Northwood Park, Chestnut Avenue, Northwood (HA6 1HR)
Saturday 9th January 2016
Kick-Off 3pm
Southern Football League Division One Central
Northwood FC v AFC Rushden & Diamonds
AFC Rushden & Diamonds will again head into the north-western side of London at the weekend when they travel to face Northwood FC on Saturday. The Woods are one of the form teams in the league at present, and so this will present another stiff away test for the Diamonds.
The two sides met in the FA Cup during the Diamonds first season in the competition, with the Diamonds recording a 2-1 victory at Northwood Park – report here.
Fans may wish to note that the Diamonds may need to wear their white strip for this game due to clashes of both their alternate strips, taking into account rules regarding goalkeeper strips.
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
Northwood FC was formed in 1926. After a period in local leagues they joined the Hellenic League in 1978, gaining senior status in 1981. In 1984 they switched to the Spartan League and in 1992 won promotion to the Isthmian League, where they worked their way up to the Premier Division in 2003. In recent seasons they have been switched back and forwards to the Southern League, and last season they finished mid-table in the Southern League Central Division. You can read more about their history on their comprehensive website here.
Their club colours are red, and the Woods club website is here and their twitter feed here. As they were when the two teams faced each other in the FA Cup, they are managed by Mark Burgess, whose twin brother James Burgess is team captain.
Getting There
AFC Rushden & Diamonds Travel is running a combined players / supporters coach for this fixture – see details here.
Northwood FC play at Northwood Park, Chestnut Avenue, Northwood (HA6 1HR). For directions for the trip of around 60 miles from the Dog and Duck see here. Directions on the Northwood website are here – although these are focused on reaching the ground from within London.
Getting to Chestnut Avenue by public transport is an option. The most obvious route involves getting a train to St Pancras, and then taking the Metropolitan Line to Northwood Hills. The station is actually quite close to the ground, but the advised walking route is a rather circular one. The walking directions given on the club website are to turn right out of the station then at the roundabout turn left onto Pinner Road, then left into Chestnut Avenue – the entrance to the ground is then on the left, with a further walk to the ground / clubhouse at the end of this drive. This is a total walk of around three-quarters of a mile. When the Diamonds last played there in the summer months there was a short-cut around the nearby cricket-pitch, but it is not known if this is still an option at this time of year.
The picture above (courtesy Google Maps / Streetview), shows the approach road to the ground, with the clubhouse in the distance. The ground itself is hidden to the right of the clubhouse.
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.
