Halstead Town 0 Rushden & Diamonds 7

Rushden & Diamonds were able to emphasise the difference in the standard of football seen at the levels the two teams play, with a comprehensive seven goal victory at Rosemary Lane, Halstead in a game rearranged for a Friday evening.

The game was a chance for some of the new signings to get to know their new teammates in a competitive situation for the first time, as well as a change for Garry Hill to have a look at a number of triallists.

As heavy rain swept across the ground the Diamonds lined up in their red strip in 4-4-2 formation with Alan Marriott in goal, Curtis Osano at right back, Justyn Roberts and Sagi Burton in central defence and Gareth Jelleyman at left back. In midfield Lee Tomlin played wide right, Curtis Woodhouse (captain) and Scott Mitchell in central midfield and Marcus Kelly wide left. Up front were Lee Phillips and Dean McDonald. Tomlin was a late replacement in the starting line-up for Daryl Clare.

It quickly became clear that most of the action was going to take place in the home half, with Scott Mitchell looking especially impressive as he orchestrated play from midfield. Lee Phillips illustrated both his skills and unselfish nature as he brought his strike partner into the game, and Dean McDonald proved more than a handful for the home defence.

It is difficult to judge the qualities of a Diamonds defence that was rarely troubled - in fact Marriott did not need to make a serious save for the whole period he was on the pitch, but Sagi Burton in particular had a solid presence.

It was thus no surprise when the Diamonds dominated the action. After a slow start Lee Tomlin had started to torment his marker, and one of these runs, coupled with a nutmeg of a defender, forced a corner that he and Marcus Kelly combined in a short corner move, allowing Kelly to whip in a great cross that found Sagi Burton unmarked at the far post, but his header bounced off the goalkeeper Wood for another corner.

Lee Phillips was able to run at the defence, and his powerful shot was deflected over, then a Marcus Kelly shot was palmed away low down by the home keeper for a corner. Shortly before the 15 minute mark the Diamonds took the lead, as work by Tomlin and Osano down the right found Lee Phillips just inside the box. He unselfishly laid the ball back just past the edge of the area for the impressive Scott Mitchell to fire home low past Paul Wood's left hand.

As the first quarter of the game was completed Diamonds took a 2-0 lead, as Tomlin and Phillips again combined,, and this time the ex-Torquay striker set up Dean McDonald just to the left of the penalty spot to fire home.

Lee Tomlin was now starting to turn on some style with backflicks to Osano, who also returned the compliment for Tomlin to shoot just over. However, it was on the 25 minute mark when Lee Tomlin opened his account as he turned his marker inside out as he ran into the box and fired easily into the bottom right hand corner.

Dean McDonald continued to threaten the defence with all aspects of his game, his positioning making up for his lack of height to ensure he was able to win and hold up a number of through balls, and he had another goalbound attempt palmed wide by Wood. The resulting Marcus Kelly corner produced the fourth goal on 39 minutes though, as the corner found the unmarked Lee Tomlin who smartly headed the ball home.

There was still time for Lee Phillips to have a penalty claim denied as he and McDonald combined with nifty footwork from both players, but perhaps Phillips tried one trick too many.

Half-Time : Halstead Town 0 Rushden & Diamonds 4

With the game clearly won, manager Hill made a significant number of changes at half-time, with all of the replacements initially appearing in numberless shirts. Phil Gulliver and Michael Wylde replaced the two central defenders, Jamie McGuinness replaced Tomlin on the right, Andy Burgess replaced Kelly on the left, Jake Beecroft replaced Mitchell and Michael Rankine replaced Phillips.

The first 15 minutes of this half were largely uneventful, as the new players attempted to fit into their roles and the pattern of the game, with the main threat coming from McGuinness down the right. For some reason the players who had joined at half-time then changed to numbered shirts, some of which had been used by other players in the first half - with Curtis Woodhouse having his third different shirt of the night.

Osano and McGuinness combined for the latter to hit a great cross which Michael Rankine narrowly failed to get on target. On the left Jelleyman was able to get forwards more, helping Dean McDonald to set up Curtis Woodhouse for a run on goal, but once again it was Wood to deny an excellent opportunity. McGuinness then conjured up other dangerous crosses, the first of which McDonald headed narrowly over, and the second was similarly missed by Andy Burgess who was having a quiet game.

Just when the game entered the last quarter looking like it might fizzle out the Diamonds got a fifth goal, with an excellent flick-on by Michael Rankine to a Beecroft through ball finding Dean McDonald in space, and he converted well from a tightening angle.

On the 70 minute mark the Diamonds had a scare when Andy Burgess went to block an attempt by a home player to keep a high ball from bouncing into touch, and he received a leg injury which forced him off. This came at the same time as the final round of Diamonds substitutes, with Joe Day replacing Alan Marriott , Chris Hope joining Michael Wylde in central defence with Phil Gulliver moving forward to replace Curtis Woodhouse. Justyn Roberts returned to the action to replace Jelleyman, and Marcus Kelly also returned to replace the hobbling Burgess who disappeared straight down the tunnel. This meant Curtis Osano and Dean McDonald would be the only two Diamonds players to complete the 90 minutes.

Joe Day was immediately called upon to make a good save (something that Marriott had not been required to do all game), as the home team changed things around to try to get a consolation goal. Marcus Kelly quickly got back into the action, with an excellent run forcing a free-kick on the edge of the area, but Chris Hope illustrated the need for more work to be done on the free kick routines as he shot tamely into the wall. Hope did introduce some aerial dominance for the set piece routines though, and he had two headers almost force a sixth goal, the second of which was cleared off the line.

The game remained somewhat competitive, with Michael Rankine receiving stern words from the referee for a solid challenge on his marker. With just a few minutes to go the Diamonds did get their sixth goal, with Curtis Osano able to cut into the box from the right and hit a left-footed shot which was flicked in off the far post by Dean McDonald.

There was still time for one final goal though, as a Michael Rankine run into the box could only be halted by a foul tackle, and the big striker coolly slotted home the spot kick to make the final score 7-0.

For Halstead perhaps their best action was in the last quarter, and the game saw the debut of South Korean Under-19 International Lee, watched by his mother - perhaps a reminder to Diamonds fans of when they watched the debut of Seol Ki-Hyeon for Reading in a pre-season friendly two seasons ago. All-in-all it seemed the right sort of run-out for this early stage of the season, and coupled with pleasant surroundings and welcoming hosts it made the trip worthwhile.

Final Score : Halstead Town 0 Rushden & Diamonds 7

Diamonds Starting XI (4-4-2)  : Alan Marriott : Curtis Osano - Justyn Roberts - Sagi Burton - Gareth Jelleyman : Lee Tomlin - Curtis Woodhouse - Scott Mitchell - Marcus Kelly : Lee Phillips - Dean McDonald

Diamonds Substitutes : Phil Gulliver - Michael Wylde - Jake Beecroft - Jamie McGuinness - Andy Burgess - Michael Rankine - Chris Hope - Joe Day

Scorers:  Mitchell (19), McDonald (22), Tomlin (29), Tomlin (39), McDonald (68), McDonald (87), Rankine (90+1p). 

Attendance : Approx 100 (Away approx 50)

Diamonds (joint) Man of the Match : Scott Mitchell / Dean McDonald

The Diamonds squad now head off away from a wet England to the Algarve for two games in Portugal before the first home Pre-season game against Peterborough United on Saturday 26^th July.

All pictures courtesy of Mark Brown - www.snapimages.co.uk