After conceding a late leveller on Saturday at Racing Club Warwick, Shepshed Dynamo returned to the Dovecote for a Bank Holiday Monday showdown with local rivals Loughborough Students. Dynamo still had the play-offs within sight, with the Scholars arriving in a rich vein of form and looking to beat the drop.

As this was the second game in three days, Shepshed manager Gary Drake rang the changes. Ben Bayliss began the afternoon at right-back, with Jack Rogers partnering him on the right. Aaron Korpal dropped to the bench, with Elwalid Elhaghany recalled by Barwell for their home fixture with Spalding.

Bright sunshine replaced the hurricane-esque conditions from Saturday’s outing at Warwick, yet Dynamo struggled to gain a foothold in the game early on. The visitors looked to test Shepshed down the left flank as Max Prickett-Reed delivered a cross into the penalty area that found Josh Roddy. The midfielder struck a low 15-yard shot that required a diving save from Dynamo ‘keeper Dan Wallis after seven minutes.

Jesse Friend caught sight of goal for Shepshed in the 26th minute as the Dynamo striker tried to work an opening on the edge of the 18-yard box. Friend twisted and turned before finding a gap to unleash a low strike. The ball drifted safely past Steven Bessent’s left-hand post, leaving the Loughborough goalkeeper untroubled.

Shepshed were almost the architects of their own downfall after 34 minutes as Jowan Partridge misjudged the flight of the ball, cushioning a header into the path of Gafar Abari. The Loughborough striker was clean through on Dan Wallis and got his shot away at the near post, requiring Wallis to get down quickly to palm the effort away.

As the second half began, Dynamo looked to take the game to their opponents following a shot-shy first period. Winger Jude Collins looked to find a gap in the Students’ backline from 25 yards out to the left of goal. Collins managed to fire in a 46th-minute effort that narrowly missed the top corner at the near post, aided by a deflection.

Tempers then flared on the touchline as Loughborough captain Jonty Bouch became involved in an altercation with Dynamo boss Gary Drake. A war of words over an alleged push from the Students’ skipper led to Drake receiving a red card in the 56th minute.

A man down on the bench, Dynamo would go a goal down shortly after. A strike from 18 yards by Marcus Gilpin tested Wallis, with the goalkeeper spilling the shot before clearing the ball with his feet. The resulting delivery back into the box found Abari at the far post, and the Students’ striker drilled a sweet strike into the far corner across Wallis to give the visitors the lead after 69 minutes.

Dynamo went looking to get back on level terms and almost found a way through Jude Collins’ delivery to the far post. Collins’ whipped ball from the left found the head of substitute Aaron Korpal, who headed down against the post—the closest Shepshed had come to finding the net after 74 minutes.

Unfortunately, Loughborough would go one step further than Dynamo in the finishing stakes as Abari grabbed his second of the game. A precise 83rd-minute through ball from Zac Scutt split the Shepshed defence and sent Abari clear on the right side of the penalty area. The Students’ attacker took his effort early, powering the ball past Wallis and into the roof of the net to give Loughborough a 2–0 lead in emphatic fashion.

The visitors then had a chance before the end to make it three. Marcus Gilpin once again made a dangerous run towards the left byline inside the penalty area. Gilpin cut the ball back for substitute Hussein Issa, who sent Wallis the wrong way in the 85th minute, but a last-ditch clearance on the line prevented further damage, with Wallis able to gather safely.

Defeat in the derby means that Dynamo’s play-off dream is all but over. Loughborough Students deservedly celebrated a fourth straight victory in their bid for survival and were superb throughout the day. Shepshed will look to see the season out, with the first of three remaining games away at Basford United on Saturday.

Dynamo: Wallis, Thistleton (Dixon 71’), Peart, Partridge, Friend, Burkey, Rogers (Korpal 57’), Bayliss (Samples 63’), Prenderville (Allen 72’), Timson (Harrison 91’), Collins

Loughborough Students: Bessent, Spiteri, Prickett-Reed, Bouch, Earley, Salsby, Gilpin, Roddy (Shortland 79’), Scutt, Abari (Issa 85’), Keene (Albert 79’)

Attendance: 348