The first home game of the 2025/6 season saw Shepshed Dynamo face newly-relegated Basford United at the Dovecote. Both sides had drawn their opening fixtures with Shepshed holding Rushden & Diamonds to a 1-1 stalemate on the road while Basford played out a 4-4 thriller at home to Sutton Coldfield.

The second game in four days brought one change to Gary Drake’s Dynamo side as Archie May, recently joined from Stratford Town, was handed his full home debut in midfield. Cyprian Mtenga, sent off at the weekend, began the game on the bench. Former Dynamo players Kieran Cummings and David Chapman both featured in the visitors starting eleven.

Amidst humid conditions, resulting from a mini-heatwave, the game got underway. Shepshed began brightly with plenty of energy coming from down the flanks. Right-back Ben Bayliss pinged a precision pass over to the left, picking out Jude Collins. The Dynamo winger broke towards goal but could only find the side netting with a low effort aimed at the near post on six minutes.

It took ten minutes for the visitors to catch their first sight of goal. Adam Barber’s loose header into the middle of the Shepshed half fell to former Dynamo winger Kieran Cummings. Utilising time and space, Cummings tried a powerful effort from 30 yards that sailed harmlessly wide of Dan Wallis’ goal.

Two minutes later, the lively Jude Collins was looking to cause more problems for the Basford backline. A cross from the left found Collins lurking at the far post following a corner kick, Collins’ delivery found Chad Timson on the central edge of the 18-yard box. Timson cracked a fierce drive on goal that needed the strong hand of ‘keeper Matthew Yates to help it over the bar.

Shepshed’s best chance of the half fell to Dylan Reason after 36 minutes. The young striker latched onto a through ball to race towards goal with only Yates to beat. Reason’s 18-yard shot beat Yates but not the covering defender behind, producing a tremendous last-ditch block to deny Dynamo the lead.

The energetic first-half pace showed no sign of slowing down as the second half began. Shepshed once again began brightly and, with 49 minutes gone, caught sight of goal once more. Jesse Friend managed to break behind the Basford rearguard and bore down on goal. Under pressure from the Basford defence, Friend squared the ball to Dylan Reason who had his effort saved by Yates at point blank range 10 yards out.

Despite all the home sides' attempts to pick a way through a tight away defence, it would be Basford who took the lead. A corner out on the right came swinging in towards the far post. Henri Wilder took to the sky and planted his 54th minute towering header back across Wallis’ goal to put Basford ahead.

The Dynamo bench quickly became a hive of activity with multiple changes but the home side just couldn’t force a breakthrough. Basford took advantage of the space being left behind a desperate Shepshed desire for an equaliser. Lively winger Tyler Dacres broke clear of the home defence and unselfishly squared the ball to substitute Tyreace Palmer. Only a last ditch tackle from Cyprian Mtenga denied Palmer a 78th minute tap-in to an unguarded net.

Resorting to a direct approach, Shepshed bombarded the Basford penalty area time and again. Eventually, a flick-on from Ben Bayliss in the box found substitute Terry Atem close to the byline. Atem’s effort cannoned off ‘keeper Yates, at the near post, and went behind for a corner in the 84th minute.

Basford then produced an 88th minute opportunity to put the result beyond doubt. Tyler Dacres once again proving dangerous, crossed from the right for Jack Goodman to beat Dan Wallis at the near post. Goodman’s effort, however, was superbly cleared off the goal line by the retreating Declan Peart in the last action of the game.

A frustrating defeat for Gary Drake and his team means that Dynamo take one point from an available six to start off the 2025/26 campaign. Basford quite clearly had focused on defensive rigidity after conceding four goals on the opening day. There are encouraging signs for Shepshed with quality in the final third being the missing piece of the puzzle at present.

There’s barely time to catch a breath with a stacked August fixture list as Shepshed return to the Dovecote on Saturday in the FA Cup hosting Clay Cross FC. Basford also are at home in the FA Cup on Saturday in a Nottinghamshire derby against Hucknall Town.

Dynamo: Wallis, Bayliss, Peart, Timson, Collins, Friend, Prenderville, Barber, Rogers (Atem 60’), Reason (Burkey 54’), May (Mtenga 69’)

Basford United: Yates, Chapman, Cocks, Cummings (Palmer 64’), Dacres (Stewart 86’), Dimaio, Goodman (Nicholson 93’), Hallam (Armond 77’), Joyce, Maher, Wilder

Attendance: 187