Rushden & Diamonds 1 Kettering Town 3

Match Report courtesy of Unofficial Rushden & Diamonds Website (1997-2001)

Northants Senior Cup Final

10th April 2001 – Nene Park (Attendance: 1,038)

Diamonds Scorer: Sale

Webmasters MoM: Butcher

Match Report by Andrew

Diamonds suffered a disappointing night on Tuesday at Nene Park when their local rivals recorded a 3-1 victory to lift the Northants F.A. Senior Cup.

Brian Talbot used the game as an opporunity to give some of his fringe first-team players a run-out, although there was a place in the starting line-up for Jon Brady at right-back. This is a position Diamonds will have to fill at Hereford on Saturday when Tarkan Mustafa serves a one-match suspension.

The visitors started the game brightest and stunned Diamonds with two goals in the space of two first-half minutes. On 8 minutes Chris Perkins headed home a Shaun Murray corner, and 60 seconds later Bertrand Bossu could only parry a fierce shot from Brett McNamara and Steve Wilkinson was on hand to fire home from close range.

Daniel Talbot was booked for a late tackle on McNamara before Mark Sale’s effort was well tipped round the post by Steve Wilson, but Kettering increased their lead on 19 minutes when a poor clearance from Jim Rodwell was fired home from 15 yards by Carl Fothergill.

Jon Brady’s work for the night was completed on 27 minutes when he was replaced by Luke Rowlett with Steve Spooner taking over in the right-back berth.

Diamonds best effort of the half came on 29 minutes when a free-kick from Talbot went just wide of the left hand post, and in stoppage time Sale’s shot on the turn was saved by Wilson at the second attempt.

Brett Solkhon moved to right-back for the second half with Steve Spooner moving across to centre-half.

McNamara almost increased the visitors’ lead on 58 minutes but his header flashed across the face of Bossu’s goal. Diamonds almost got back into the game on the hour mark but Wilson was quick off the mark to smother at the feet of Simon Wormull.

Jean-Michel Sigere and Richard Butcher both saw efforts go just wide before Mark Sale reduced the arrears by turning in a Talbot free-kick from close range on 78 minutes, but try as they might Diamonds couldn’t make any more inroads into the Kettering advantage.

Diamonds: Bossu, Butcher, Talbot, Mills, Rodwell, Solkhon, Wormull, Brady, Sale, Sigere, Spooner. Subs: Duffy, Rowlett, Bell, Dempster, Naylor.