AFC Rushden & Diamonds U12s 2 v 0 Solihull Moors F.C. U12s
Played at the Malcolm Arnold Academy, Northampton
R&D struggled to recapture the free flowing football of previous matches, but Solihull played well throughout and were unlucky not to get something from the game. William Jones scored first for R&D in the 2nd period with Jake Lilley adding the second in the final period with a rising header across goal. If it was for the heroics of Josh White in goal, Thomas Walton at the centre of defence and Mason Knights in the centre of the pitch, I’m certain Solihull would have scored from their numerous chances. Despite this, a hard earned 2-0 win for the Diamonds.
JPL match report http://junior-premier.co.uk/MatchDay/MatchDetails.aspx?gid=9293
W.B.A. Colts U13s 3 v 0 AFC Rushden & Diamonds U13s
Played at Mere Green Primary School, Sutton Coldfield
Early exchanges were pretty even, but the WBA defence was resolute throughout. Despite some hard work by Diamonds, WBA to a 2 goal lead at the end of the 1st period. The 2nd and 4th periods were a stalemate with great defence displays from both teams. WBA added a third goal shortly after half-time for a 3-0 win.
JPL match report http://junior-premier.co.uk/MatchDay/MatchDetails.aspx?gid=8058
AFC Rushden & Diamonds U14s 9 v 2 Alvechurch F.C. U13s
Played at the Malcolm Arnold Academy, Northampton
AFC Rushden & Diamonds started very strongly, and took an early lead finding themselves 3-0 up by the end of the 1st period. They dominated the 2nd period with some fantastic runs behind the Alvechurch defence to add a further 5 goals and were 8-1 by half-time, with Louie Barrett completing his hat-trick. The Alvechurch keeper was kept busy for the remainder of the match but only a single goal each was added in the final period.
JPL match report http://junior-premier.co.uk/MatchDay/MatchDetails.aspx?gid=8363
Sutton Coldfield U15s 7 v 1 AFC Rushden & Diamonds U15s
Sutton hit the ground running and was a goal up inside 2 minutes, adding a second 10 minutes later. Diamonds came back strongly in the 2nd period but the Sutton defence held out. At the start of the 2nd half, Sutton again scored with only a minute gone, with 2 further goals soon afterwards. Diamonds conceded 2 more in the final period before grabbing their only goal through Lewis Hilliard for a deserved goal.
JPL match report http://junior-premier.co.uk/MatchDay/MatchDetails.aspx?gid=8704
AFC Rushden & Diamonds U16s 0 v 2 Birmingham City F.C. U16s
Played at the Malcolm Arnold Academy, Northampton
Birmingham started the brighter, and despite having the majority of the 1st period, with Diamonds the majority of the 2nd, it was 0-0 at half-time. Diamonds defended well all game until a mix up led to Birmingham’s 1st goal in the 3rd period. They added a 2nd in the same period with a fantastic unstoppable free kick. Diamonds fought hard and carried on battling all game but lost out 2-0.
JPL match report http://junior-premier.co.uk/MatchDay/MatchDetails.aspx?gid=9003
