Wednesday 7 March 2012

Swindon v Daggers Match Report

Swindon 4-0 Daggers

On a night that was always going to be tough, a series of events made it a very difficult and near impossible challenge for the Daggers as they took on top of the league Swindon. The Daggers were going into this game on the back of some good form as we had won our last two games and were unbeaten in 3. Swindon had just been beaten by their local rivals Oxford at the weekend after a 10 game winning streak and were keen to get back to winning ways in a must win fixture for them. I went into the match slightly optimistic but relaxed as I knew the pressure was on them to win the game and anything we took would be a bonus. I felt although this being the result's end of the season, we maybe could relax a little bit and try and experiment before we took on a run of games which look to ultimately determine our fate.

I set off with my little brother Chaz and good friend Josh at around 4:00pm as we took the usual tube route to Paddington and then got the 17:48 train to Swindon. We unexpectedly bumped into my older half brother James on the train who I wasn't aware was attending the game which made the party of 4 on the trip to Wiltshire. We arrived at Swindon Wilts just before 7 as we then made the short trip to the ground. As this was my 2nd visit to The County Ground having attended last season, I noticed a lot more about the place of Swindon this time around. Swindon is a very old town and wouldn't personally be my type of place to live, a lot of run down shops and not a great atmosphere around the place. Conveniently, the station was only a 10 minute walk from the ground however on my visit last season with a much bigger party it seemed a much longer walk. Thankfully, we found a William Hill on our travels so could put on a few bets for the night, as usual they didn't come in.

We made it to the ground with about 20 minutes until kick off so had a quick drink before making our way into the ground. The away bar was very friendly and had pictures up of manager John Still and ex Swindon player Ahmed Abdulla as well specially for our visit. Swindon are known for being one of the more expensive grounds in the league charging £25 for an adult. If I had got a Young Adult ticket like I was supposed to I would have paid £17 but managed to get away with a Junior ticket for £12, every little helps. To add to their money making scheme it was rumoured they had charged the supporters coach £20 to park the coach and then handed out team sheets for 10p a sheet. If you had paid your 10p for a team sheet, you would have seen changes in both sides. The famous Italian Di Canio had replaced ex Gillingham winger Luke Rooney for fellow countryman Raffaele De Vita and Irish U21 international Ronan Murray for Welsh U21 international Billy Bodin in his two changes from the side that faced Oxford on Saturday. However there were places on the bench for Rooney and Murray while the rest of the bench stayed the same. The Daggers made one change to their side with the injury to Matt Saunders, Billy Bingham came in to replace him while Ahmed Abdulla returned to the bench as did fan favourite Femi.

Lowest crowd at the County Ground since the beginning of September.
The teams started fairly evenly matched and you wouldn't have noticed that the two sides were at opposite ends of the table. Swindon had a few half chances with Matt Ritchie swinging in an inviting free kick but no Swindon player could get on the end of the delivery. Daggers legend Paul Benson had a half volley blocked as he was kept fairly quiet by former team mate Mark Arber and our Mr Consistent Mickey Spillane in the opening exchanges. The Daggers even created a chance of their own after the ball fell to Medhi Elito from a corner who found great connection with the ball and narrowly missed the target. However, it was the host's who took the lead after some relaxed defending from the Daggers, it was Benson who found time and space and managed to find strike partner Billy Bodin who couldn't miss from 7 yards out. There was a hint of offside for the goal which Still later confirmed he thought it was offside also but the goal stood. An unfortunate goal to concede for the Daggers who had looked resilient and organised in the lead up to the goal.

Scotsman Paul Caddis soon picked up an injury which meant he couldn't continue and was replaced by Jonathan Smith who was straight in the action as he headed narrowly over. The hosts started to play some good stuff as the Daggers started to see less of the ball. Benson was as lively as usual as his shot was well saved by Bond who we had to thank for keeping us in the game at times. The changing moment of the game came 10 minutes before the break as the Daggers were reduced to 10 men. A mistimed tackle by target man Josh Scott was deemed to be dangerous play and he was dismissed. I didn't have the greatest view of the challenge however it didn't seem to look to have much difference from the tackle made on Doe on Saturday which only resulted in a booking. They say luck and decisions even themselves out over a season but this was a direct comparison which showed a lack of consistency in refereeing. The Daggers acted quickly as Still replaced young Ben Reeves with Brian Woodall so we had at least one natural striker on the pitch. A great save from Bond at the end of the half after Ritchie had set through De Vita kept it at 1-0 at the break leaving the Daggers with an uphill struggle.

The two sides lined up before kick off..
As expected, the food bar at Swindon was also overpriced but due to having had nothing to eat, I was forced to purchase a sausage roll and drink. A peculiar scene happened while I was there as randomly a Swindon fan who could see me through a rather narrow hole caught my attention and gave me a free Daggers signed shirt, I was very grateful and shook her hand in a very much right place at the right time moment. I then returned to watch the 2nd half which I knew would be an enormous task with 10 men. The second half was largely dominated by the home side who were professional and played some delightful stuff with their man advantage. Di Canio quickly introduced the influential Luke Rooney for De Vita as Swindon started to dominate proceedings. Rooney was straight in the action as 8 minutes after his introduction his deep cross found ex Barnet defender Joe Devera who headed home to give the Robins cruise control. A rare mistake from Mickey Spillane who looked to be marking him made the Daggers challenge to get anything out of the game near impossible.

4 minutes later, the contest was ultimately ended as McCrory lost possession and Swindon broke in the blink of the eye with a low driven cross from the frightening Ritchie found Bodin who stepped over the ball allowing Rooney time and space to pick his spot as Bond couldn't keep the ball out. Realistically, it was about damage limitations for the Daggers now as they couldn't afford anymore damage to the goal difference. Rooney again ran at the Daggers defence soon after but shot narrowly wide as it was mayhem in the Daggers penalty box. As expected by many, former Dagger Paul Benson made it on the scoresheet after some good work on the wing from Rooney found Benson and added a 4th. No celebrations from the ex White Ensign man out of respect for the Daggers. Top man. Swindon seemed to let off the pressure after this and the Daggers created some half chances for themselves which required a bit more selfishness from Brian Woodall who may have reduced the depict. The final whistle was welcomed by the Daggers who will be wanting to put this game behind them as soon as possible.

Both sides showing unity before kick off.
The 89 Daggers fans stayed to applaud the efforts of the players who had a tough night against a very good side Swindon side. A touching sentiment from ex Dagger Paul Benson who also made sure he acknowledged the away fans, a fantastic servant of the club and will always be remembered by myself as a Dagenham legend. Ironically, "Rocking All Over The World" was playing in the background at the time, the same song playing in the background after our famous win at Wembley when Benno was a Daggers player and a goalscorer on the day. We was also applauded by the Swindon fans who were a lot friendlier this year and although at our expense, it was good to see that a big club for this level had sorted themselves out. After our train being delayed by about 10 minutes, we managed to make it back to Paddington just before 12 and caught the last train from Liverpool Street to make it in just before 1.

Although, a heavy defeat and a second half of being dominated, I still took many positives from the game. Unlike, our last heavy defeat just over 2 weeks ago to Cheltenham, there was a lot more fight about the boys this time around. Bond made some fantastic saves and seems to be growing in confidence each week, the back four made their mistakes tonight but still look decent, a disappointing night for McCrory who was exposed after the sending off and seemed to give away possession cheaply in the second half. A rare mistake from Spillane in an otherwise good showing from himself and Arbs who look a great pairing. As predicted Doe was exposed by a highly impressive winger in Luke Rooney who gave him a torrid time and reinforced my point about Doe not being suited to right back. A good start from Bingham and Ogogo in the middle was overshadowed after the sending off as they were very much overrun by a very impressive Swindon midfield who knocked it about with great composure. Elito didn't seem to make much impact with little service while Woodall and Nurse worked tirelessly but were always fighting a losing battle as we struggled to create any clear cut chances.

Chap of the Game:
A difficult one when you get well beaten but I am going to give this one to Nurse. Spillane was definitely another contender and I'm sure will get the award in the coming weeks if he keeps showing the form he has been showing recently. Nurse's work ethic is looking back to it's best when he first broke into the first team and is key he keeps showing this as we face a massive set of games. It's proven that when he works hard he scores goals and don't be surprised to see him on the scoresheet come Saturday.

With wins for Plymouth away at our opponent's Saturday AFC Wimbledon and Northampton beating Bristol Rovers at home 3-2, the Daggers moved back down to bottom of the league. A draw between two sides in the scrap Macclesfield and Hereford suited us and did little to help either side there whilst Barnet lost to Gillingham away as they become another sinking ship in this battle. While there were plenty of pessimist's at the game last night, this result will not relegate us or damage much confidence. They're top of the league for a reason and with 10 men, most sides in this league would struggle. Our next 5 games are all against bottom half teams in this league as we face three, arguably four of our relegation rivals in this month. The only disappointing aspect from last night's game was the sending off of Josh Scott who will now receive a one or two match ban which is yet to be confirmed. A challenge the striker tweeted saying he thought was a strong but fair challenge may have been slightly influenced by the Swindon crowd and the persistent Di Canio which I have grown to get used to when we play away from home. I will address you all before the Wimbledon game on Saturday with my preview on Friday. In the meantime feel free to follow me on Twitter @EssexDaggerBC.

Stay Positive. Believe. We are Dagenham.

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