By Mark Taylor
August 7 2002

Rushden and Diamonds head back to Wales for their first competitive fixture on Saturday since the disappointment of the Play-Off final defeat at the hands of old rivals Cheltenham Town. Brian Talbot will be hoping that the outcome of the game against Swansea City will be better than that day in Cardiff when the Diamonds were so close to Division Two football this season. Instead, Rushden start their second season in the Football League the same way they started the first. A tricky away game at the Vetch Field awaits the Diamonds, a similar prospect to last year when they headed to York. On that historic day the Diamonds continued the fairy tale thanks to a 1-0 win courtesy of the deftest of volleys by Warren Patmore.

Since then there has been many comings and goings at Nene Park. Players brought in by Talbot such as Onandi Lowe, Paul Hall, Stuart Wardley and Scott Partridge will all expect to be involved on Saturday. However, there are a number of absentees. Mark Peters, who limped out of Saturday's entertaining 2-1 defeat by Coventry, will definitely be out. Meanwhile, Andy Tillson is a doubt after leaving the field during last Wednesday's 2-1 victory over Peterborough at Nene Park. Barry Hunter and the impressive John Dempster look likely to deputize in the centre of defence. Midfield is also a problem for Talbot after losing Ritchie Hanlon for the season and the unfortunate, enforced retirement of fan's favourite Michael McElhatton. That leaves only two recognised, senior central midfielders in the squad: Stuart Wardley and Gary Mills, who has limited experience at this level. As a result Brian Talbot has had to experiment and left-sided Stuart Gray has looked assured in the centre of the park. However, Gray may be needed to fill the gap vacated by the suspended Andy Burgess on the left wing. The rest of the team should pick itself with Duane Darby back in contention for a regular starting place after a disappointing season last year. His partnership with Onandi Lowe has shown potential and will undoubtedly cause problems for every defence in the third division. Indeed, Onandi Lowe is looking fitter and sharper after the pre season that Talbot felt he needed.

Swansea City have experienced wholesale changes over the summer. Young manager Nick Cusack has brought in 10 new players in an attempt to return Swansea to the second division. These include experienced league players such as defender David Theobold, striker James Thomas and former Bury duo Paul reid and Matt Murphy.

In this fixture last year the two sides played out a hard fought 0-0 draw in front of a hostile crowd. The atmosphere this season should be friendlier following the departure of Tony Petty. The confidence in the squad should mean Diamonds fans making the trip can expect a comprehensive victory to kick start the promotion challenge.

Prediction - RDFC 2 (Lowe,Darby) SWANSEA 0