AFC Rushden & Diamonds were made to settle for a goalless draw with fellow UCL Premier high-fliers Yaxley on a wet and overcast Saturday afternoon at the Dog & Duck.
The first half was largely a tense, gritty affair, with Russ Dunkley going the closest to scoring after a scuffed right footed effort was tipped around the post, but Diamonds upped the tempo in the second period. Jack Ashton and Brad Harris both saw presentable chances go begging, but they were left grateful with their point after the visitors squandered a couple of good opportunities late on in the game.
Manager Andy Peaks made just the single change to the 16 that went into the drama-filled game against Wisbech last Saturday, with new goalkeeper Alex Pycock replacing the injured Matt Finlay between the posts. The suspensions of Richard Bunting, Sam Brown and Russ Dunkley after their red cards last weekend had not yet come into force, so all three maintained their places in the starting XI.
The Diamonds, kicking towards the Peter de Banke terrace in the opening half, roared out the blocks straight away, and could have been ahead inside the first 20 seconds. Sam Brown lofted a long ball forward, Russ Dunkley won an archetypal flick on, and the ball ran through for fellow striker Tom Lorraine, but he could only shoot tamely at the Yaxley goalkeeper under strong pressure from a visiting defender.
After this quick start, both teams began to attempt to keep possession and utilise the ball effectively in the middle third of the pitch, and two such instances led to a couple of chances for the home side. Firstly, Joel Gyasi sent Adam Confue running away down the right wing, but his pull back was just cut out in front of the Diamonds winger who was looking for a return ball, and then a sharp one-two between Dunkley and wide man Fazel Koriya on the halfway line saw the winger jink inside Cuckoos defender John-Paul Duncliffe. However, he could only drag his effort wide of Aaron Butcher’s right hand post.
A further chance presented itself for Rushden in the 25th minute, and it was another forward run from the combative Confue that created it. He just failed to latch onto Bunting’s through ball down the right channel, but a mix up between the visitors’ goalkeeper and a defender saw the ball break back to the Diamonds midfielder. He drilled a cross into Lorraine, who had created space with a good run to the near post, but his header drifted over the top of the crossbar.
Although Yaxley hadn’t created a huge amount of chances in the opening half an hour, they were closing down and stifling the Diamonds midfield to good effect, with the home side thus struggling to build up a consistent tempo or rhythm. The visitors did fashion an opening in the 36th minute though, with a Liam Hook volley flying over Pycock’s goal after a nice crossfield ball from David Cobb had picked out the midfielder.
Two minutes later, Diamonds created arguably the best chance of the entire game. A long ball from Brad Harris found Lorraine making a run in behind the Yaxley defence. He held the ball up well, and then played the ball across for strike partner Dunkley, but the effort on his weaker right foot lacked pace, and Butcher was relieved to turn the ball round his right hand upright. On the 40th minute mark, Lorraine was again involved as he won the ball back for Gyasi to cut the ball back for Confue, and though his effort across goal was half blocked, the rebound fell to Koriya on the left side of the penalty area to sky a volley into the car park behind the well populated terrace.
One final piece of action in the first half came on the stroke of the half time whistle, with an accurate ball over the top from Liam Dolman finding Dunkley running down the left wing, and his cross found Lorraine again peeling to the near post, but his poked effort was wide of the net.
Half Time: AFC Rushden & Diamonds 0-0 Yaxley FC
After a closely fought opening period between the two sides, many fans were left wondering whether the game would open up slightly more in the second half, and as had been the case early on in the game, Diamonds were quickly into the ascendancy. A Sam Brown ball forward found Dunkley, who rolled his marker expertly, and the ensuing cross was flicked onto his own crossbar by visiting defender Gavin Cooke under pressure from Confue.
Eight minutes into the second period, it was Brown again who stared a move that almost led to the opening goal of the fixture. The full-back’s one-two with Koriya and subsequent bypassing of Duncliffe down the left wing led to the ball finding Bunting lurking with intent on the edge of the penalty box, but his goal-bound strike was blocked away for a corner kick.
Matt Gearing was introduced into the action in place of Gyasi, and the substitution almost paid dividends straight away. A corner from the Diamonds wide man was only half cleared, and Bunting’s header back into the area found Dolman in space at the back post. However, much like Koriya’s attempt in the first half, the ball ended up being volleyed well over the Yaxley goal.
The Cuckoos’ backline was being put under a large amount of pressure from the Diamonds at this stage, and unlike in the first half, this pressure was much more consistent and less sporadic. Another Gearing corner from the left hand side on 65 minutes found a rising Jack Ashton, but his downward header was cleared off the line and away to safety. Less than a minute later, Brown fed the ball into Dunkley, and his flick appeared to put Lorraine in on the goalkeeper, but unfortunately for the home fans, the ball ran away from the Diamonds number 10 and Butcher was able to collect.
With the amount of players that Rushden were committing forward to their attacks, and the amount of opportunities that were being squandered, Yaxley sensed that they could perhaps snatch a goal, and this almost proved the case in the 72nd minute. Cobb picked up the ball on the left wing, drove at Jamal Clarke (who had replaced a hobbling Richard Bunting) and picked out a cross for Scott Carter to flick onto the far post where Rob Hughes was arriving in acres of space. Thankfully for the Diamonds, he contrived to blaze the ball over the crossbar.
Peaks reacted to this near miss by bringing on top scorer Jason Turner in place of the hard-working Lorraine, and moments after this switch, Diamonds had a glorious opportunity. A long throw by Brown was worked back out to him and his cross missed Turner at the near post, with the ball spinning up in the air. It fell for Harris, who was now operating in central midfield, but he could only weakly glance a header just wide of the right post.
Despite staunch and continuous pushing by the Diamonds to find that elusive goal that they arguably deserved, the Yaxley defence stood impressively strong, and it was they who had the best chance to win the game. The clock had just ticked past the end of normal time when a back pass by Dolman led to a mishit clearance by Pycock, and with Harris slipping over, the ball fell for Hughes 25 yards out. However, with a gaping goal ahead of him, he lifted his effort over the top, much to the relief of the home fans around the ground.
Referee Martyn Gospel blew his whistle shortly after to signal the end of an intriguing and highly charged contest between the two sides.
Full Time: AFC Rushden & Diamonds 0-0 Yaxley FC
Despite not being at their best, the Diamonds can be happy that they created a number of opportunities and looked dangerous with their higher tempo and improved link-up play in the second half. The fact that Yaxley were very well organised and were quick to limit the time that the Diamonds players had on the ball was testament to the away side, and it gives manager Andy Peaks a few thoughts ahead of the away game at Cogenhoe United in the UCL Premier on Tuesday night.
Diamonds Man of the Match: Jack Ashton
Attendance: 575
Match Report by Ollie Mortimer
AFC Rushden & Diamonds | Yaxley FC |
17. Alex Pycock 2. Brad Harris 3. Sam Brown 4. Jack Ashton 5. Liam Dolman 6. Adam Confue 7. Joel Gyasi 8. Richard Bunting (C) 9. Russ Dunkley 10. Tom Lorraine 11. Fazel Koriya Substitutes: 12. Jason Turner (for Lorraine 73) 13. Josh Thomson 14. Scott Joseph 15. Matt Gearing (for Gyasi 58) 16. Jamal Clarke (for Bunting 65)
| 1. Aaron Butcher 2. John-Paul Duncliffe 3. Lewis Stone 4. Kyle Nolan 5. Gavin Cooke 6. Wayne Morris (C) 7. David Cobb 8. Liam Hook 9. Scott Carter 10. Rob Hughes 11. Dan Cotton Substitutes: 12. Andy Furnell (for Cobb 84) 14. Pete Smith 15. Matt Warman |
Goals: | Goals: |
Yellow Cards: Confue (80), Dunkley (88) | Yellow Cards: Cotton (85), Morris (87) |
Referee: Martyn Gospel Assistants: Darrell Horner, Paul Whateley |
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