There were starts for 2 new signings in Ben Heath & Will Mellors-Blair.

The Daniels started brightly and opened the scoring after two minutes when James Blunden headed home from close range from a corner.

There was plenty of good football on show from both sides despite the warm conditions.

Rushden drew level just after half hour mark when Nathan Tshikuna found Tyrese Sutherland and he slotted the ball past Heath.

Stamford regained the lead on 38 minutes when Mellors-Blair received the ball from Harry Vince and he squared the ball to Jonathon Margetts for him to slot home.

Just before half time, Stamford scored a third from the penalty spot after a Margetts shot was blocked by a Rushden defender. Rob Morgan stepped up and sent the keeper the wrong way.

In the second half, there was a raft of changes including a number of triallists.

Ten minutes in, Stamford were awarded a free kick and Rob Morgan took a quick kick to find Jon Challinor and veteran midfielder fired a shot along the ground and past the keeper to score past his former team.

Two minutes later, Stamford had a fifth when a cross from the left found Rodrigo Goncalves and he volleyed the ball past the helpless Rushden keeper.

Moving into the last quarter of the game, the visitors scored twice to reduce the deficit. First Jenson Cooper scored from 25 yards out before they were awarded a penalty and Connor Furlong scored from the spot.