Match Report

Diamonds host National League North side Brackley Town in their penultimate pre-season match of 2022/23.

Admission prices are as follows:

Adults: £9

Concessions: £6

Under 18s: £2

Tickets can be purchased in advance here or you can pay on-the-gate.

Our visitors

They play at St James Park and currently ply their trade one level above the Diamonds. The Saints finished 2^nd in the 2021/22 season in the 22-team division but were beaten 0-1 in the play-off semi-finals by York City who eventually gained promotion to the National League.

Their manager is Kevin Wilkin. To find out more about the club, visit their website.

Pre-season so far

Diamonds have played seven pre-season friendlies so far, with an opening draw at Kempston (3-3) being followed by defeats to MK Dons (0-4), Stamford (5-3) and Loughborough Students (1-4). Since then Rushden have progressed to the next round of the NFA Hillier Senior Cup after defeating Cogenhoe on penalties following a 1-1 draw, another 1-1 draw was played out in a behind-closed-doors match against a Northampton Town XI before a 3-0 victory at Daventry on Saturday.

Brackley have played three pre-season games so far. The first resulted in a 1-1 draw at home to last season’s National League beaten play-off finalists Solihull Moors, and they then defeated League One Burton Albion in a 2-1 success. They most recently drew 1-1 at fellow National League North side Oxford City.

Meetings between the clubs

Diamonds and Brackley have faced each other on eight occasions, with Diamonds having emerged victorious only once (W1 D3 L4) in the clashes so far.

The full list of results between the two sides is:

Diamonds 1-1 Brackley (Koriya) – Pre-season friendly, 20^th July 2013

Diamonds 3-4 Brackley (Turner, Harris, Joseph) – NFA Hillier Senior Cup, 4^th November 2014

Diamonds 2-1 Brackley (Lorraine, Stevenson) – NFA Hillier Senior Cup Semi-Final, 2^nd February 2016

Brackley 2-2 Diamonds (Fairlamb, Henbury) – Pre-season friendly, 25^th July 2017

Diamonds 0-1 Brackley – Pre-season friendly, 24^th July 2018

Diamonds 0-0 Brackley (Diamonds lost 2-4 on penalties but were subsequently awarded the title) – NFA Hillier Senior Cup Final, 2^nd April 2019

Diamonds 0-2 Brackley – NFA Hillier Senior Cup Quarter-Final, 19^th November 2019

Brackley 2-0 Diamonds – Pre-season friendly, 15^th September 2020

Can’t make the game?

Our Radio Diamonds team will be providing live commentary as the action unfolds – tune in at mixlr.com/radiodiamondsafc. Listeners will be able to message with their comments and thoughts on 07394 309591.

We will also doing live updates on our Twitter account at twitter.com/AFCRD. Highlights and interviews will be available after the game at youtube.com/AFCRDTV.

Match preview: Ollie Mortimer