Boldmere St Michaels 1 Shepshed Dynamo 0
Northern Premier League Midland Division Saturday 7 March 2026
At last, the Mikes overcame hoodoo team Shepshed, in a game as close as the score would suggest. It was a complement to all concerned that, despite a generous amount of muscle applied to proceedings, no yellow card was needed, or administered, until one at the very end. Played at a hundred miles an hour, by players with a maximum speed of ninety-five, a lot of energy was expended banging the ball up the park, and header-tennising it back.
Boldmere nearly took the lead in the third minute. James Tague received the ball just inside the visitors’ half and, spotting keeper Dan Wallis off his line, fired goalwards. Wallis just managed to get a hand to it, to keep the game scoreless. Nine minutes later, another Byrne through ball sent Frankie Ealing free through the middle; but, as we awaited a first goal, a diving save kept the scores level. The visitor’s best effort during the half saw Jesse Friend hit the outside of the post with Jonathan Brown stranded. Things now settled down into a rhythm of midfield exchanges; but as half time approached, you smelt the whiff of possible scoring. With eight minutes to go, Friend cut inside Pedro Lima, and it needed Brown’s leg to turn his oblique angled effort away, for a corner. You could smell the tea brewing when the game’s sole goal arrived. Skipper Danny O’Callaghan won a header, then blocked an intended pass before Harry Crook hooked the ball forward deep into Shepshed’s territory; James Tague just nicked the ball over the onrushing Dan Wallis and the ball ambled, almost apologetically, into the net. The Mikes had a scare following this but a poor effort from close range was cleared off the line. Half time: 1-0.
Dynamo made a determined effort, throughout the second half, to get back on terms. Lofty number five Declan Peart was launching a salvo of long throw ins into an increasingly crowded Boldmere box. Friend penetrated the Mikes’ back line; but when it seemed a simple matter to fire netwards, he off loaded sideways…and Lima cleared the ball away. Chances occasionally emerged from all the midfield scrambling. Tricky Moes winger Jude Collins went close twice, with curling efforts that shaved the framework’s top corner: a slick three-man breakaway ended with Burgess firing over the bar; eighty-one minutes in, though, the hosts should have doubled their account. Tolani Omotola got a pass across to the totally unmarked Burgess…who found altitude, rather than accuracy, once again.
As we entered the closing stages, the previous Saturday’s “siege of Warwick” re-enacted itself. Peart was replaced by the truly Himalayan Ben Richards, who came up for increasingly frequent corners. Into added time, it was evident the home rearguard had given their all: would a mistake by a leggy defender concede an equaliser? One free kick given to Shepshed was quickly followed by another, this one with every homester in his own penalty area. The kick was cleared…and our referee sounded the final siren of salvation.
Did the Mikes deserve to win? Well, they kept a clean sheet, for the second game running, against a team well above them in the table: they were the only outfit to display short, effective passing: and, most significantly, looked like a well-drilled team, as opposed to a collection of random individuals.
Boldmere St Michaels: Jonathan Brown; Kye Bilton (Connor Armstrong 51); Pedro Lima; Daniel O’Callaghan; Aris Christophorou; Kyle Byrne (Charlie Manners 85); Jack Burgess (Ben Croot 90+4); Fraser Doyle; James Tague (Tolani Omotola 81); Harry Crook (Jaiy Leydon 65); Frankie Ealing.
Shepshed Dynamo: Dan Wallis; Chad Timson; Ben Bayliss (Fin Ryder 67); Jowan Partridge; Declan Peart (Ben Richards 76); Niall Prenderville; Jack Rogers (Aaron Korpal 55); Kyle Dixon (Carter Foxe 85); Jesse Friend; Callum Burkey; Jude Collins.