Football: Diamonds still short of sparkle

Hayes 1 Rushden & Diamonds 1

There is an English club which boasts a millionaire benefactor, a new stadium, its own radio station and enough spending power to break transfer records. They are not in the Premiership. They are not even in the Nation- wide League, but they will be one day soon, if their chairman has anything to do with it.

Max Griggs is the man behind the development of Rushden & Diamonds, the Northamptonshire side promoted to the GM Vauxhall Conference from the Beazer Homes League last season. He is also chairman of the county's cobbling firm responsible for Dr Martens boots, vendors of 75 million pairs of footwear worldwide each year.

It is his investment of pounds 10m over the past four years that has enabled two non-entity non-league clubs, Rushden Town and Irthlingborough Diamonds, to become one entity of altogether different proportions.

"If I thought that by spending pounds 50,000 on a player it'd get us promotion to the league, we'd do it," he said. He has put his money where his mouth is over the summer, signing three players - Kenny Cramman, Mark Tucker and Jim Rodwell - all for five-figure sums after breaking the non-league transfer record to sign Carl Alford from Kettering in April for pounds 85,000.

Last season was a good one, winning promotion and progressing through five rounds to an FA Cup tie with Cardiff City, which they lost 3-1. This season so far has not been so good, though. They had only one point from a potential nine going into the game and began and ended it nestling at the bottom of the table, next to fellow newcomers Hayes.

Hayes started the stronger side and the Rushden defence allowed Junior Haynes through to put the home side ahead in the 11th minute. The deficit rallied Rushden to attack and the pressure paid off when Alford headed home from a Cramman corner on the half-hour.

The second half again saw Hayes starting strongly with Brady, Sugrue and Williams all coming close. Rushden countered with some fluid passing from Cramman, and Alford hit the bar with a header 10 minutes from time.

Griggs, satisfied that one point apiece was a fair outcome, said: "Of course I'm a bit disappointed with our start to the season, but we've got to have patience." And ambition.

Hayes (4-4-2): Meara; Brady, Flynn, Kelly, Bunce; Goodliffe, Sugrue (Hyatt, 74), Roddis, Williams; Haynes (Randall, 88), Wilkinson. Substitute not used: Lewis.

Rushden & Diamonds (4-4-2): Benstead; Wooding, Ashby, Stott, Rodwell; Cramman, King, Butterworth, Alford; Collins, Hackett. Substitutes not used: Kirkup, Wilson, Bailey.

Referee: L E Cable.