AFC Rushden & Diamonds 1-3 Basford United

AFC Rushden & Diamonds crashed out of the FA Trophy at the first time of asking after a 3-1 defeat to Nottinghamshire outfit Basford United in the Preliminary Round on Saturday afternoon.

Chances were at a slight premium in the first half, with Tom Lorraine forcing two diving saves from visiting goalkeeper Saul Deeney and also seeing a close-range shot trickle just wide of the far post. Basford also saw two efforts through midfielders Josh Thornton and Ben Hutchinson saved, though they deservedly took the lead on the stroke of half-time as substitute Reuben Wiggins-Thomas volleyed home a Thornton cross. 

Diamonds managed to grab an equaliser two minutes after the start of the second period as Lorraine flicked home a Tommy Berwick left-wing corner, though a very similar set-piece for the visitors saw them retake the lead via Rhys Myers’ thumping header. Brad Harris put a free header wide from another Berwick corner kick, and Basford sealed the game minutes later as winger Cory Grantham sprinted down the right channel and finished confidently at the near post.

Aside from a Scott Joseph header which hit the underside of the bar and just didn’t bounce down invitingly for Harris, the home side struggled to muster much in regards of a response and it was the Northern Premier League First Division South side who progressed to the next round.

Manager Andy Peaks made two changes to the starting 11 that started the abandoned game against Kings Langley on Tuesday evening. Charlie Butt came into the side to start on the right wing which meant Brad Harris played behind him at full-back and Ollie Wilkinson replaced Delroy Gordon at the heart of the back four. Scott Joseph also made a return to the team at the expense of Courtney Herbert who took a place on the bench, and there was a welcome return amongst the substitutes for winger Steve Spriggs after injury.

With Basford having achieved two consecutive promotions to now applying themselves at Step 4 of the Non-league pyramid, and the Diamonds winning 5-3 when the two sides back in November 2012 in the FA Vase, there was considerable anticipation as the game kicked off in slightly overcast but dry conditions.

However the first ten minutes were pretty uneventful as both teams attempted to establish an early tempo and some possession to settle into the game. The opening chance fell for the visitors on the 13th minute when a left-wing corner from Blair Anderson found defender Rob Darkin to head at goal, but Brad Harris managed to put enough pressure on him to deflect the ball away for another corner.

Tom Lorraine proved to be the main Diamonds threat in the opening period, and after 16 minutes he almost opened the scoring in the home team’s favour. A free-kick from Tommy Berwick was inadvertently headed back across the penalty area by a Basford defender, Scott Joseph’s following volley after latching onto the ball was blocked and the ball span to the Rushden number 9 to steer his sliding effort from a tight angle wide of the far post.  

Two minutes later saw a long ball over the visitors’ backline find Joseph down the right channel, and his driven cross was slightly too high for Berwick running into the box leading to his attempted volley going both high and wide.

Basford were showing a strong ability to put pressure on the Diamonds’ defenders and midfielders to force them into mistakes, and upon winning the ball they were showing skill with neat, tidy and pacy build-up play. Through this they were able to create a mini succession of chances, as firstly Tyrelle Shannon’s stinging left-footed shot flew narrowly over the Diamonds goal. Following this shortly after, Harris was required to turn behind a dangerous looking squared ball from the right-hand side of the area, and then another instance in the 23rd minute saw 11 passes strung together to the edge of the penalty box, though Josh Thornton’s curling shot was held with relative ease by Matt Finlay.

Lorraine was further involved on the half-hour mark as he latched onto a Joseph flick-on and slipped the ball into Berwick. A pass was returned, and Lorraine squirmed away from David Boafo’s close attentions to cut in from the left and hit a shot that Saul Deeney in the Basford goal parried to his right and eventually collected.

After the steady start play was now quite end-to-end as both sides endeavoured to find the breakthrough, and a Harris foul on Ashley Grayson presented the Nottinghamshire-based visitors with a dangerous free-kick position around 22 yards out from goal. Ex-Celtic and Middlesbrough man Ben Hutchinson curled the kick over the wall at goal, but Finlay caught and held the ball assuredly.

Charlie Butt had been slightly anonymous in the opening half as much of the Diamonds play focused down the centre of the pitch, but he delivered a teasing cross to the back post after 35 minutes which Berwick was only able to flick meekly wide with his head on the stretch. Joseph then attempted to bundle his way through a couple of challenges on the edge of the penalty area, and the ball broke for Lorraine to shoot left-footed and force a decent save down to his left by ex-Notts County stopper Deeney. 

However, in the last action of the half, the visitors were to take the lead. Five goal top scorer Reuben Wiggins-Thomas had entered the fray in place of Tyrelle Shannon who had limped off injured in the 44th minute, and after Ollie Wilkinson cheaply gave the ball away as he tried to play out of defence, Thornton was able to sweep a right-sided cross into the middle for Basford’s number 12 to volley high into the roof of the net giving Finlay no chance.

 Half Time: AFC Rushden & Diamonds 0-1 Basford United 

There was a change at the break for the Diamonds as Courtney Herbert replaced Dan Quigley, and this meant Harris moved into centre midfield, Herbert to the right-wing berth and Butt to right-back to maintain the 4-4-2 formation.

The home side needed a quick start after struggling to create clear-cut chances in the first 45 minutes, and this was achieved with a levelling goal only two minutes after the resumption of play. Butt had seen a cross in returned to him on the right side, and his low follow-up cross was somehow diverted behind and away from the lurking Lorraine by Deeney. The resultant corner from Berwick found Tom Lorraine to flick a header into the far side of the goal from six yards out.

Basford still represented a danger in the final third of the pitch with Cory Grantham and Hutchinson in particular threatening with their pace and guile. Six minutes after the Diamonds had equalised, a Basford corner from the left was punched by Finlay against one of his fellow players in a hectic penalty area and Butt was required to clear the ball off the line as it spun back towards goal.

The visitors didn’t have to wait long to retake the lead though as they scored in their next attack. After a short corner had initially caught Rushden napping and an attempted cross by Billy Bennett was blocked behind by Berwick, the next set-piece was swung in and met with a forceful header from defender Rhys Myers which slammed into the middle of the net.

Diamonds responded and should have claimed a second equalising goal in the 63^rd minute. Berwick’s persistent and harrying play down the right flank won a corner in front of the Peter de Banke terrace, and his subsequent delivery found the head of Harris who could only put his free header wide of the right post from 10 yards out.

Basford again proved to be ruthless and further displayed their clinical edge by doubling their advantage a minute after Harris’ chance. A quick break forward saw a ball slipped in behind Sam Brown for Cory Grantham to run onto, and he showed swift acceleration combined with high composure to steer a shot inside Finlay’s near post to put the away side 3-1 ahead.  

Though the Northern Premier League First Division South side deserved the lead, there was still a sense of shock and surprise around the majority of the stadium at the quick turnaround. Peaks immediately responded by first sending on Steve Spriggs and then Dom Lawless for Berwick and Lorraine respectively, but the Diamonds still struggled to find any purpose or inroads in attack and any high balls into the box were dealt with confidently by defenders Rob Darkin and Rhys Myers.

The home side did come agonisingly close to reducing the arrears with fourteen minutes to play, as Butt whipped a pinpoint cross from the right onto the head of Joseph whose header hit the underside of the bar and cannoned down. Harris was just unable to force the bouncing ball home with it being cleared away upfield, and despite claims that the ball had crossed over the goalline from the initial header, the trigger for a late Alamo-like assault on the visitors goal was waved away.

The Nottinghamshire outfit were content to protect what they had and see out the rest of the contest, and apart from a controlled Herbert volley which drifted just over the bar and a Spriggs curling effort from the left side of the area which was easily held, they did this successfully and without much alarm as referee Grant Taylor blew his whistle to signal the end of the game.

Full Time: AFC Rushden & Diamonds 1-3 Basford United

This represented a disappointing setback for the Diamonds as not only was the chance of progression to further rounds missed out on, but the 31 game unbeaten run in all competitions dating back to January 10^th came to an end as well. They simply struggled to click in attack and the midfield wasn’t able to dominate the tempo and rhythm of the game as they have done so often in matches this season, but full credit must go to Martin Carruthers’ Basford who defended strongly throughout, attacked with pace and movement and in the end fully deserved their victory. Attention now turns to the Emirates FA Cup 3^rd Qualifying Round next Saturday on October 10^th as Rushden entertain Step 3 side Ashton United at the Dog & Duck.

Diamonds Man of the Match: Charlie Butt

Attendance: 391

Match Report by Ollie Mortimer

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