AFC R&D v Ware FC – GAME ON

Dog and Duck Stadium, London Road, Wellingborough NN8 2DP

Kick-Off 3pm

Saturday 6th February 2016 

Southern Football League Division One Central

AFC Rushden & Diamonds v Ware FC

AFC Rushden & Diamonds will host Ware FC at the Dog & Duck on Saturday afternoon hoping to return to winning ways in the league after their setback at Beaconsfield last weekend. The pitch has passed an 11:30 inspection – GAME ON.

The two teams fought out a 1-1 draw at Wodson Park early in the season – report here. Since then the Blues have seen a change of manager, with Ken Charlery taking over at the helm.

Details of the Diamonds first season in the Southern Football League Division One Central can be found on the fixture list here.

You can find a directory of all of the Southern Football League Division One Central Clubs, with links to web pages, twitter feeds etc here, where you will also find a set of links to other useful resources.

Admission prices for the Southern League Division One Central campaign are detailed here. There is a Diamonds Match Diary here, and the club twitter feed will provide the latest information before, during and after the match using the link https://twitter.com/AFCRD or by following @AFCRD.

See below for details of all the social media options for following the Diamonds, as well as details on Radio Diamonds.

Our Opponents

Football in Ware began in 1892 so the club is 123 years old. Originally Ware Town FC they changed it to simply Ware, thus becoming one of the shortest club names in English football.

Ware FC has competed in the Isthmian League since 1975 but this season they make their debut in the Southern League. This is due to the complex set of decisions that followed Clevedon Town’s expulsion from the Southern League Division One (S&W) after their ground failed to meet requirements. A number of teams switched between the Isthmian and Southern League, including Ware.

Ware’s golden years were in the early 20th century in the Herts County League but they have managed some good seasons in recent years, with none better than their championship winning 2005-06 season in the Isthmian League 2nd Division. Ware have twice reached the first round of the FA cup, going down to Luton Town in 1968-69 and Kidderminster Harriers in 2007/08. They also made it to the 4th round of the FA Vase in 2002-03.

They have quickly adjusted to life in the Southern League, and are in a solid mid-table position with five wins on the road this season. However, they are on a poor run at present, having lost their last six league games, with their last points coming from a win over Beaconsfield SYCOB at the start of December. In midweek they lost 4-1 at home to Royston Town, in a game that saw them concede three penalties, with Diamonds tormentor Rhys Hoenes being felled on each occasion. 

They are known as the Blues and are managed by Ken Charlery, who Diamonds fans may remember from his playing days at Boston United, where he scored a late equaliser during the Diamonds promotion run-in in the Football Conference. He brought ex-Watford, Peterborough and Burnley defender Micah Hyde (41) into the ranks at Wodson Park, and the former Premier League player made his debut last weekend in their game against Kings Langley.  Their website is here, and their Twitter feed 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 two covered standing areas. You can see a stadium plan that maps out these facilities here, along with details of catering facilities (including a snack bar menu / prices with details of the famous Diamond Burger).

There is always a need for additional volunteers to help with ongoing maintenance and matchday work, as detailed here.

Other Info

The fixture list is here, and latest fixture news is here. You can find a directory of all of the Southern Football League Division One Central Clubs, with links to web pages, twitter feeds etc here, where you will also find a set of links to other useful resources.

Details of the Diamonds playing squad and management team are here. Individual player profiles for the Diamonds squad are available here. Player and Match Stats are here, and previous seasons stats are here.

Player and Match Sponsorship options are detailed in the Commercial Section of this website as detailed here

There are a range of social media options available to help follow the Diamonds, with the well used and liked twitter feed to the fore, as well as a Facebook page and Club Instagram Page (follow afcrd). For this season we have also launched a Snapchat service, accessible on mobile platforms such as an iOS or Android Phone, so you can follow the live matchday story by finding afcrd on Snapchat.  

Radio Diamonds will be broadcasting for this game – details here.

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 Hevey 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.

People accessing the website via Tablet or Mobile who want to access some of the nested menus on the website may find the “Quick Links” tab useful – found just above the “Hevey” logo on the homepage.