REPORT | AFC Rushden & Diamonds 0-5 Quorn
Goals from Jordan Gough, Tom Hilton and Cain Noble, alongside a Paddy Webb brace, eased Quorn to a fifth straight win and stretched their unbeaten streak to eight matches.
The Reds got off to a fast start, and almost led as early as the third minute, when Kyle Bryant’s delicate chip from the edge of the box beat Ben Heath in the Rushden goal, only to see the ball come back off the foot of the post, where it was cleared to safety.
Quorn’s travelling support didn’t have to wait long for the breakthrough though, as Webb’s sixth minute shot from distance flew into the bottom corner for his 21st goal of the season. Heath will likely have been disappointed to have conceded from that range, but the ‘keeper’s vision was restricted by the number of bodies between himself and the striker.
Reuben Wyatt came close to an equaliser in the 13th minute, but Charlie Woods got a hand to his rasping effort, steering it around the post. The match was effectively over in the 20th minute when Gough doubled the lead. Ryan Beswick’s free kick found the defender at the far post, and, despite being pulled back, to the extent that his shirt was so badly ripped that he had to change it, Gough was able to poke home his second goal of the season.
Courey Grantham was effective in leading the line all evening, and was desperately unlucky not to add to the lead when his 35th minute shot was blocked. The Diamonds had their best spell in the ten minutes before the break, but Quorn were resilient across the back, comfortably holding their hosts at bay.
Hilton scored his first for the club in the 55th minute, following in as Heath saved Noble’s effort, pouncing quickest to prod the ball past the ‘keeper as he attempted to gather. The game petered out a little with the contest over, but Tyree Wilson’s introduction reinvigorated the affair as he drove forward on the right hand side.
Webb’s second of the match, his sixth brace of the season, was an unstoppable piledriver from outside the area in the 79th minute. Tyrell Shannon-Lewis also played an important role from the bench, linking up with Wilson, just moments after coming on. His run to the byline saw the powerful forward play a perfect ball across goal to Noble, who was unmarked at the far post, to hit his third goal in four matches, and twelfth from midfield this season.
New Management duo of Ant Carney and Matt Green have now overseen three straight victories since being thrust in to the role. The pair have one more away game to negotiate, when they visit Sutton Coldfield Town on the 16th of March, before a first home game, against the same Rushden side the following Saturday.