Tuesday July 18th 2023
Pre-Season Fixture
HISTON v AFC Rushden & Diamonds
Kick Off 7:45pm
Back on the home turf, The Stutes step up their preparations a notch as Chris Nunn’s Diamonds side make the trip to Bridge Road.
The last time the two sides met was in an FA Trophy replay on Tuesday October 11th 2016 following a 1-1 draw at The Dog and Duck. Diamonds brushed aside a Histon side that was struggling at the foot of The Southern League, Division One Central, as Danny Gould scored the consolation goal in a 6-1 defeat for The Stutes.
A lot of water has passed under the bridge in the almost seven years that have followed, with both sides unfortunately having tasted a relegation (or two in our case) since this last encounter. Diamonds suffered relegation from the Southern League, Premier Division Central last season, and shall play Step 4 football for the first time since the 2017/18 season. They will however enjoy some tasty looking local fixtures with the likes of Corby Town and Harborough Town visiting Hayden Road, with the hope of being in the mix come the business end of the season.
We have a few links between ourselves and The Diamonds, with Manager Lance Key having been at AFC’s predecessor as Goalkeeping Coach during the 2010/11 season. In-fact Key made a sole appearance in the Northants Hillier Cup at Nene Park against Daventry United. Stutes centre back Max York also had a brief spell with the Northamptonshire club, he too made just the one appearance in the very same fixture on October 12th 2010, scoring the opening goal of the game.
Stutes Manager Key will have been impressed with his sides reaction to going a goal down early on Saturday at Langford, with Luke Lindsay responding almost immediately, before Connor Barnes put The Stutes 2-1 up going into the break. The game was tied up as the hosts converted a penalty on the hour mark before Youth Team player Ollie Foley scored what ended up being the winning goal.
At the same time, Diamonds also claimed a 3-2 victory, this on the road over Step 4 newcomers Leighton Town. Goals came thanks to Ethan Johnston, John Dean and Will Jones. They had previously drawn 1-1 with Kempston Rovers and fallen to Real Bedford 1-0 in their opening games.
Supporters may well notice a few changes and improvements to the facilities at Bridge Road. As previously announced, both the bar and tea bar have come under direct management of the club with a number of amendments having been made within each outlet. Within the club bar with new 60 inch TV’s in place, and will be showing both Sky and BT Sports, with a few alternative items available to whet your appetite. We hope that these changes are to your taste, though would welcome any feedback, be it positive or indeed highlighting areas for improvement. However, the largest visible project is the replacement of much of the Steve Fallon Stand flooring. This back breaking work was kindly undertaken by Nigel Collison, Paul Smart amongst others, with a safer, cleaner and hopefully longer lasting solution.
Admission Prices
Adults £5
Concessions (60+/students) £3
12-17 year olds £1
11 and under FREE
