AFC Rushden & Diamonds 2 Newport Pagnell Town 0

Champions AFC Rushden & Diamonds recorded an eventually comfortable 2-0 victory over mid-table Newport Pagnell at a bright and sunny Dog & Duck on Saturday afternoon.

Both teams cancelled each other in a first half that was evenly contested and full of endeavour and willing running, but the breakthrough came for the home side four minutes after the interval when Declan Rogers swept home into the bottom corner of the net after a Scott Joseph effort had been blocked. The Diamonds dealt well with any Newport pressure in the second half, and they were able to add a second goal in the 81st minute after a Rogers corner was glanced home by Joseph. The ChromaSport and Trophies United Counties League Premier Division trophy was awarded to Rushden following the full-time whistle amidst celebrations of joy and euphoria, and in scenes that will live with attending fans for a very long time.

Manager Andy Peaks unsurprisingly fielded an unchanged starting 11 from the win over Northampton Sileby Rangers in midweek that ensured the Diamonds won the league title, and the only alterations in the squad saw a welcome return for fit-again Adam Confue along with Elliot Lamb-Johnson on the substitutes bench in place of Jason Turner and Russ Dunkley.

The game kicked off with a strong sun glistening down over the playing surface, and though the Diamonds knew that the pressure was slightly off now that they were confirmed as champions, the aspiration of finishing with over 100 points could only be continued if they were to secure a win.

Yet it was the visitors Newport Pagnell who had the opening opportunity of the contest in the third minute when a header downfield bounced over Liam Dolman and allowed Josh Crawley to pick up possession. He knocked the ball over the head of Diamonds full-back Charlie Butt and sprinted towards goal on the left side, but his effort on the bounce was straight into the hands of home goalkeeper Matt Finlay.

Much of the opening stages were concerned with midfield battles and attempts to gain territory and momentum when moving forward, but both teams were doing well to shut out and nullify the threat of the other. The Diamonds’ first chance arrived from a free-kick in the 13th minute when Matt Gearing was tripped by Ieuan Riley as he collected the ball on the run just in from the right touchline. Declan Rogers swung the delivery in and visiting defender Robb Tapp inadvertently directed the ball goalwards as he attempted to head clear, though thankfully for Newport the ball was saved by goalkeeper Josh McAdoo down to his left side.

The opening half was also characterised by many breaks in play as referee Brian O’Sullivan clamped down on any challenge that he deemed to be unfair, and this lent itself to a stop-start nature that made it difficult for both sides to build up ahead of steam. A nice Diamonds move saw Rogers feed the ball into Richard Bunting and his subsequent archetypal ball out wide found Butt on the right wing. He took the ball in his stride, knocked it past Tapp and played a ball across goal that McAdoo did well to block with his legs for a corner kick. From the ensuing delivery, Tom Lorraine could only loop a header on the roof of the goal after Butt had engineered a crossing opportunity for himself.

Set pieces looked the most likely source of an opening goal in the first half hour, and the away side went very close to scoring through one of their own in the 23rd minute. Liam Smyth’s shot from the edge of the penalty area was blocked behind by Jack Ashton, and the resultant corner found Riley to power a header at goal that Finlay managed to parry. Matt Brady latched onto the loose ball and hit an effort goalwards, but Finlay was there again to pull off a remarkable save from close range and deny a certain goal.

It was then the turn of the Diamonds to also go close from a corner delivery four minutes later after Rogers received the ball from Sam Brown and saw his shot flick off an opposing defender and go behind. He curled the ball into a dangerous area from the right, and after a pinball-like scramble in the heart of the penalty box, an Ashton poke goalwards fell for Scott Joseph to collect, swivel and hit a shot that the keeper could only partially save, with captain John Thorpe clearing the ball off the line.

Influential defender Liam Dolman was forced from the field of play shortly after the half-hour mark to be replaced by Brad Harris, with the versatile Diamonds man slotting in besides Ashton at the heart of the defence. Joseph was again involved moments later, but after fellow striker Tommy Berwick had done really well to jink into space near the left byline, his pull-back was thrashed over the top by the Diamonds number nine.

With the contest now opening up and both teams looking dangerous on the counter attack, Pagnell again threatened when Harris missed his attempted clearance downfield and the ball fell to Dominic Lawless. He battled his way past Ashton on the left as he advanced into the penalty box, and his attempted ball across was well held by Finlay with danger lurking. Then Tom Lorraine won possession for the hosts in the middle of the pitch and sprayed a neat ball out to the left for Rogers, and his ball into Joseph enabled the front-man to turn and hook a volleyed effort at goal, but the shot cleared the crossbar for a goal-kick.

This proved to be the last action of the half as the referee’s whistle sounded for half time, with the game still very much in the balance as both sets of players made their way to the changing rooms.

Half Time: AFC Rushden & Diamonds 0-0 Newport Pagnell Town

The second half got underway with the Diamonds immediately on the front foot and attempting to find an early breakthrough, and they were rewarded in the 49th minute. Brown picked up possession and fed a chipped ball down the line into the path of Joseph, and he cut inside to unleash a strike goalwards from just outside the area. The ball was only partly blocked by Brady, and it fell for Declan Rogers to place an effort across McAdoo and into the goal from 15 yards out.

The cheers of celebration and slight relief could be heard all around the ground, though the visitors appeared initially undeterred by this setback. They attacked straight from the restart, and a loose ball on the edge of the box was fired goalwards by Lawless, but it was comfortable for Finlay in the Rushden goal to deal with.

It was evident that the Diamonds were now playing with an increase in urgency and a more rhythmic and fluid build-up in the midfield areas as they looked for a second goal that would make the scoreline more comfortable. A Brown long throw from the left on the hour mark was flicked on by Lorraine for a lurking Joseph, but McAdoo stepped in and grabbed the ball before the Diamonds striker could bring it under control.

Adam Confue then entered the fray after his return from injury to replace the tireless and hard-working Berwick, and it was his break down the left flank that led to another Diamonds opportunity. He cut inside Newport full-back Adam Pryke and crossed towards Lorraine who was now operating up front, but the ball was just beyond his reach and ended up drifting out of play for a goal kick to the visitors.

Pagnell made use of all three of their allotted substitutes as they changed formation to a more attacking 4-4-3, but the Diamonds back-line, in particular Harris and Ashton, were able to negate any threat that came their way and protect the clean sheet that they held.

There was one last moment for the home fans to celebrate before the end of the game as the Diamonds doubled their lead in the 81st minute to put the game beyond any reasonable doubt. A ball into the Newport box from the left was cleared only to Joseph lurking with intent 20 yards out, and his goalbound effort was deflected inches wide of the right-hand post. However, the following corner whipped in from the right by Rogers found Scott Joseph who craned his neck muscles to glance a header into the top corner of the goal, despite the best efforts of the Newport keeper to keep it out.

Despite a driving run by Lawless which saw him beat two defenders and see a shot deflected narrowly wide of the far post, and the subsequent corner kick delivery be headed wide by substitute Sam O’Neill, Diamonds easily saw out the final 10 minutes of the contest without any further alarm, and the three blasts of the full-time whistle signalled one thing and one thing only for the home fans… Celebration.

With the trophy presentation taking place in the Peter Ebdon stand, large masses of the Diamonds support gathered on the pitch in front of, and in, the main stand itself to commemorate the great achievement of winning the first league title of their existence. As all the Rushden players collected their winners medals and skipper Richard Bunting held the shining trophy aloft for all to see, it was a picturesque scene of joy, delight, elation and pride for everyone involved as the sun sat gleaming high and bright in the late afternoon sky.

Full Time: AFC Rushden & Diamonds 2-0 Newport Pagnell Town

This represented a fairly comfortable win for the Diamonds once they found a sense of urgency and tempo at the start of the second half, though credit must go to Newport Pagnell for the way they diligently stuck at their task throughout the 90 minutes and proved to be a regular threat when attacking. The scenes at the end of the game were similar to those experienced at Northampton Spencer two years ago next month, and every single player who has ben involved in the championship winning side over the course of the season can be mightily proud of their efforts which has led to this bounteous reward. Further rewards could be forthcoming when the Diamonds play Potton United in the final of the UCL Knock Out Cup on Monday May 4, but attentions firstly turn to the final league game of the season at home to Cogenhoe United next Saturday where a victory would see Rushden break the 100 point mark for the UCL Premier season.

Diamonds Man of the Match chosen by Match Sponsor MC Works: Declan Rogers

Attendance: 570

Match Report by Ollie Mortimer

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