Rushden & Diamonds phoenix club target FA Cup first

AFC Rushden & Diamonds are targeting a debut appearance in the first round proper [Shaun Frankham] AFC Rushden & Diamonds are ready to "write history" by reaching the FA Cup first round proper, the club's captain says. The Northern Premier League Division One Midlands side, founded in 2011 after the boom and bust of the former Rushden & Diamonds, welcome Morecambe of the National League North to Hayden Road on Saturday in the fourth qualifying round. The Northamptonshire-based phoenix club is one of only five sides still standing from the extra preliminary round and has matched its best-ever run in the competition by reaching this stage. "We have belief in ourselves, belief in the fact we can do the job but are also respectful and humble in our approach towards Morecambe," said club captain Joel Nketia. Speaking to BBC Radio Northampton's Non-League Scene show, he said: "They [Morecambe] are a very good side, with very good players... but we'll take on any task at hand. When the whistle blows it's 11 v 11. "Any player at our level wants to test themselves. What better experience than for it to be against Morecambe." AFC Rushden & Diamonds started their FA Cup campaign with a 5-0 win at Kimberley Miners Welfare on 8 August, and have also beaten Long Eaton United, Desborough Town and Peterborough Sports to reach this stage. The eighth-tier club secured their spot in the fourth qualifying round by shocking sixth-tier Braintree Town of the National League South earlier this month. "It [the Morecambe game] will be massive for me," said 25-year-old Nketia. "I want it for the club, I want it for the supporters and people behind the scenes. We'll be sure to give it everything to get the result for them on Saturday." The winners of the tie will earn £9,375 and the opportunity to be drawn against sides including 2021 FA Cup winners Leicester City in the next round. What happened to the original Rushden & Diamonds? Rushden & Diamonds's first home game as a Football League club was against Lincoln City in August 2001 [Getty Images] Rushden & Diamonds was formed in 1992 following the merger of Rushden Town and Irthlingborough Diamonds. The merger was the brainchild of Max Griggs, the owner of Northamptonshire-based Dr. Martens, with the aim of getting the single, larger club into the Football League. The club reached the Conference, now known as the National League, in 1996 and realised Griggs' dream of EFL football in 2001 under the management of Brian Talbot. In 2003, Diamonds were promoted as champions to Division Two, now known as League One, but Griggs' retirement as chairman signalled the beginning of their ultimate demise. By 2006 they had been relegated back to non-league and mounting financial pressures saw them kicked out the Conference in 2011 and ultimately folding. Rivals Kettering Town moved into the club's Nene Park stadium for a brief and ill-fated period between 2011 and 2012, before the ground was demolished in 2017. Follow your club with BBC Sport Listen to the latest Football Daily podcast Get football news sent straight to your phone