Diamonds hope to move on up with another win

Andy Peaks knows the BetVictor Southern League Premier Central table could look a whole lot better for AFC Rushden & Diamonds if they can make it back-to-back wins tomorrow (Saturday).
By Jon Dunham
Published 22nd Nov 2019, 07:15 BST
The AFC Rushden & Diamonds players celebrate Tom Lorraine's late winner in the 2-1 success at Alvechurch last weekend. Picture courtesy of HawkinsImagesThe AFC Rushden & Diamonds players celebrate Tom Lorraine's late winner in the 2-1 success at Alvechurch last weekend. Picture courtesy of HawkinsImages
The AFC Rushden & Diamonds players celebrate Tom Lorraine's late winner in the 2-1 success at Alvechurch last weekend. Picture courtesy of HawkinsImages

Diamonds fought back from a goal down to claim a 2-1 success at Alvechurch last weekend with the returning Nabil Shariff and Tom Lorraine scoring the goals to secure all three points.

That sent Peaks’ team back into the top 10 and, with little separating the teams above them, the Diamonds boss knows just how important another victory over Lowestoft Town at Hayden Road this weekend could be.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Diamonds go into the game on the back of a 2-0 home defeat to Brackley Town in the quarter-finals of the NFA Hillier Senior Cup on Tuesday night.

Most Popular

And Peaks said: “I picked a team on Tuesday with tomorrow in mind so that’s why there were a few changes.

“The league is always our priority and it’s a big game tomorrow.

“If you can win back-to-back matches at the moment then it is going to shoot you up the table. We won last weekend and now we have to try to do it again.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“I watched Lowestoft a couple of weeks ago when they got beaten at Peterborough Sports but I thought they looked a good team and they have won two games since then.

“Just like in every game in this division, we will have to be right on it if we are to get another positive result.”

Peaks, meanwhile, felt his team didn’t disgrace themselves against their Vanarama National League North opponents in midweek.

But he admitted Diamonds have become “a bit easy to score against at the moment”.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Brackley had a very strong team out and there was a lot of quality in there so we certainly didn’t disgrace ourselves,” Peaks added.

“But I did feel it was a bit of a missed opportunity, we could have done better than we did do. You don’t get many chances to play teams from a higher level and we didn’t take advantage of it.

“The two goals they scored went in far too easily for my liking. We seem to be a bit easy to score against at the moment and that’s something that needs to be eradicated.”

Peaks is hopeful Shariff will be at full fitness after he only featured as a second-half substitute in midweek having taken a knock to his hip at Alvechurch.

And Diamonds will also be waiting on news of central defender Alex Collard who is due to have a scan on the knee injury he suffered in the 4-0 FA Trophy defeat at South Shields earlier this month.