Rothwell Town 1 Rushden & Diamonds 3

The Diamonds travelled to Rothwell for their first pre-season fixture of the 2009-10 season and came away with a 3-1 win.

Manager Justin Edinburgh named his five new faces in the 22 man squad - Aaron O'Connor, Jamie Stuart,  Craig Farrell, Matt Pattison and Max Porter, as well as loan signing James Reid. The travelling fans were also able to see a number of triallists in the Diamonds shirts, including Rob Elvins (ex-Aldershot), Nicky Nicolau (ex-Barnet), Gavin Hoyte (ex-Cambridge United) and Tom Sharpe (ex-Nottingham Forest), and with Simon Downer resting a strain, and Jamie McGuinness unavailable due to illness, Edinburgh brought in an additional loannee, David Bryant, who had just graduated from sports college in the USA.

This brought the total of players to 22, with eleven used in each half, with the most impressive period being the second quarter, where the Diamonds took control of the game, scoring their three goals, but, to their credit, Rothwell provided a credible opposition, and deserved to pull a goal back in the second half. As well as the three goals, the Diamonds missed a penalty, and saw top class saves deny Tomlin and Reid.

The starting eleven was as follows :-

GK Dale Roberts, RB Curtis Osano, LB Kurt Robinson, CB Gavin Hoyte, CB Michael Corcoran (Capt), RM Neil Cousins, CM Max Porter, CM Rob Wolleaston, LM Lee Tomlin, S Craig Farrell, S Matt Elvins

The game started rather tamely, with the Diamonds taking time to adjust to the team lineup, their formation, and the playing conditions, such that the hosts possibly had the better of the first 15 minutes, although Hoyte and Corcoran rarely looked threatened, there were a couple of nervous moments for Dale Roberts from backpasses, as well as a good chance which a Rothwell striker shot across goal. Matt Elvins was looking lively up front alongside Craig Farrell, but he picked up a head wound on 7 minutes, and it looked like his night might be over when Sam Smith replaced him, but after Smith had seen less than 2 minutes action Elvins took his place back on the field, complete with Vaseline in his hair to stem any bleeding.

Rothwell created a further chance from a corner, and a powerful shot by their centre back appeared goalbound before it hit his own striker and was deflected away.

The Diamonds main threat was down the right at this stage, with Neil Cousins shooting narrowly wide, then a Farrell effort was cleared to Max Porter on the edge of the box, and his well-hit effort was well fielded by the home keeper.

On the 20 minute mark the Diamonds took the lead, when the ever dangerous and resourceful Rob Wolleaston burst into the penalty box, but stumbled as he tried to get his shot on goal, but the ball broke to Neil Cousins who gave the keeper no chance with his well-hit effort.

Curtis Osano was starting to make some dangerous runs forward from full back, and from one of these he hit a perfect cross onto the head of Lee Tomlin, but somehow the Rothwell keeper pulled off an excellent reflex save to keep out Tomlin's header.

The Diamonds had an appeal for a penalty when Max Porter appeared to be pushed over in the box, as he and Wolleaston took turns to stage raids into the area, but they were then awarded what looked a rather generous penalty, as a Lee Tomlin shot was adjudged to have hit the arm of a home defender as he went to ground. Perhaps it was therefore appropriate that the penalty should be missed, but the fact that Tomlin put the kick so high over the bar it threatened to end up nearer the goal in front of the Airwair stand at Nene Park than the one at Rothwell might be a concern.

Tomlin did, however, make amends shortly afterwards, as the best move of the game saw excellent work from Cousins on the right, and he then hit an accurate ball across to Craig Farrell, who showed great vision and not a little skill to flick the ball on to Lee Tomlin on the left of the area, and his volley had the old cliché of having "goal written all over it" from the moment it left his foot on the way to the top corner of the net.

The two excellent opening goals were then complemented by a third of equal quality, shortly before half-time as Max Porter latched onto a loose ball just outside the edge of the area, and hit a powerful shot into the right-hand side of the goal.

Half-Time : Rothwell Town 0 Rushden & Diamonds 3

The Diamonds were able to field a completely different eleven for the second half, as follows :-

GK Joe Day, RB Jake Beecroft, LB Nicky Nicolau, CB Jamie Stuart (Capt), CB Tom Sharpe, RM David Bryant, CM Matt Pattison, CM Nick McNamara, LM James Reid, S Sam Smith, S Aaron O'Connor

The hosts also made a significant change - but in their case this was achieved by switching from a blue strip to their normal white home kit.

James Reid made an impressive first appearance in a Diamonds shirt, putting in a number of dangerous crosses from the left, that will be welcomed by the strikeforce once their partnership has been honed during the pre-season. He also impressed when he moved across to the right, hitting one dipping and twisting shot across the goal that narrowly missed the corner, after forcing the Rothwell keeper into the second top class save of the game as he hit a dipping shot which did seem destined for the top corner before the keeper tipped it away.

The hosts continued to fight for a deserved consolation goal, with striker Maddocks going close after a slip by Tom Sharpe, before they won a free kick just inside the Diamonds half, and the defence appeared very static as Simon Underwood was allowed time and space to head home.

Once the hosts had scored, and James Reid started to tire as a result of him having started pre-season later than his new teammates, the game petered out, with both sides settling for the scoreline, and the children playing on the swings behind the Diamonds goal appeared to be enjoying themselves rather more than the spectators.

The match ended promptly, with the referee also earning credit for the way he handled the game, having stern words with a Rothwell defender and Michael Corcoran shortly before half time, when their respective challenges were rather inappropriate for this type of game, and a similar word with Jamie Stuart and a Rothwell counterpart in the second.

Full-Time : Rothwell Town 1 Rushden & Diamonds 3

The evening was a satisfactory one, and Rothwell had made excellent hosts, and, with nothing appearing serious on the injury front, there can be no complaints about the workout.

The Diamonds now change their training camp venue to Warwickshire, prior to the trip to Devon, and there will be one more chance for the triallists to impress during the time in Warwick, with a "behind closed doors" friendly against St Johnstone. Both McGuinness and Downer are expected to be fit to join their teammates on that trip.

Attendance : 250 (approx)

Diamonds Man of the Match : Neil Cousins