Hillgrounds Leisure, Hillgrounds Road, Kempston MK42 8SZ
Kick-Off 3pm
ChromaSport & Trophies United Counties League Premier Division
Saturday 15th March 2014
AFC Kempston Rovers v AFC Rushden & Diamonds
AFC Rushden & Diamonds will make the short trip into Bedfordshire at the weekend when they visit AFC Kempston Rovers. The two teams met in the final game of 2013, when the Diamonds recorded a 3-0 victory – report here.
The ground will be open from 1pm with access to the clubhouse via the ground entrance, with coverage live in the bar of the Hull City v Man City clash. Admission prices are Adults £6.00, OAPS/Children £3.00 & Programmes are £1. See below for parking information.
Our Opponents
AFC Kempston Rovers were formed In 2002 when three local football clubs Kempston Rovers, Kempston Colts and Kempston Town joined forces to pool resources under the name AFC Kempston. The original Kempston Rovers were formed back in 1884.
The current club last won promotion to the UCL Premier after winning the Division One title in 2010-11. They are currently a mid-table side in the UCL, and that fact was perhaps emphasised in their last three games as they conceded eight goals in each game against front-runners Spalding and Huntingdon before scoring six goals against basement team S&L Corby.
Their club colours are red and white striped shirts and black shorts, and they are co-managed by Jimmy Stoyles and Gary Flinn who replaced Dave Randall in early November. Following their arrival the team went on a run of five straight wins, although that run ended at the start of December and they have had some heavy reverses since returning to action following the break during the poor weather. The Walnutboys club website is here and their Twitter feed here. Their nickname is based on the town having a famous walnut orchard back in the 19th century which became the site of one of the original club’s grounds after the orchard was destroyed in a blizzard.
Ex-Diamond Jamie O’Grady plays for the Walnutboys.
Many Diamonds fans will also remember when the U18 sides from the two clubs met in April 2012 in the final of the NSYL cup, with the Diamonds recording a 4-1 victory to pick up the first silverware for the newly formed club in front of 479 fans at Steel Park, Corby. That competition has not been held in subsequent seasons due to the prevailing weather conditions.
Getting There
Directions for the 20 mile trip from Wellingborough to Hillgrounds Road are here. Those travelling from the Rushden / Irthlingborough area will use the A6, following a route via Bedford as shown here. There is a newly resurfaced parking area at the ground as well as a nearby parking area for those using the other facilities in the area. There is a large clubhouse bar, as well as covered seating and standing on one side of the ground.
Those wishing to use public transport should get a bus to Bedford Bus Station and then get bus 53 which stops very near to the ground at the Prentice Gardens stop – or the more regular bus 1 which requires a short walk down Hillgrounds Road from the Spring Rd stop.
Other Info
A summary set of profiles for the Diamonds Players and Management is here. Individual player profiles are here, with player and match stats available here.
Player and Match Sponsorship options are detailed in the Commercial Brochure as detailed here.
The fixture list is here, and latest fixture news is here, and specific match status information here,along with the next planned fixture for the various AFC Rushden & Diamonds teams. Don’t forget you can get a regular Diamonds news bulletin delivered to your inbox, including details of all the forthcoming fixtures by signing up to the Club Newsletter – you will see a sign-up box on the right-hand side of the site homepage – just under the EA Sports Logo.
For details of the history of AFC Rushden & Diamonds see here.
There are details on how to become a member of AFC R&D here, as well as news on Season Tickets, Multiple Game Tickets and related prices here.
The club depends upon volunteer support from its fanbase. If you would like to join the group who help either on matchdays or behind the scenes see here.
A full directory of UCL clubs, including links to websites, ground details (with a map pinpointing all the UCL grounds), along with club links including Twitter details plus some general UCL links is here.
The UCL Handbook, along with links to competition rules is here.
