Dog and Duck Stadium, London Road, Wellingborough NN8 2DP
Kick-Off 3pm
Saturday 23rd April 2016
Southern Football League Division One Central
AFC Rushden & Diamonds v Godalming Town FC
AFC Rushden & Diamonds will host Godalming Town in the final game of the regular league season on Saturday. The Diamonds have achieved their aim of reaching the end of season playoffs, but this game will help decide whether they finish fourth or fifth in their first season at Step 4 level.
Please note that the Supporters’ Player of the Season award will be presented before kick-off, so fans might like to be in position as the players complete their pre-game warm-up to view the presentation.
Details of the Diamonds first season in the Southern Football League Division One Central can be found on the fixture list here.
You can find a directory of all of the Southern Football League Division One Central Clubs, with links to web pages, twitter feeds etc here, where you will also find a set of links to other useful resources.
Admission prices for the Southern League Division One Central campaign are detailed here. There is a Diamonds Match Diary here, and the club twitter feed will provide the latest information before, during and after the match using the link https://twitter.com/AFCRD or by following @AFCRD.
See below for details of all the social media options for following the Diamonds, as well as details on Radio Diamonds.
Our Opponents
According to their website, the club has its origins as Godalming United FC, formed in 1950 by ex-pupils of Godalming Grammar School. Between 1950-71 the club played at the Recreation Ground. However, in 1970 Surrey Senior League side Farncombe collapsed, leaving their ground in Meadrow vacant. Godalming took over the debts and tenancy, changing their name to Godalming & Farncombe FC, and the name of the ground to Wey Court in the process. The club was accepted into the Combined Counties League for the start of the 1978 season, and a year later the name was changed again, to Godalming Town FC. The next development came in 1992 when the Guildford Football Appeal (formed in an attempt to return the town’s name to senior football, following the collapse of Guildford City in 1977) donated a sum of money towards floodlights, and in return the name of the club was changed yet again, to Godalming & Guildford FC. During the 2005 close season, the club changed its name for a fifth time, albeit back to one of its previous incarnations, that of Godalming Town. The 2005/06 season saw the side take the Combined Counties League Championship and League Cup by storm. Godalming Town were then accepted by Isthmian league officials following extensive ground improvements. A number of switches between leagues followed, and they also reached the playoffs for two seasons running.
Details of their league progression are in the Football History Database here.
They are known as the G’s and are managed by Andy Hunt. Their website is here, and their Twitter feed here. Their club colours are Yellow and Green.
The G’s ended the Diamonds long unbeaten run in league football back in November with a 1-0 win at Wey Court – report here.
The Dog and Duck
For directions to the Dog and Duck see here, where you will also find details of car parking options. You will find a range of bars and catering facilities, as well as a Club Shop. There is covered seating available, as well as two covered standing areas. You can see a stadium plan that maps out these facilities here, along with details of catering facilities (including a snack bar menu / prices with details of the famous Diamond Burger).
There is always a need for additional volunteers to help with ongoing maintenance and matchday work, as detailed here.
Other Info
The fixture list is here, and latest fixture news is here. You can find a directory of all of the Southern Football League Division One Central Clubs, with links to web pages, twitter feeds etc here, where you will also find a set of links to other useful resources.
Details of the Diamonds playing squad and management team are here. Individual player profiles for the Diamonds squad are available here. Player and Match Stats are here, and previous seasons stats are here.
There are a range of social media options available to help follow the Diamonds, with the well used and liked twitter feed to the fore, as well as a Facebook page and Club Instagram Page (follow afcrd). For this season we have also launched a Snapchat service, accessible on mobile platforms such as an iOS or Android Phone, so you can follow the live matchday story by finding afcrd on Snapchat.
Radio Diamonds will be broadcasting for this game – details here.
Don’t forget you can get a regular Diamonds news bulletin delivered to your inbox, including details of all the forthcoming fixtures by signing up to the Club Newsletter – you will see a sign-up box on the right-hand side of the site homepage – just under the Hevey Logo.
For details of the history of AFC Rushden & Diamonds see here.
There are details on how to become a member of AFC R&D here, as well as news on Season Tickets, Multiple Game Tickets and related prices here.
The club depends upon volunteer support from its fanbase. If you would like to join the group who help either on matchdays or behind the scenes see here.
People accessing the website via Tablet or Mobile who want to access some of the nested menus on the website may find the “Quick Links” tab useful – found just above the “Hevey” logo on the homepage.
