Where do we go from here?

Firstly, I'd like to make a few apologies as I've missed 3 games to report on. I have no real excuses for this other than the fact I turned 18 on the 13th March against Northampton and then had my party the day before Macclesfield followed by a trip to Liverpool Hope University after the Barnet game meaning I haven't really had the chance to blog on these games. No worries though as I'm back and ready to sum up the last few games and where I think we'll go from here as we get to the real business end of the season.

Daggers 0-1 Northampton

This game took place on the 13th March on my 18th birthday where many drinks were in order before the game. I have to admit that my memory of this game is a bit faded but still remember how the game went and where we went wrong. After losing to Wimbledon on the Saturday, it was seen as a must win game and a 6 pointer with Northampton being in the bottom two with us at the time. A flat performance from the Daggers where we failed to make any real impact on the game resulted in us losing 1-0 thanks to a Toni Silva tap in as Lewy failed to hold onto the original shot. The atmosphere after the game was one of the worst feelings I've had as many were sure this was the beginning of the end of our reign in the Football League. Despite the performance not being our finest of the season, there were some positives to take from the game. There were a few changes to the side who lost at Kingsmeadow with loan signings Mathieu Baudry coming in at centre half and Josh Parker coming into the midfield who both looked eager and very good prospects who could make a real difference from now until the end of the season. Still also welcomed back Luke Howell who has been out since the beginning of September which was a big boost to the side.

Daggers 2-0 Macclesfield

The boys unity before Macclesfield.

The games have been coming thick and fast lately and after the devastating loss to Northampton, we were back in action on our own patch at home to Macclesfield last week in another massive 6 pointer. A month or two ago, Macclesfield looked like for once they wouldn't be involved in a relegation scrap however despite this they have had a dramatic collapse and find themselves well in the mix for relegation now. This was shown as the Daggers did it the hard way to pick apart a very poor Macclesfield side. An early strike from Medhi Elito as his trickery found himself an opportunity in the box and his shot managed to deflect into the net. The Daggers had a host of chances to bury Macclesfield but due to some poor finishing, it took until one of the last passages of play to get the killer goal as the Daggers broke and Medhi Elito's shot managed to go over the Macclesfield keeper. A massive celebration of relief in the Daggers camp who desperately needed this result as we returned to within touching distance of safety. Despite the Daggers dominance, it does have to  be mentioned that Macclesfield did hit the bar and force Lewy into a very good save showing that there are still improvements to be made in the Daggers defence. A good result and fairly decent performance nonetheless put us in good spirits for Barnet the following Tuesday in yet another 6 pointer.

Barnet 2-2 Daggers

Barnet & Daggers sides before Tuesday night.

A game which we didn't really know what to expect, after outplaying Barnet on Boxing Day we were wondering if they had gotten any better since then. Their record in the league would have seemed to suggest that although they were firmly back in the relegation battle now. The answer was no, Daggers were again far the better side and our lack to have the cutting edge was the only reason we didn't manage to do the double over Lawrie Sanchez's men. The Daggers had control of the game and after some good work from Elito, Grease star Mickey Spillane opened the scoring for the Daggers. However, the lead didn't last long as a lapse in concentration allowed the prolific Izale McLeod through on goal who managed to lob Lewy to equalise. Barnet managed to survive a few goal mouth scrambles until 20 minutes to go when Scott Doe made his famous front post run where has been successful 3 times before this season to head home what we thought would be the winner. Despite the Daggers looking comfortable a long range effort from Ben May that didn't look to be troubling Lewy found the top corner with a shot that had Lewy thought would have been troubling him, he would have dealt with it. An incident that left the young promising keeper red faced showed he is still learning and may make a mistake from time to time. Two points dropped for the Daggers in a game which takes us within a point of safety as it is ridiculously tight down at the bottom.

Where do we go from here?

This is an extremely important and nervous time for the Daggers as our Football League status remains to hang in the balance. We currently sit bottom in 24th but all is not doom and gloom and as we are level on points with Hereford in 23rd and Macclesfield in 22nd who are playing as I speak with relegation rivals Barnet who are in 20th just 3 points above the Daggers. Plymouth sit in 21st position just a point above the Daggers as they are in action tomorrow against fellow relegation rivals Northampton who look to be heading to safety 5 points clear of relegation. Like most of the season, we have had to keep chopping and changing the side, while many may not agree with the loan market. The two current loan signings Josh Parker and Mathieu Baudry both look very talented and good players and may be very helpful additions in our bid to survive. We have 8 games left with in my opinion 8 teams still in this relegation battle at the moment. Our run is fairly balanced as we play 4 teams in mid table going nowhere which is always a bonus in my opinion as we should have more motivation and determination than these sides. We then have 3 games against sides in contention for the play offs and automatic promotion which will always be difficult but I still have a lot of belief in the side as we have beaten and outplayed sides at the top of the league as well this season meaning that it is all to play for. I am going to make a bold statement now that Burton Albion who we face on Good Friday are not out of this. Despite being 8 points above the bottom two, their run in includes many of the sides below them where if they were not to pick up any positive results would put them in touching distance of the bottom two. Watch this space.