half and I felt we should have been further ahead than we were.

“We had some other good chances but we didn’t take them and Gresley are a good side so I knew they would come at us.

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“They like to get men forward and we had to defend very well as a team.

“There were some heroic blocks towards the end and we really had to grind it out.

“It’s a great win for us because it is a tough place to go to so I am very happy with the result.”

Peaks, meanwhile, was pleased to see Koriya return with a goal while Ben Farrell also made his debut for the club as a second-half substitute.

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“We know that Fazel has got a lot of ability and we threw him straight in there with Ben Ford struggling with illness,” the Diamonds boss added.

“And when he scored after 11 minutes, it looked like a good decision to give him that start.

“It’s good to have him back and he will add to what we already have here.”

Diamonds are due to return to action tomorrow (Tuesday) night when they will finally hope to play their Integro League Cup first-round clash with Corby Town at the fourth attempt.