Daggers v Bradford Match Report

Well I dare not speak too soon but it may appear that the Daggers have reached a genuine turning point. Back to back wins for the first time since the turn of the year and only the third time this year lifted us back out of the relegation zone. Going into this match I was incredibly nervous as we'd had a really good week going into this one, we had drawn at Plymouth a week ago with a hard earned point and outplayed a midtable Morecambe side in midweek to come out worthy 2-1 winners. Our Yorkshire visitors Bradford were in a bit of form themselves on a 4 game unbeaten run and beat a poor Barnet side 4-0 at Underhill on Tuesday night. Despite, their good form I knew from the reverse fixture at Valley Parade this season that if we played to our potential, we had a real chance of running out winners in this one.

As I had a few matters to deal with Saturday morning, I uncharacteristically skipped my pre match pint in the clubhouse and arrived at the ground at 2:45pm just for kick off. As I met the usual pals Lee & Nick with my little brother Chaz, I started to look how the two respectable managers John Still and Phil Parkinson had set out. Still unsurprisingly had stuck with the same side that beat Morecambe in midweek with on loan from Watford keeper Jon Bond keeping his place in goal despite Chris Lewington being available back from suspension. However, there was a place on the bench for Lewy as there was for the returning ex Posh winger Dominic Green who had recovered from injury. Parkinson was forced to reshuffle his in form side as the skipper Michael Flynn and ex Argyle full back Marcel Seip had picked up injuries meaning there was starting places for the experienced Lee Bullock and West Ham graduate Matthew Fry. Ricky Ravenhill then took the captaincy while there was opportunities on the bench for the on loan from Bury midfielder Andy Haworth and Scotsman Chris Mitchell.

The teams coming out....

The game began in front of a decent crowd of just over 3,000 as ticket prices were reduced and the glorious sunshine was out as the Bantams were made to feel very much the away team as they are not used to this invention of sunshine in the north. In the early exchanges, the Daggers had a half hearted claim for a penalty as a long throw seemed to accidentally hit the arm of skipper for the day Ravenhill as appeals were sensibly waved away. The games first real talking point came 5 minutes in when a rather late challenge from the young full back Matt Fry on Scott Doe only received a booking. A tackle that had it been made later in the game may have received a further punishment, I am aware that there were a few around me that didn't agree with Arber's reaction to the challenge however at the end of the day, Doe is a team mate of his and could have seriously been hurt in the challenge. To add to this, I don't know a single professional side who wouldn't have reacted in a different manner. 10 minutes in there was a goalmouth scramble in the Daggers penalty box which they collectively managed to keep out to keep the score at stalemate. Both teams exchanged half chances with no real end product as neither keeper was tested in the opening half hour.

The game began to become a little stop start as the two competitive sides both received a few knocks consequently requiring both physio's to come on and treat them. The Daggers were looking most dangerous at set pieces while Parkinson's men were relying on the lively Kyel Reid to provide them with an opening. A heart in mouth moment came at the end of the half when a short free kick from Ravenhill found an unmarked Reid who couldn't find the target after the Daggers defence were quickly out to the ex Charlton winger. Stalemate at half time was a fair result in a fairly average first half. I then went to speak to various other fans on what they thought of the first half before encountering some very controversial scenes in the corner of the sieve which I will go into further detail about later.

Unity in the Daggers dressing room.

After taking a while to resume my usual spot in the sieve after attempting to resolve some very ugly scenes in the corner of the ground nearest to the Bradford supporters, I started to be able to enjoy the second half. Luckily for myself, I didn't miss much in the opening 15 minutes as the half took a while to come to the boil. Both managers clearly wanting the 3 points introduced new blood as on loan journeyman Will Atkinson was brought on for the on loan from Oxford winger Deane Smalley while "Your So Money Supermarket.com" Brian Woodall replaced on loan Southampton winger Ben Reeves who struggled to impose himself on the narrow Daggers pitch. The Yorkshire side then had their first shot of the half which didn't seem to test Bond in any way.

It was going to take a mistake or a moment of brilliance to tilt this game in one team's favour and thankfully it came to us. After a foul on Josh Scott, Matt Saunders took responsibility for free kick duties. A brilliant curling 25 yarder found the top corner leaving Bradford keeper Jon McLaughlin not laughing anymore. Cue massive celebrations around the ground apart from myself who was composed and adopted the more calm Villas-Boas style celebration. Unfortunately, the goal came at a price as it was thought that Matt Saunders had injured himself taking the free kick but was later announced that someone had trod on his ankle during the celebrations meaning he had to be replaced by Joey Essex lookalike Billy Bingham. The Daggers then had a feel for the goals and were back on the attack as Barbados international Jonny Nurse wasted an opportunity to seal the deal. Bradford changed formation to 3 up front as they looked for an equaliser introducing Nakhi Wells for Ritchie Jones to proceedings. The play was mainly in our penalty box for the last 10 but the new resilient Daggers defence stayed strong and kept them out. One last chance fell to the Daggers as some good link up play from Scott and Woodall forced a fine save from McLaughlin before the final whistle went and we had earned three precious points.

Me with the influential Josh Scott last week.

This was a massive 3 points for us as Bradford become the first team we have completed the double over this season. As Plymouth lost at home to Gillingham and Northampton were pegged back late on away at Cheltenham, the Daggers moved out of the bottom two by two points into 22nd. Despite this defeat, Bradford were unchanged and stayed in 18th 6 points above the drop zone. Regarding other teams around us, Hereford were also victorious beating AFC Wimbledon at home 2-1, while Macclesfield and Barnet both drew at Bristol Rovers away and Rotherham at home respectively.

As I don't want to end the report on a bad note, I will discuss the team's performance and credit individuals efforts at the end. I must report and note that there were scenes at yesterday's game that somewhat tarnished the day which was meant to be a fantastic day for the club. Yesterday was our 'Anti Racism' day where we reduced prices to 50p for a junior and just £2.50 for an adult which is admirable by the club and resulted in our 4th biggest gate of the season. As part of this day we invited other ethnic backgrounds to the game in order for them to experience the game and hopefully encourage them to come again. Unfortunately, in the corner of the sieve nearest to the away stand there were eye witness reports of a large group of Asian guests being abused and antagonised by other "supporters" where there were chants of "EDL" and other hurtful comments being made. Eventually, a few of the Asian children were provoked to react causing ugly scenes between the two groups. This consequently meant that the Asian children were segregated from the rest of the crowd for the second half while there were quite a few of the other group evicted from the ground. With BBC's Late Kick Off there, it was quite frankly embarrassing to see and disappointing as I doubt we will be attracting any new supporters from this event. Just for those who think it's right to abuse someone from another ethnic background, it's not and the beautiful game is for everyone to enjoy no matter what your skin colour or background is.

Back to the positive side of things, this was a game we would have been likely to lose earlier in the season but are now starting to win. A very even contest and a rather decent battle where we've managed to grind out a result. The back 5 looks very solid and organised at the moment with Bond getting to know his back 4 very well as they have only conceded 1 in 3 games. Solid displays from Arbs and Spillane who are looking very experienced and accomplished at this level. Doe and McCrory got forward well with Irish's delivery being second to none. A decent performance from the midfield combination of Ogogo and Saunders while Nurse had one of his best games in a Daggers shirt for a long time. Young Reeves has lots of promise but have a feeling will be more effective on wider pitches away from home. Elito had a few contributions while the introduction of Woodall made a big impact while Josh Scott is looking more and more like himself each game.

Chap of the Game: Matt Saunders
As I have a new found obsession with the word "chap" instead of the typical 'Man of The Match' I'm going to have a new segment called 'Chap of the Game'. Yesterday, my Chap of the Game was Matt Saunders not only for his worldy of a free kick but the fact that he has become Mr Consistent for us since he's been here not doing a lot wrong. Yesterday, he had his best game yet as he showed excellent footwork and was a real asset. I hope that his injury is not too bad and that he will be back in contention for Tuesday night and if not definitely Saturday at Wimbledon.

Thank you for reading the blog, it is much appreciated and I will address you tomorrow night as I give you a preview of our game away at Swindon on Tuesday which I will be in attendance. Feel free to follow me on Twitter @EssexDaggerBC if you don't already.