AFC RUSHDEN 5 CARLTON TOWN 1

AFC Rushden & Diamonds sealed a playoff place by defeating lowly Carlton.

Tom Lorraine fired the hosts ahead in the fourth minute from close-range, and the striker doubled the lead after 20 minutes when he scored the rebound from a blocked shot.

Away defender Lawrence Gorman put through his own net to extend the Diamonds' advantage, and Lorraine sealed his hat-trick late in the half when he again finished from inside the box.

The visitors pulled one back in the 66th minute when William Mellors-Blair fired into the far corner, but Rushden had the last word by scoring again through a Shawn Richards free-kick. They will now face Witton Albion in the play-offs.