Season 2003-04

Rushden and Diamonds kicked off life in Division Two with a 3-1 opening day loss at Luton Town in season 2003/04. This defeat was followed by a 3-1 loss in the League Cup, at the hands of West Ham United, in front of a near 14,000 crowd at Upton Park. Rushden’s league form varied throughout the season, as the Diamonds could not manage more than two consecutive victories. Life in Division Two was proving to be a challenge. At Christmas, Rushden were placed 14th in the table, yet it was all very tight in the league at this time. Diamonds were only eight points above the drop zone, yet only six points behind Bristol City, who occupied the final play-off spot.

Off-the-field problems were beginning to mount, and clearly having an effect on the team’s performance. The beginning of March saw manager Brian Talbot resign from his post before heading to Oldham Athletic. Barry Hunter took charge of first team affairs on a Caretaker Manager basis. Hunter’s reign began with a 1-0 loss at Bristol City. A brace from centre-half Andy Edwards gave Rushden a victory against Notts County at Nene Park, a win that would prove to be Diamonds’ last victory of the season. Transfer deadline day saw four first team regulars leave Nene Park. Paul Underwood headed to Luton Town, while right full-back Marcus Bignot left for QPR. Jamaican duo Paul Hall and Onandi Lowe also departed, moving to Tranmere Rovers and Coventry City respectively. Lowe’s goals had been vital to Rushden and his departure was a major blow, as Rushden struggled for goals from then on.

As the club continued to slide down the league table, Ernie Tippett was appointed as manager to attempt to maintain Rushden’s Division 2 status with three games remaining. The task proved too much as Diamonds lost all three games 2-0, to Hartlepool, Colchester, and Port Vale, condemning Rushden to relegation after just one season in Division 2.

See below for a match summary as well as links to match reports. The final league table for the season can be seen here.

See here for a detailed summary of all the games during the season, including team-line up for each game and match timings.

Date	V	Lge	Opponent	Result	Scorers	Att
Sat 09/08/03	A	D2	Luton Town	Lost 1-3	Lowe	6878
Wed 13/08/03	A	CC1	West Ham Utd	Lost 1-3	Lowe	13715
Sat 16/08/03	H	D2	Plymouth Argyle	Won 2-1	Lowe, Jack	4045
Sat 23/08/03	A	D2	Tranmere Rovers	Won 2-1	Jack, Bell	7374
Mon 25/08/03	H	D2	QPR	Drew 3-3	Darby, Hall, Lowe (V)	5544
Sat 30/08/03	A	D2	Oldham Athletic	Lost 2-3	Lowe, Bignot	5469
Sat 06/09/03	H	D2	Wycombe Wdrs	Won 2-0	Jack, Lowe	4192
Sat 13/09/03	H	D2	Brentford	Lost 0-1	–	4396
Tue 16/09/03	A	D2	Notts County	Won 3-1	Lowe, Gray, Darby	4250
Sat 20/09/03	A	D2	AFC Bournemouth	Lost 1-2	Lowe	6464
Sat 27/09/03	H	D2	Stockport Cty	Drew 2-2	Gray, Edwards	4049
Tue 30/09/03	H	D2	Brighton & HA	Lost 1-3	Gray	4634
Sat 04/10/03	A	D2	Barnsley	Lost 0-2	–	8461
Sat 11/10/03	H	D2	Chesterfield	Won 2-1	Hunter, Jack	3817
Wed 15/10/03	A	LDV1	Oxford Utd	Won 1-0	Gray	2510
Sat 18/10/03	A	D2	Sheffield Wed	Drew 0-0	–	22599
Tue 21/10/03	A	D2	Blackpool	Won 3-2	Burgess, Jack, Kitson	5234
Sat 25/10/03	H	D2	Wrexham	Lost 2-3	Kitson/2	4117
Sat 01/11/03	H	D2	Grimsby Town	Won 3-1	Lowe/2, Hanlon	4185
Tue 04/11/03	H	LDV2	Luton Town	Lost 1-2	Jack	2746
Sat 08/11/03	A	FAC1	Swansea City	Lost 0-3	–	5031
Sat 15/11/03	A	D2	Hartlepool Utd	Lost 1-2	Jack	4944
Sat 22/11/03	H	D2	Colchester Utd	Won 4-0	Lowe, Gray, Burgess/2	4149
Sat 29/11/03	A	D2	Port Vale	Drew 1-1	Benjamin	4586
Sat 13/12/03	H	D2	Bristol City	Drew 1-1	Talbot	4340
Sat 20/12/03	A	D2	Peterboro Utd	Lost 1-3	Kitson	6176
Fri 26/12/03	H	D2	Swindon Town	Won 2-0	Lowe/2	4845
Sun 28/12/03	A	D2	Wycombe Wdrs	Won 2-0	Jack/2	5421
Sat 03/01/04	A	D2	QPR	Lost 0-1	–	14141
Sat 10/01/04	H	D2	Luton Town	Drew 2-2	Kitson, Hunter (V)	5823
Sat 17/01/04	A	D2	Plymouth Argyle	Lost 0-3	–	13021
Sat 31/01/04	H	D2	Oldham Athletic	Won 4-1	Jack, Lowe, Burgess, Hall	4591
Sat 07/02/04	A	D2	Swindon Town	Lost 2-4	og, Jack	7023
Sat 14/02/04	A	D2	Chesterfield	Lost 0-2	–	4361
Sat 21/02/04	H	D2	Sheffield Wed	Lost 1-2	Jack	5685
Tue 24/02/04	H	D2	Tranmere Rovers	Won 2-1	Lowe, Mills	3074
Sat 28/02/04	A	D2	Wrexham	Drew 1-1	Jack	3680
Tue 02/03/04	H	D2	Blackpool	Drew 0-0	–	3764
Sat 06/03/04	H	D2	Peterborough	Lost 0-1	–	4855
Fri 12/03/04	A	D2	Bristol City	Lost 0-1	–	12599
Tue 16/03/04	H	D2	Notts County	Won 2-1	Edwards/2	4030
Sat 20/03/04	A	D2	Brentford	Lost 2-3	Burgess, Lowe	4616
Sat 27/03/04	H	D2	Bournemouth	Lost 0-3	–	4500
Sat 03/04/04	A	D2	Stockport	Lost 1-2	Hunter	4717
Sat 10/04/04	H	D2	Barnsley	Lost 2-3	Gray, Hunter	4063
Mon 12/04/04	A	D2	Brighton	Drew 0-0	–	6320
Sat 17/04/04	A	D2	Grimsby	Lost 0-1	–	3890
Sat 24/04/04	H	D2	Hartlepool	Lost 0-2	–	4568
Sat 01/05/04	A	D2	Colchester	Lost 0-2	–	4618
Sat 08/05/04	H	D2	Port Vale	Lost 0-2	–	5240

Note – those games with a (P) in the scorers column will have match photos in the report, and those with a (V) will have a link to video highlights of the game.