Peaks relishing Diamonds' tough opener at Nuneaton

There's just over two weeks to go until AFC Rushden & Diamonds' season gets under way
By Jon Dunham
Published 4th Sep 2020, 07:15 BST
Ben Farrell celebrates scoring a late penalty which gave AFC Rushden & Diamonds a 1-0 victory at Nuneaton Borough in January. Diamonds will be heading back to Nuneaton for the opening day of the new Southern League Premier Central season on September 19. Picture courtesy of HawkinsImagesBen Farrell celebrates scoring a late penalty which gave AFC Rushden & Diamonds a 1-0 victory at Nuneaton Borough in January. Diamonds will be heading back to Nuneaton for the opening day of the new Southern League Premier Central season on September 19. Picture courtesy of HawkinsImages
Ben Farrell celebrates scoring a late penalty which gave AFC Rushden & Diamonds a 1-0 victory at Nuneaton Borough in January. Diamonds will be heading back to Nuneaton for the opening day of the new Southern League Premier Central season on September 19. Picture courtesy of HawkinsImages

Andy Peaks knows his AFC Rushden & Diamonds players are in for a stern opening-day test after being handed a trip to Nuneaton Borough to kick-off the new Southern League Premier Central season.

The full fixture list was released at the end of last week and Diamonds will head to much-fancied Nuneaton on Saturday, September 19.

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That will be followed by the first qualifying round of the Emirates FA Cup on Tuesday, September 22 before back-to-back home league matches against Barwell (September 26) and Hitchin Town (September 29).

The festive period sees Peaks’ team heading to Peterborough Sports on Boxing Day while St Ives Town visit Hayden Road on January 1.

And the regular season will end on Saturday, May 8 with a home clash against Stratford Town.

But it’s that opening-day clash at Nuneaton that really catches the eye.

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And boss Peaks said: “I know the manager (Jimmy Ginnelly) really well and I know they have a lot of good players.

“They are one of those teams who will be right up there next season because of the players they have signed.

“Hopefully we will catch them early in the season when they might not have gelled, it could be a good time to play them.

“Having said that, I don’t think you could have got a tougher fixture for the first game, especially with it being away from home.

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“But it’s always a nice pitch there, it’s a good ground and it’s a big first game to look forward to.”

Diamonds’ pre-season preparations continued with a 5-1 victory over landlords Rushden & Higham United on Tuesday night.

And Peaks is now ready to step things up for the final stages of pre-season with Diamonds heading to Daventry Town on Saturday before hosting Barton Rovers on Tuesday night and rounding off their friendly schedule at Brackley Town on Saturday week.

“We play Rushden & Higham every year and I knew they had some younger players themselves so it was an opportunity for us to give minutes to some who needed them, have a look at one two and get some of our youngsters in there as well,” Peaks added.

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“Now I think we’re heading into the business end of pre-season. We have had a look at a few players but now we are getting into the serious stuff.

“The next couple of weeks are key in terms of being in the right position so we are ready for those first challenges."