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Next Match: AFC Rushden & Diamonds v Nuneaton Town
Competition: Friendly
Date: Thursday 29th December 2011
Venue: Dog & Duck, London Road, Wellingborough, Northants NN8 2DP
Kick Off: 7:45pm
Entry: £2 adults, £1 concessions, U8s FREE
AFC Rushden & Diamonds will take on Nuneaton Town in a friendly match at Wellingborough Town’s Dog & Duck ground.
Nuneaton’s youth side play in the Midland Floodlit Youth League Premier North Division and, like the Diamonds, currently sit in a midtable position with 4 wins, 2 draws and 2 defeats from their 8 games to date. They have several games in hand on the sides above them however, and will no doubt be looking to push on after Christmas and challenge those teams at the business end of the league.
Like AFC Rushden & Diamonds, Nuneaton Town were formed following the demise of another club. Nuneaton Borough were sadly liquidated at the end of the 2007/08 season, but the reformed club bounced back in style with back to back promotions in their first two seasons to return to the Conference North, the level the previous incarnation had played at prior to folding.
Rushden & Diamonds and Nuneaton Borough met on a number of occasions during the 1990’s and early 2000’s with the last, and probably most memorable game, being the Diamonds 2-1 victory on New Year’s Day 2001, a win which kickstarted the run that eventually saw the club take the Conference League title. There are some familiar faces amongst the current Nuneaton Town staff, none more so than former R&D midfielder Gary Mills, who amassed almost 200 appearances in his three spells for the club. Nuneaton’s first team manager, Kevin Wilkin, also enjoyed a successful time at Rushden & Diamonds, scoring an impressive 43 goals in 95 games between 1995 and 1997, placing him in joint 8th position in the club’s all time list of goalscorers. Defender Mark Albrighton also played for the Diamonds during a short loan spell in 2007.
Nuneaton will wear their home kit of blue and white striped shirts, so AFC R&D will play in their yellow and black away kit.
Nuneaton Town Manager Kevin Wilkin spoke with AFC R&D “It’s gutting to see what has happened, it is a club which will always be dear to my heart and anything i can do to help i will do”, “I know at the start of the season our chairman gave AFC R&D a couple of kits for them to play some friendlies in and we would like to continue that relationship” . “What the fans have done off the pitch has been amazing and we will help in whatever way we can in the future”
RDFC legends Kevin Wilkin and Kevin Fox show their support at the Dale Roberts Memorial day earlier in the season.
