Goals from James Reid and Craig Farrell gave the Diamonds a 2-0 victory over Peterborough United at Nene Park. The first goal came on 58 minutes after Reid started a flowing move involving Akurang and Farrell who played the ball back to Reid as he raced into the lefthand side of the area to fire the ball into the net. A goalkeeping error presented Craig Farrell with a simple second goal just before full time.
The Diamonds had the better of the play for much of the game, although Dale Roberts had to make two excellent saves, and the visitors had three late chances for an equaliser before the Farrell goal wrapped the game up.
On a wet evening more suited to October than July, manager Justin Edinburgh started with a line up based on the one that faced MK Dons at the weekend, with Rob Wolleaston, Neil Cousins, Cliff Akurang and Kurt Robinson starting. Aaron O'Connor was rested to the bench following a slight concern regarding a groin strain.
Peterborough manager Darren Ferguson named a team largely made up of fringe players, but a number had been regulars last season, and he also included two recent signings from CrawleyTown - Romone McCrae and Danny Mills.
The Diamonds had the best of the first half, with the best chance falling to Cliff Akurang after a Craig Farrell freekick proved too hot for keeper McKeown to handle.
The best chance for the Posh came when a good passing move resulted in a freekick, and Danny Mills' header was well saved by Roberts.
Neil Cousins also came close in the first half when a Rob Wolleaston cross was flicked on to him by Craig Farrell, but his shot was blocked by the feet of keeper McKeown, assisted by a defender.
The first chance of the half was created by the determination of Farrell to chase a lost cause near the touch-line, winning the ball to get in a cross that James Reid failed to connect with, and the ball squirmed forward to Akurang, who also struggled to get a good contact, but he was flagged offside.
The Diamonds got in a number of good crosses from the left byline, as well as dangerous looking corners from Reid.
Dale Roberts was only really called into serious action once in the half to save the Mills header, as the Diamonds had the better of a fairly lacklustre period.
Half-Time : Rushden & Diamonds 0 Peterborough United 0
The Posh made a substitution at half-time as McCrae had picked up a knock during the first half, and he was replaced by Danny Blanchett.
For a few minutes it looked like Peterborough might be increasing their workrate to pose a greater threat, but the Diamonds defence soon quelled any threat - despite their three big men up front the defence was rarely beaten in the air.
After a quiet period Neil Cousins showed great ball control to bring a long ball under control and almost get a shot away. The ball fell to Akurang, and his shot was deflected to Wolleaston but the midfielder's shot was smothered by McKeown,
A misunderstanding between McKeown and his defense almost saw a Roberts punt present a chance to Akurang, who was getting into the game more in the half as he linked up with both Reid and Farrell as their understanding improved.
As the hour mark approached, the Diamonds took the lead, and it was a result of an excellent interchange between Reid, Akurang and Farrell that saw Farrell put the ball into the area for James Reid to run onto and fire home.
Neil Cousins then flicked the ball on at the half-way line to allow Rob Wolleaston a free run on goal, but his theatrical fall when tackled was unlikely to persuade referee Whitestone to award a penalty. The Diamonds had another shout for a spot-kick a few minutes later, but again the referee appeared to make the right decision.
Cousins and Akurang then combined to set up Reid for a further chance, and Akurang also flicked on to present Wolleaston with a chance at a narrow angle, but the ball squirmed off a defender for a corner.
Simon Downer was able to combine his defensive duties will a number of balls forward his midfield would have been proud of, one of which Matt Byrne flicked on to Reid, but the shot was smothered.
As the game entered the final 10 minutes the visitors finally generated a serious attacking threat with three chances in quick succession, as first a cross by Jamie Day, their best player on the night, saw Mills fire just over the bar, then Roberts made his second excellent save of the game to stop a Day shot - with the resultant corner only just scrambled clear after it appeared to strike a post.
Any concerns that the Posh might stage the sort of recovery seen from CorbyTown on Monday were dispelled when the Diamonds sealed the game in the 88th minute. Excellent work by Downer near the half-way line saw him force the ball forwards for Craig Farrell to run onto. It appeared keeper McKeown would field the ball easily, but his attempted clearance with his "wrong" foot saw a horrible slice skew sideways, allowing Farrell to make a quick change of direction and force the ball home.
There was still time for one more save from Dale Roberts after Matt Pattison had given away a free kick 25 yards out, but referee Whitestone brought the game to a close shortly afterwards.
Full-Time : Rushden & Diamonds 2 Peterborough United 0
There is now a couple of day's break before the Diamonds face Colchester United in their final first team pre-season friendly at the weekend, with that game bracketed by the two attractive Youth Team games - against Chelsea on Friday evening, and the Diamonds Legends XI on Sunday.
Diamonds: Dale Roberts, Curtis Osano, Kurt Robinson, Nicky McNamara, Jamie Stuart (Capt), Simon Downer, Rob Wolleaston, Neil Cousins, Cliff Akurang, Craig Farrell, James Reid
Subs : Mark Byrne (for McNamara 60), Michael Corcoran (for Osano 76), Matt Pattison (for Cousins 76). Not Used :Aaron O'Connor, Max Porter, Joe Day, Sam Smith
Peterborough United : James McKeown, Russell Martin, Jamie Day, Billy Crook, Kieron Charnock, Sam Gaughran, Sergio Torres, Romone McCrae, Ben Wright, Danny Mills, Dominic Green
Subs: Danny Blanchett (for McCrae H/T), Adam Crossley (for Wright 65), Sam Cole, Alex Austin, Nathan Korenteng, Jay Davis, Charlie Dove, Edward Adjei
Goals : Reid (58), Farrell (88)
Referee : Dean Whitestone
Diamonds Man of The Match : Simon Downer
Attendance 626
