Diamonds must take defeat on the chin, says Peaks

Andy Peaks says AFC Rushden & Diamonds must 'take it on the chin and move on' after they suffered a rare setback last night (Tuesday).
Andy PeaksAndy Peaks
Andy Peaks

Diamonds suffered just their second home defeat of the season in the Evo-Stik South League East as fellow high-fliers Hayes & Yeading United claimed a 1-0 success at Hayden Road.

Diamonds were made to pay for a slow start in the first half as the visitors controlled the game but Peaks felt his team didn’t have luck on their side after the break as Ryan Robbins struck the inside of the post while visiting goalkeeper Zaki Oualah produced a stunning save to deny Jack Westbrook as the hosts went in search of an equaliser.

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In the end, it was not to be, but Diamonds remain five points clear at the summit as they bid for promotion.

“It was a disappointing night because we have come away with no points,” Peaks said.

“But I am not overly disappointed by the performance against a decent team, who I thought played and defended really well.

“They had a lot of possession in the first half and it took us a while to find our feet and you could tell we hadn’t played for 10 days.

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“But they didn’t really hurt us but they had the one opportunity where the shot has taken a bobble off the pitch and gone in.

“I thought we were excellent in the second half, once the boys got into the game they dominated it.

“We created a couple of opportunities and the ball has hit the inside of the post and come out and then their goalkeeper has made a fantastic save when it looked like it was in.

“We certainly asked a lot of questions of them in the second half but we didn’t really get the rub of the green or that bit of luck we needed.

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“Ten days ago we scored six against Thame and we got that bit of luck with things falling for us but it didn’t happen this time.

“We are disappointed but we have to take it on the chin and move on.”

Diamonds face another tough test at the weekend as they head to fifth-placed Hartley Wintney.