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Cambridge City fell to a home defeat as Shepshed Dynamo inflicted a 4-1 reverse at Bridge Road.
The Lilywhites went into the game looking to build on two previous league results which had seen them take four points off Coleshill and Daventry. However, if they were going to overcome the challenge of Shepshed then they would have to do it without the services of defender Taylor Parr who was still side-lined with injury.
The injury woes that have been the backdrop to the start of City’s campaign continued in the early minutes as Bradley Gothard was forced out of the action. As a result, Ben Nolan was shifted to right back in a defensive back line that saw Yaw Ofosu captain the side in the absence of Parr.
It was Ofosu who was in the action for all the wrong reasons as he was adjudged to have fouled Zayn Hakeem in the area as early as the sixth minute and Sam Moore stepped up to fire the ball into the roof of the net.
However, that lead was short lived and on nine minutes, the Lilywhites were level. Isaac Maynard and Jake Battersby linked up with the former delivering a cross that picked out Simon Swinton to head past Brandon Ganley in the Shepshed goal.
From then on, both sides exchanged blows looking to edge in front, but as in previous games City were lacking a cutting edge to pose a real threat to the visitor’s defence.
The same pattern continued as the second half started. However, nine minutes after the break, the visitors were back in front. Once again Moore was in the thick of it for Shepshed as he managed to get the ball through two City defenders before it ricocheted off Daniel Akubuine and into the path of Hakeem who made no mistake.
City were trying to get back into the contest, but the match turned with nine minutes left as both sides were reduced to 10 men. The industrious Ben Nolan went on a run, and was upended that lead to a City free kick. Off the ball, Swinton and Moore clashed and the referee had no hesitation in sending both players off.
That decision seemed to spur the visitors on and when Maynard fouled in the box James Snedden made no mistake to fire home the second penalty of the afternoon. To rub salt into the wounds for City, the visitors got a late fourth when John King fired home from the edge of the area.
The result leaves City in 16th place, with seven points from nine matches. The Lilywhites have three tough games to come starting with a trip to sixth place Sporting Khalsa next Saturday.