Shepshed Dynamo slip to defeat at basement boys
AFC RUSHDEN & DIAMONDS 1 SHEPSHED DYNAMO 0 Northern Premier League Midland Divisio
SHEPSHED Dynamo’s final Pitching in Northern Premier League Midland Division away game ended in a 1-0 defeat to AFC Rushden & Diamonds who are fighting for their lives at the bottom of the table.
Shepshed had gone three games without defeat including a 2-0 win at home to Gresley Rovers the previous
Tuesday and not conceded a goal in these games and it was something special to stop four clean sheets for Brandon Ganley.
This was to be AFC Rushden & Diamonds last game at Haydon Road who they have ground shared with Rushden & Higham before they move to Wellingborough Town next season.
The club announced a pay what you want scheme on the gate and an outstanding 883 were in attendance to see if the Diamonds could pull something miraculously out of the hat at the end of the season.
With one game to go Rushden have now put them within a position of avoiding the bottom two something which looked a forlorn hope for a majority of the season and with that in mind they put the effort into their performance to reward the high attendance.
Dylan Wilson cut in from the left on two minutes but couldn’t keep his shot down from distance on two minutes later. Two minutes later Cairo Taylor was put through on goal but was offside.
Shepshed’s first chance came on five minutes with James Shaw’s effort deflected wide.
Taylor then had a penalty denied on nine minutes and after a succession of long throw over the next five minutes Shepshed managed to avert any danger.
Rushden have certainly been up for the fight to avoid relegation as of late and continued to press with Ryan Inman heading onto Johnston with nothing coming of it on 36 minutes. A minute later Shepshed were back up the other Elwalid Elhaghany ball over the top saw Heath who used his area well throughout the game advanced to stop Morris.
Rushden started the second half strongly with Jacob Scott’s long throw finding Inman who laid it back to Wyatt but his effort was over the crossbar.
Shepshed’s best chance of the game so far came on 67 minutes Masters corner was met by the volley by Shaw and somehow Heath got hands to it with Jarvis Wilson clearing the danger.
Shepshed were reduced to ten men on 83 minutes Jadahn Fridye-Harper had already been booked for time wasting earlier and after a foul the referee deemed it to be his second bookable and dismissed him.
A minute later and The Diamonds took the lead exploiting the space down the left where Harper was the ball was laid back to Inman but as soon as he shaped his body across the ball there was only place it was going as it went past Ganley at pace into the top corner of the net.
Shepshed pushed everyone including Ganley in hope of an equaliser and with time running out were nearly undone with all ten men forward it could have been a fitting end for Tom Lorraine who had made over 300 appearances for the Diamonds was making his final game in front of his home crowd but he was unable to steer the ball into the empty net.
An entertaining 90 minutes which gives AFC Rushden & Diamonds hope next week. They are level on points and two goals behind 18th place Rugby Town as both teams travel on the final day of the season.
Shepshed themselves who deserved something out of their one and only visit to Haydon Road now face their final game at home to Sporting Khalsa. Normally a mundane last game of the season where hopes of giving the home fans a good send off is more poignant this time as in the week after six years at the helm Manager Damion Beckford-Quailley will be stepping down after this game. Kick off at The Dovecote Stadium 3pm.