Diamonds were cruelly beaten by a contentious late penalty in a close encounter at Garden Walk.
For the third consecutive game, they conceded early on as a corner dropped for Ronnie Henry to crash home from close-range. Dean Snedker made two good saves to stop the hosts from extending their advantage, and Rushden themselves came close through Andy Kanga and Conor Tee. They ended the half well and were millimetres away from an equaliser on the stroke of half-time when Jack Connor’s effort was somehow tipped over.
The visitors did soon have a leveller in the 53rd minute when Miguel Ngwa powered a low strike inside the near post, and a couple of other promising attacking moves broke down at the last. Kanga narrowly headed over from Fraser Corden’s dinked cross, but Royston continued to pose a physical threat and it took an exceptional save from Snedker to deny Adam Murray. The home side were to win it though as, with ten minutes remaining, Kartell Dawkins was adjudged to have blocked a cross with his hand. Home top-scorer Matthew Bateman coolly rolled in the penalty and, despite Ngwa being thwarted late on, there was no way back for Diamonds.
First half
Maxwell made just the solitary change to the side that had defeated Kings Langley at Hayden Road the previous Saturday. Conor Tee, after appearing as a substitute and scoring in that clash, made his return to the starting XI in a re-shuffle that saw Kartell Dawkins move to right-back. New loan signing Peter Abimbola was also named on the bench.
Whilst Royston sat just outside the relegation zone (four points above Diamonds) and had only won one of their last five at home, Rushden had experienced a mini-revival of late and had seen an upturn in performances. They started the match well as Conor Tee’s free-kick was headed away before Jack Connor’s neat flick almost released Fraser Corden through on goal only for it to run out of play.
However, in their first attack, the hosts took the lead. A corner from the left found captain Adam Murray in space at the back post, and his header up dropped kindly for Ronnie Henry to slam into the back of the net from only a few yards out.
Diamonds responded well and, moments later, they almost equalised with a speculative effort. Andy Kanga picked up possession just ahead of the halfway line and spotted keeper Dimitrios Kyriatzis off his line. His audacious attempt almost caught the Royston man out, but he back-pedalled to tip it away. The visitors then won a free-kick as Corden was felled, though Tee’s strike flew just over the bar.
Royston had two ex-Diamonds men in their line-up, Nathan Tshikuna and Connor Furlong, and it was the latter who almost extended their advantage midway through the half. The winger got in behind the away defence, but Snedker stood strong and parried the resulting effort aside. Soon afterwards the away stopper made another crucial stop following a cross from the left before Ryan Hughes cleared the loose ball away.
Connor headed over Charlie Black’s cross down the other end before play quickly swung again as Murray was impeded by Evangelos Empochontsif on the edge of the area. Tshikuna’s strike went straight through the defensive wall, but Snedker was alert to get across and turn it behind.
Royston continued to threaten with balls into Murray and players running off the striker. Midfielder Jarid Robson turned a low cross wide before Snedker ran out to slide a through-ball away. It ran straight to Furlong, but his attempted lob back towards the unguarded net was charged down and then cleared upfield.
Diamonds ended the half well and on the front-foot as, firstly, Tee was found in space to drive forward, but his effort was deflected through to Kyriatzis to comfortably collect. Miguel Ngwa then embarked on a terrific run past a couple of players before his cross was cleared behind, though the subsequent corner was easily caught.
On the stroke of half-time, the visitors came so close to a leveller. Ngwa found Kanga on the right, and he sprinted away from his marker towards the byline before hitting a low ball across the face of goal. Connor timed his run perfectly to meet it at the near post, but his flicked attempt was somehow turned over instinctively by the Royston keeper.
Half time: Royston Town 1-0 AFC Rushden & Diamonds
Second half
Rushden carried on where they left off at the end of the first half as, after Kanga had a low strike held, they equalised after 53 minutes. A swift counter-attack saw captain Nathan Hicks find Corden in midfield who in turn played it out to the left and Miguel Ngwa. The attacker stepped forward, cut inside and then launched an effort from around 25 yards out that flew past Kyriatzis and inside the near post. Though the keeper got a touch on it, he was powerless to stop the Diamonds man’s second goal of the campaign.
The scorer continued to be a constant danger for the hosts and, just after the hour-mark, he was found by Tee to sprint down the left. His eventual effort was too high though and went out for a goal-kick. A few minutes later Ngwa was again found out wide and burst into the area, he decided not to shoot and instead tried to play it across to the arriving Tee. However, the creative midfielder just ran out of space in the end and the opportunity was gone.
Chris Manangu was introduced for Connor in Rushden’s first change as the game continued to be finely poised, and it was Royston who could have retook the lead soon afterwards. A ball over the top saw Murray bundle his way through Hughes before finding himself through on goal, but Snedker made a brilliant block to keep the scores level.
Two minutes later, Diamonds themselves created a great chance as Corden dinked a cross towards the back post. Kanga leapt and met the delivery, but it was slightly too high for him and so his header looped over the bar.
After Hicks was booked and youngster Dylan Surace replaced Kanga, the game’s big flashpoint occurred. A pass down the left led to a driven cross that was blocked by Kartell Dawkins and, following some appeals, the referee signalled a penalty. Matthew Bateman, who had been introduced just over ten minutes before, stepped up and calmly placed it past Snedker who dived the other way.
Hughes was forced off injured moments later after a heavy challenge from Murray, with Harrison Bunga coming on in defence. The visitors committed more men forwards as they chased another equaliser, but Hicks drove an effort off-target and Ngwa was denied by Kyriatzis after being played in down the left channel.
Three minutes of additional time were signalled, but Royston saw these out to condemn Diamonds to another away defeat.
Full time: Royston Town 2-1 AFC Rushden & Diamonds
The result was harsh on Rushden who were indebted to some important Snedker saves, but who also created good opportunities of their own and looked the more likely when the score was level in the second half. A positive to take was the manner of the performance which carried on the good elements that have been displayed in recent weeks, and the creativity and link-up play of Ngwa, Tee and Kanga proved a constant threat which bodes well.
They return to Hayden Road next Saturday (19 November, 3pm kick-off) as they entertain Stourbridge.
Diamonds Player of the Match: Miguel Ngwa
Attendance: 345
Match report by Ollie Mortimer
Diamonds: Snedker, Dawkins, Black, Hughes (Bunga 84), Corden, Connor (Manangu 66), Hicks, Tee, Empochontsif, Kanga (Surace 79), Ngwa (subs not used: Abimbola, Grey)
Diamonds goal: Ngwa (53)
Diamonds yellows: Dawkins, Hicks (78)
Royston: Dimitrios Kyriatzis, Cole Da Silva, Joel Nakatani-Brown, Spyros Mentis (Fernando Bell-Toxtle 80), Adam Murray, Ronnie Henry, Jarid Robson (Matthew Bateman 70), Alfie Williams, Nathan Tshikuna, Connor Furlong (Kian Harness 60), Daniel Newton (subs not used: Shaun Keane, Max Bustamente)
Royston goals: Henry (7), Bateman (pen 81)
Royston yellows: Mentis (77), Murray (82)
