Match Report

Diamonds grabbed a first home win since late September with a hard fought 1-0 victory over Redditch United on Saturday afternoon at Hayden Road.

Redditch started brightly but Diamonds had the first chance with a towering Alex Collard header that flashed just wide of the post on 14 minutes. 2 minutes later they took a vital early lead through Nathan Tshikuna. Liam Dolman’s long throw found Tshikuna back to goal 8 yards out where he superbly hooked the ball over his shoulder into the bottom corner.

A quiet period was followed by a flurry of half chances late in the half with Redditch testing Dean Snedker 3 times and Ravi Shamsi almost recreating a Hednesford moment firing in a blocked effort from the right corner of the box after cutting inside.

Man of the Match Nathan Tshikuna nearly scored from the half way line a minute into the second half seeing his effort beat the keeper but bounce just wide. He then set up Ty Deacon twice with great through balls that saw his efforts just blocked by the away defence.

Redditch pressed late on but Alex Collard (near past clearance) and Liam Dolman (headed clear from under the bar) were in commanding form.

Ryan Hughes and Will Jones had excellent late chances denied as Diamonds saw out the latter stages to earn a vital win.

Diamonds move up into the top 10 and welcome Lowestoft Town on Tuesday night. who went down 3-0 at Banbury United on Saturday afternoon.

Full report to follow…

Preview

Diamonds return to Hayden Road for a Southern League match up against Redditch United after a three game away run that produced 2 excellent wins at Stratford and Hednesford but defeat at Leiston on Tuesday night.

Redditch also lost on Tuesday night at St. Ives after earning an excellent draw at Lowestoft in the previous game. They sit in 19th in a very congested bottom 9 in the table separated by just 2 points.

Redditch United

Founded in 1891 as Redditch they played in Birmingham leagues before becoming Redditch United in 1971 and joining the Southern League. They were founder members of the Alliance Premier League and have also played in the Conference North and were beaten in a Southern League Premier play-off final by Leamington in 2016. They reached the FA Cup 1st Round Proper in 1989 going down 3-1 to Merthyr Tydfil.

Previous Encounters

There have been plenty of goals in games between the sides particularly for Diamonds who are unbeaten. The tone was set in the first encounter which was Diamonds first game at Step 3. Diamonds raced into a 2-0 lead in 6 minutes in front of an excited Hayden Road thanks to Jack Bowen and Ben Farrell and ran out 5-2 winners with Ben Diamond (2) and Tom Lorraine grabbing the other goals. The game at Redditch ended 2-2 with a late Ben Diamond equaliser.

In the first aborted season of 2019/2020 the away game was a 1-1 draw thanks to Ryan Dove with the home game won 3-0 thanks to Tom Lorraine, Liam Dolman and Nabil Shariff.

Current Form

Redditch are on a disappointing run of no wins in 9 after winning 3 of the first 6 which had seen them as high as 6th in the table. Defeat at St. Ives on Tuesday night broke a run of 4 consecutive away draws at Rushall, Needham Market, Hednesford, and Lowestoft showing they are competitive on the road.

After just 2 points from 4 home games in October Diamonds have earned 6 points in 3 away games to push themselves clear of the bottom 9 sides in the league separated by just 2 points. Diamonds have 19 points from 16 games which sees them in 11th.

The Game

There are usually goals in games between these sides with Diamonds notching 8 in two home games. Redditch have a recent away record of 4 draws in the last 5 so the signs are this is going to be a competitive fixture.

Radio Diamonds will be in action of course with in match Twitter updates also bringing you all the action. You’ll also have your usual match report and interviews after the game from your AFC Rushden & Diamonds media team.

Enjoy the game.

Paul Judd

Radio Diamonds