PETERSFIELD TN 0, AFC RUSHDEN & DIAMONDS 1

IT was heartbreak for Petersfield Town last Saturday as they came within minutes of holding high-riding AFC Rushden & Diamonds to a draw.

The Diamonds, one of the iconic names of non-League football, had probably resigned themselves to a hard-earned point on their longest away journey of the season.

Then, in the 87th minute, Claudio Hoban broke the deadlock with a 20-yard blockbuster.

A draw would have been a fairer result because there was little to choose between two sides who tried to play passing football on a heavy pitch and in a stiff headwind at Love Lane.

The Rams rode their luck at times and, apart from poor finishing by Rushden, it was Anthony Ender’s fine goalkeeping that kept the home side on level terms.

Ender was soon in action, diving to his left to push Tom Liversedge’s low shot round the post.

At the other end, Joe Briggs played a ball into the path of Lewis Hyde, whose shot was palmed away by Matt Finlay. A quick corner then gave Hyde a free header which was blocked by a defender.

Dan Sackman came perilously close to gifting Diamonds the lead with a clearing header that dropped just over his own crossbar.

But the visitors, in turn, were nearly caught napping by Oliver Bailey’s cheeky backheel that hit a defender before being cleared.

Liversedge was then twice denied by the alert Ender and the Rams were relieved to escape into half-time still level.

There were fewer chances in the second half and Petersfield, now with the wind behind them, should perhaps have hit more long-range efforts at Finlay.

Midway through the half, Petersfield had a let-off when Edi Appleton hit the top of the crossbar with a thumping shot from the edge of the box.

The Diamonds also had a scare. Briggs broke clear on the right and his cross was fumbled by Finlay who managed to regather the ball as Petersfield moved in for the kill.

With the clock ticking down, Rushden won a free-kick on the right and although Richard Bunting’s cross was initially cleared, the ball fell to Hoban whose fierce shot flew through a ruck of players into the net.

Fleet Town avenged last week’s defeat with a 3-2 win over Petersfield on Tuesday. The Rams equalised twice through Sean Wain (pen) and Jordan Neale, but Ben Toye got the winner for Fleet whose other scorers were Rob Carr and Simba Mlambo.