Northern Premier League Midland Division Saturday 25 October 2025
Two out of form teams, Shepshed (five losses in a row) and Boldmere (four losses in a row) looked to be heading to a goalless draw, in a game where you could say the pitch was the winner. Recent heavy rain made the Dovecote surface slick and slippery, and it was significant that Kaireice Cunningham, arguably the game’s best ball player, slipped over the most frequently. An awful lot of aerial ping pong, skied volleys, and hefty clearances, characterised proceedings. With a blustery wind on this loftily exposed park adding to everyone’s difficulties, Boldmere wisely didn’t try to pass the ball along their back line throughout.
In the very first minute, Charlie Manners gifted Jesse Friend a golden chance to put the hosts ahead. Your scribe wrote “1-0” in his notes…looked up…and saw our referee awarding a goal kick. How on earth he missed it, goodness knows. A quarter of the match approaching, you wondered how the Mikes didn’t take the lead. On a number of occasions, deftly flighted through balls put our front runners clean through. Freddie Cockerell braced himself to convert a long ball from Jonathan Brown that had eluded Dan Wallis when a home defender appeared from nowhere, and put the ball away for a corner. A similar scenario unfolded on the half hour…and this time home keeper Wallis cleaned out the advancing Cockerell. The crowd expected a red card for dangerous foul play; it would not have been out of order; but only a yellow was awarded. Our Referee’s Assessor said that there were two defenders in attendance; but this was a technicality, rather than reality. As the interval approached, the first of three yellow cards was awarded to the Mikes Kye Bilton, for frontal assaults on their opponents. The last two to Jodan Gough and Charlie Manners came at the game’s end, an expression of pure frustration.
Both teams had periods of pressure, and chances to take the lead, as both goalmouths were packed to resist free kicks, corners or long throws. With a quarter of an hour of standard time remaining, however, our hosts were turning the screw. Repeated corners saw the ball headed off the visitors’ goal line. Shepshed advanced from their right…and our official was pointing to the spot, after an attacker had been toppled by Nathan Oyemade. It looked an extremely harsh decision; but Jonathan Brown dived left, as Jude Collins’ penalty went right, on eighty-five minutes.
Thus, the Mikes remain embedded in the relegation zone; but this was an improved performance from them, against a team who, a month earlier, had stood sixth in the table. If Boldmere can keep up this level of play, survival might come yet. If you’ve read your November edition of “Good News”, you’ll have spotted the headline “How soccer chaplain found new hope after depression.” Your Chaplain will read it with interest!
Shepshed Dynamo: Dan Wallis; Chad Timson; Jack Samples; Jowan Partridge; Declan Peart; Niall Prenderville; Jack Rogers (Aaron Korpal 46); Kyle Dixon (Ben Bayliss 62); Jesse Friend (Dylan Reason 82); Callum Burkey; Jude Collins. Sub. not used: Raj Palit.
Boldmere St Michaels: Jonathan Brown; Pierre Phillips; Jordan Gough; Aris Christophorou; Charlie Manners; Connor Armstrong; Kye Bilton (Constantine Panayiotou 79); Alfie Taylor (Jayden Bailey-Hunter 72); Freddie Cockerell; Kaireice Cunningham. Subs. not used: Taylor Dodd; Danny Wood; Danny O’Callaghan.