Diamonds U23s take on Rushden & Higham United at Hayden Road on Thursday 21st July (7.30pm kick-off) as the two sides contest the Chris Ruff Memorial Cup.
Admission is free and entrance to the ground is via the bar from 6.30pm.
Our U23 Academy
Managed by Richard Maxwell, the academy have been accepted into the Northants Combination Premier Division for the forthcoming season.
They have played one pre-season game so far which resulted in a 3-3 draw at Moulton College against Higham Town of the Northants Combination League.
Check out their Twitter page here.
The opponents
Rushen & Higham currently ply their trade in the Spartan South Midlands League. The Lankies finished 11th in the 2021/22 season in the 20-team division.
Their manager is Tyler Merries. They have played four pre-season matches so far which has seen a 4-3 loss at Wellingborough Town, a 3-2 defeat versus Higham Town, a 2-1 loss against Cogenhoe United and a 6-2 victory over Earls Barton FC.
To find out more about the club, visit their Twitter page.
A history of the Chris Ruff Memorial Cup
Since the birth of AFC Rushden & Diamonds, the match has resulted in eight successes for the Diamonds and the solitary victory for Rushden & Higham.
The full list of results between the two sides in the competition is:
Rushden & Higham 1-0 Diamonds – 11th July 2013
Rushden & Higham 0-2 Diamonds (Dunkley x2) – 12th July 2014
Rushden & Higham 0-2 Diamonds (Herbert, Dolman) – 11th July 2015
Rushden & Higham 1-4 Diamonds (Shariff, Ashton, Gardner, Forrester) – 16th July 2016
Rushden & Higham 1-5 Diamonds (Dillon x3, Fairlamb, Farrell) – 29th July 2017
Rushden & Higham 1-4 Diamonds (Ashton, Bowen, Loraine, Ford) – 21st July 2018
Rushden & Higham 0-7 Diamonds (Bowen, Trialist, Acquaye, Trialist, Rogers, Lorraine, Johnson) – 12th July 2019
Rushden & Higham 1-5 Diamonds (Lorraine, OG, Trialist, Trialist, Weatherley) – 1st September 2020
Rushden & Higham 0-5 Diamonds (Lorraine, Jones x3, Glennon) – 24th July 2021
Match preview: Ollie Mortimer
