Mills pleased with the win as Diggin brings up his century for Corby

Steve Diggin scores his 100th goal for Corby Town from the penalty spot. Pictures by Jim Darrah

Gary Mills felt Corby Town’s fast start was the key as they picked up their first win of the season with a 3-0 success at Soham Town Rangers in the first qualifying round of the Buildbase FA Trophy.

The Steelmen boss rang the changes to his starting line-up following last weekend’s 1-0 home loss to Aylesbury United on the opening day of the Southern League Division One Central campaign.

And it paid off as Corby found themselves 2-0 up inside 13 minutes thanks to an effort from Curtis Hartley, one of the players restored to the starting 11, and an own-goal after good work from Jordan O’Brien.

Steve Diggin heads off to celebrate after he scored his 100th goal for Corby Town in the 3-0 FA Trophy success at Soham Town Rangers. Pictures by Jim Darrah

The victory was completed with a landmark moment as Steve Diggin scored his 100th goal for the Steelmen from the penalty spot in the second half.

And boss Mills was left satisfied with his team’s work.

“It’s a different day to last week,” he said.

“It’s nice to get that win, there’s no doubt about that. But the reason we did is that we started the game so well.

“We got a free-kick on the edge of the box after 10 seconds and that’s how you have to start games. We played well for 20 minutes and got the early goals.

“The 2-0 can always be a bit dangerous so we were always wanting the third which came in the second half but it was a lot, lot better.

“It’s been a tough couple of weeks but I was really pleased with the two up front, I thought Elliot (Sandy) and Diggs (Diggin) played well together.

“I am pleased for everybody. I love the FA Trophy and we can look forward to the next round.”

The Steelmen will now host league rivals Halesowen Town in the second qualifying round on October 17 but they now have a quick turnaround as they head to Coleshill Town in their first away league game of the season on Monday night.

And Mills wants his team fully focused on that, especially as they now have a free Saturday next weekend.

“We have a big game on Monday night because we haven’t got a game next Saturday so it’s important we pick up points at Coleshill,” the Corby manager added.

“That will come round quickly so the boys will need to look after themselves.

“It’s been a good day but it’s gone now. We all needed that and hopefully we can go and perform again and get three points.”