Luton Road, Barton-le-Clay, Bedfordshire MK45 4LQ
Kick-Off 3pm
Southern Football League Division One Central
Saturday 31st October 2015
Barton Rovers v AFC Rushden & Diamonds
AFC Rushden & Diamonds will make only their fifth away trip of the league season with the trip to face Barton Rovers on Saturday. With the game at Kings Langley having been abandoned the Diamonds away league record currently stands at one win and two draw. However, they are on a run of 16 away games unbeaten, going back to January, so will be looking to extend this run against a team that reached the play-off final last season.
Note that although the Barton Rovers ground is usually referred to as “Sharpenhoe Road”, access to the ground is from Luton Road (which itself is a continuation of Bedford Road which runs north to south through the village – see below for more details).
Admission prices have been advised as: Adult £8.00, OAP’s and under 16’s £4.00. The ground will be open at noon. The Diamonds plan to wear their yellow and black strip for this fixture.
There is parking on site for approximately 200 cars with additional off road parking down the long driveway to the ground. Parking is free throughout the village should anyone want to visit the shops / Indian restaurant. Hot and cold food is available throughout the day within the ground and this will be served from 12.30. Sky TV will be on the big screens showing the early live premier league game between Chelsea and Liverpool. Rovers advise that they stock a great selection of draught beers and lagers, including their premium lager, San Miguel and there are a selection of 3 real ales on cask. The clubhouse is well patronised seven days per week.
Rovers are happy to invite anyone who is frail (or nursing mothers) to join them in the Graham West lounge where the game can be viewed from inside. (Space is limited).
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.
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
According to their website, Barton Rovers have their home in Barton-le-Clay, a village of some 5000 people just north of Luton. Formed in 1898 the club played in inter village football for the first 50 years until 1946 when they reformed and joined the Luton & District League before progressing to the South Midlands League. In 1978 they reached the final of the FA Vase, and the following season they joined the Isthmian League. They reached the first round of the FA Cup in 1980. They switched to the Southern League in 2004, and reached the playoff final last season, losing to Bedworth United. Details of their league progression are in the Football History Database here.
They are known as the Rovers and are managed by Lee Bearman. Their website is here, and their Twitter feed here. Their club colours are Blue Shirts and Shorts.
Getting There
AFC Rushden & Diamonds Travel is not running a coach for the short-trip to Barton-Le-Clay.
You can find directions for the trip of around 32 miles to Luton Road, Barton-le-Clay, Bedfordshire MK45 4LQ here
Once getting through or round Bedford, pick up the A6 road towards Luton and carry on along the Elstow and Wilstead by-passes then through the village of Clophill and along the Silsoe by-pass. As you enter Barton (approximately 14 miles from Bedford) you will come to a roundabout. Take the 2nd exit marked Barton-Le-clay. Cross over the next mini roundabout and proceed through the middle of the village as if you were re-joining the old A6 road to Luton. Just past the last house on the right (opposite the village memorial) you will see an area of playing fields with a concrete driveway adjacent to them. Turn right into this driveway and follow it round into the club’s car park.
For those wanting to use Public Transport, there is an hourly service from Bedford (Stagecoach service 81), which stops at the Memorial near the entrance to the ground.
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 are also going to launch 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.
