Dog and Duck Stadium, London Road, Wellingborough NN8 2DP
Kick-Off 7:45pm
ChromaSport & Trophies United Counties League Premier Division
Tuesday 13th August 2013
AFC Rushden & Diamonds v Northampton Sileby Rangers
AFC Rushden & Diamonds will play their first ever home game at step 5 of the non-league pyramid when they host Northampton Sileby Rangers at the Dog & Duck on Tuesday evening, in the ChromaSport and Trophies UCL Premier Division.
Admission prices are detailed here along with details of Season Ticket prices. There are details on how to become a member of AFC R&D here.
Nat Liburd will be serving the second of his two game suspension so he is unavailable for this game, and Aaron King may still be unavailable due to holiday commitments. You can read manager Mark Starmer’s view on the new season here. The Diamonds played 11 games during the pre-season period, and you can see summary stats for that period at the bottom of the report on the final friendly here. Match Status information is here.
During the close season the Diamonds Management have been busy strengthening the squad for the season ahead, with six new signings – Russ Dunkley, Fazel Koriya, Nat Liburd, Dan Grainger, Jamal Clarke and Robbie Maddox – joining the club. A review of the entire squad can be found here.
Note that there are certain rule changes for this season which are discussed in the various links here.
Those fans interested in coach travel to London Colney for the Diamonds first ever game in the FA Cup should enquire at the club shop, as detailed here. You can also but copies of the 2012-13 season review DVD and booklet there.
Our Opponents
Northampton Sileby Rangers FC was formed in 1968 as the works team of the Sileby Engineering Company, and after a period as a Sunday team joined the Northampton Town league before winning promotion to the UCL Division One in 1993. For a while they were known as Vanaid. Although they have won the UCL1 title several times, this is their debut in the UCL Premier Division.
The team that won the UCL Division 1 last season has been completely dismantled, with manager Glen Botterill also having departed. Incoming manager Scott Goodwin was with Long Buckby for a short period, and he has assembled a new squad ready for Step 5 football.
The Rangers club website is here. They play in red and black.
After the Diamonds had recorded a narrow victory at Fernie Fields last season, the match at the Dog and Duck was a tense affair, with Rangers late equaliser ultimately proving to be the goal that decided the UCL Division 1 title – the report is here.
The Dog and Duck
For directions to the Dog and Duck see here, where you will also find details of car parking options. You will find a range of bars and catering facilities, as well as a Club Shop. There is covered seating available, as well as a covered standing area.
There is always a need for additional volunteers to help with ongoing maintenance and matchday work, as detailed here.
Other Info
A summary set of profiles for the Diamonds Players and Management is here. The fixture list for the forthcoming season is here. Individual player profiles are here, with player and match stats available here. (The player and match stats from last season are here.) The league table can be found here.
Player and Match Sponsorship options are detailed in the Commercial Brochure as detailed here.
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 for the forthcoming season are here.
