Daggers v Burton Albion Match Report

A very disappointing display from the Daggers allowed them to slump to a disappointing draw at home to Burton. After the Brewers recent revival of a win and a draw at home to Gillingham and Crawley respectively, they were comfortable midtable and out of the relegation battle. With this in mind, the Daggers should have seen 3 points as near enough safety. Unfortunately, the performance didn't merit this and we managed to rescue a draw late on. I set off just after 1 and went through my pre match ritual of breakfast in the Eastbrook cafe followed by putting my bets on in Coral. I then made my way to the clubhouse for a pre match pint being stopped in my tracks by the two long term injury casualties Sam Williams and Kevin Maher who encouraged me to sign up to the Fans Power Stadium campaign in order to win the club £30,000. I obliged to this due to the rather attractive young lady who assisted me in this as I left her logged into my Facebook hoping for an add later that day, I'm still waiting...

The Lads lining up in the reverse fixture this season

I made it in the ground just for kick off as I quickly looked through the teamsheets. Still had made two changes from the victorious side from last week as he introduced on loan from Crawley John Akinde and the returning Dominic Green. This meant that Billy Bingham had to settle for a place on the bench while Jon Nurse wasn't even on the substitutions bench possibly injured or dropped which hasn't been confirmed. The only other change to the squad was on loan Josh Parker being given a place on the bench as oppose to ex West Ham midfielder Ahmed Abdulla last time out. Caretaker bosses Gary Rowett and Kevin Poole named an unchanged starting eleven to the ones that drew at home to Crawley with the only change being the introduction of Calvin Zola to the bench for loanee Seanan Clucas.

The game started fairly slow as I much became much more engrossed in looking at the travelling Brewers next to myself who looked quite an odd bunch probably what opposition supporters think about us loyal travelling Daggers when we're on the road. Both sides traded corners early on with neither keeper tested. The big talking point came 16 minutes in when the Daggers had a big penalty shout when Dom's cross clearly hit the arm of Villa graduate Jack Dyer however I believe the referee didn't judge this handball to be intentional and therefore waved away the protests, a decision that was still being argued by Terry Harris as they walked in at half time. Stoke born Jimmy Phillips then had a tame effort saved by Lewy as this was the first recognisable shot on target. The only other notable event was the booking of Aaron Webster as he fouled Medhi Elito with the resulting free kick hitting the wall from the boot of Dominic Green.

The boys at Vale last week.

The Daggers started to edge the second period of the first half without creating any clear cut chances. Tricky wingers Elito and Green were starting to get at the Burton defence but failed to find the powerful Akinde and the ineffective Woodall who didn't seem to be making a good pairing in this first half. Brewers full back Webster could have soon be heading for an early bath as he fouled Green after already being cautioned earlier on but referee Mr Ward who showed pity on Webster and gave him his final warning. It is worth mentioning than Webster was the one who made a rather theatrical fuss about Abu's challenge in the reverse fixture this season where him and his team mates cynically worked to get our former Arsenal man dismissed. The last chance of the half fell to the hosts as Baudry who hadn't had his finest performance in a Daggers shirt hit a 35 yarder which looked to dipping in the bottom corner but was tipped around the post by on loan Rams keeper Ross Atkins. The half time whistle was welcome in a very slow and even first half which I was expecting more from our own boys.

Both dugouts failed to make any changes at the break clearly hoping their half time team talks would do the trick. The Daggers came out more lively with a few corners that were hesitantly defended by the Midlands side although there was no capitalisation from the Daggers. We were then silenced by a fantastic effort from the troublesome Jacques Maghoma who curled in a 25 yarder giving Lewy no chance and sending the 123 travelling Brewers into hysteria. After being the front line culprit in the firing line for the Albion fans, I took the goading knowing that it would come back to haunt them later on. The Daggers then had a half hearted appeal for a penalty as Akinde showed good strength and pace before going down in the box. The Daggers were then awarded another free kick in a dangerous position however it was Irishman McCrory's turn to waste a good opportunity into the wall. The visitors then made the first chance of the afternoon as journeyman winger Lionel Ainsworth was introduced for youngster Jack Dyer. The Daggers continued to pile on the pressure with no real chances created despite valiant efforts from Baudry, Ogogo and Doe respectively. Albion then made a second change as the nuisance Calvin Zola replaced the ineffective Justin Richards.

Mickey Spillane then showed good footwork to get himself into a dangerous position but was too indecisive in what looked a very good opportunity for the ex Bees man. Akinde was then brought off for Josh Scott who typically made an impact to bring more of our attacking players into the game. Elito was then given a clear run on the Burton defence however went for the Hollywood strike from 25 yards which was high, wide and not at all handsome. Both sides then made more changes with just over 15 minutes left to play as Rowett introduced Cameroon born Patrick Ada for forward Greg Pearson in a tactically defensive change. Still contrastingly made an attacking change bringing on the fresh legs of Josh Parker on for Dominic Green who had faded out of the game. Burton then started to relieve their defence of the constant pressure by pushing forward forcing Lewy into two saves from efforts from Ainsworth and central midfielder Adam Bolder as target man Zola gave the young Baudry room for concern. Still then brought on Billy Bingham for McCrory who had underperformed for his ability as a formation change meant we were left vulnerable with three at the back. The change worked well as the Daggers left it late as Brian Woodall struck a 25 yarder out of nothing into the bottom corner of the net. Cue a Jose Mourinho like celebration from myself as I calmly celebrated in front of the travelling Brewers. Despite there being enough time for a winner, it was the visitors who looked more likely to nick a winner in stoppage time as they earned themselves two late corners which couldn't be converted before the final whistle was blown.

A bit of controversy followed the final whistle caused by the cynical and unprofessional Burton centre half Nathan Stanton who we'd had a previous with in the reverse fixture this season. Being part of the famous 96 that travelled to the Pirelli this season, we didn't forget Stanton's assault on Ogogo that got Abu dismissed and only meant Stanton received a booking. Stanton reacted angrily to our taunts to him as he reacted in a angry and aggressive manner. After using language that the Queen wouldn't approve of, he then came out to warm down still taunting the home crowd who were leaving which required the intervention of a police officer and our wise manager John Still. There is ways of dealing with taunts from the crowd and this was not the correct manner to do this, players like Robbie Savage have mastered this however it appears Stanton hasn't. It also got me thinking whether the brave Stanton would have shown this bravery if he were on his own in a nightclub as oppose to being in a controlled environment where police and stewards would protect him.

As for our performance, it was thoroughly disappointing and I know the boys can produce more. I thought the point was a fair result as we played an average Burton side who offered very little either. My chap of the game would have to be Mickey Spillane who was his usual impressive self and is fast becoming my favourite player at the Daggers. I can only imagine that Josh isn't fit enough to last a 90 minutes yet to as why he isn't getting a start as his impact is very clear from the bench. This is the second home performance where we haven't performed to a standard that we have set ourselves in recent weeks and this is a cause for concern. We have difficult away games at Gillingham, Aldershot and Shrewsbury left while having to host Crawley at home before the last day of the season at home to Bristol Rovers. Ideally, we want to be safe before the last day of the season where 4-6 points would consolidate our league position. Despite, not picking up maximum points we increased the gap from the bottom two to 6 points as Macclesfield lost at home to Shrewsbury while Hereford drew 1-1 with fellow relegation rivals Plymouth. Bradford picked up a much needed win at home to the overrated high flyers Southend while Barnet lost away again at Cheltenham leaving us 3 points above them in 20th. We travel to the slums of Kent on Monday away to Gillingham where I shall be in attendance and address you all after that encounter. Keep the Faith. Stay Positive. We Are Dagenham.

Ground 46: Port Vale v The Daggers

Well I dare not speak too soon but it appears the Daggers may have shown some fantastic bouncebackability in recent weeks in order to maintain our Football League status. As usual, I was one of the few that was optimistic about getting a result at Vale Park yesterday. You often find at the results end of the season that teams playing for something will always be more motivated and therefore more likely to beat the comfortable midtable sides going nowhere. I left my front door at half 8 with Chaz as we proceeded to meet Nick at Chadwell Heath, Lee at Liverpool Street and then James at Euston. Me & Chaz grabbed a Burger King breakfast at Euston surrounded by a large contingency of Chelsea fans heading to Villa that day who seemed to be big admirers of the brand Stone Island. We then boarded our London Midland train to Stoke on Trent while having to experience the company of Northampton fans for a large duration of the journey. The Cobblers loyal were pleasant throughout the journey and showed great bravery when we got off the train by shouting abuse at us.

Ground 44: Vale Park

We then jumped in a taxi to the ground from Stoke on Trent which worked out £12 between 5 of us which was a decent price and a very reliable taxi service. I was then approached by BBC London Sport to do a pre match interview which I allowed Nick to accompany me on despite this meaning listeners may have switched off after I'd finished my views. An optimistic prediction of a 3-1 win from me while Nick characteristically predicted we'd lose 2-0 was expected. I then decided to go into their social club for a couple of swift halves while I spoke to a few Vale fans as I continued my fascination of accents. I decided that the Stoke accent is one that I don't hate due to it having more of a Northern tone to it as oppose to a Midlands tone. After having a brief meeting with a Vale fan I had spoke to on Twitter, I made my way into the away end 10 minutes before kick off.


As this was ground 46 for me, the halfway point in the 92 my first impressions were that Staffordshire was a pretty run down area and the ground reflected this as although being much bigger than our own home it didn't look to have been well looked after and didn't have much of an atmosphere to it. The Vale fans sang on occasions but weren't given much to sing about as it was also "Fans Day" to "Save The Vale" although this only attracted a few local Midland clubs in Wolves and Leicester. 114 Daggers were present in the away end which was a fantastic effort as we made our fair share of noise also.

The experienced Mickey Adams made three changes to the side that played in the abandoned midweek game at Shrewsbury as he brought in ex Dagger Doug Loft, ex Gashead Sean Rigg and on loan from Hyde Ben Williamson for Essex born Phil Roe, Sheffield United graduate Kingsley James and highly rated ex Miller Tom Pope respectively. Vale made some improvements from the midweek fixture by managing to name 5 subs as oppose to 4 subs they named last time out as as Roe, James and Pope were joined by keeper Chris Martin and Man City graduate Paul Marshall. Still kept a fresh new vibe around our very own Daggers as he brought in the promising Billy Bingham and cult hero Brian Woodall for the injured Josh Parker and on loan Crawley striker John Akinde. However, there was a place on the bench for Akinde as there was for Hogan, Wassmer, Abdulla and Scott.

All in this together.

On one of the biggest pitches in the Football League, this was always going to test the fitness and stamina of the team at this stage of the season. Vale made the early running in this one as Lewy was called upon early on to header the ball to safety after Arbs failed to deal with a long ball. Then, with not even 2 minutes on the clock powerhouse Anthony Griffith was booked for a rash challenge on Ogogo that had it been made later in the game may have resulted in further sanction. Both sides exchanged early chances with neither keeper being tested in the opening 10 minutes. Vale started to enjoy their fair share of possession as the Daggers looked strong and resilient. Ogogo was enjoying a good battle of his own against Griffith as the ball spent a lot of time in the middle of the park.

With diving or simulation as its properly called being a big talking point this weekend. Vailant's skipper Marc Richards tarnished his reputation with a poor dive which was not to have fooled the referee although did anger me with his lack of respect. The Daggers then had their own half chance as a good delivery from Irish found Mickey Spillane's head but couldn't find the target. The outstanding Baudry then took a blow to head and required treatment as Vale picked up their second booking after Wolverhampton born Sam Morsy was adjudged to have made an unfair challenge on Wembley hero Jon Nurse. Cue more moaning from the Vale fans who were clearly watching the game through their rose tinted glasses. Griffiths then unfairly challenged Ogogo but escaped a second bookable offence as the Staffordshire home fans became more irritable with the officials. Then two minutes before the break, the best chance of the half fell to the Daggers after some good footwork from the tricky Medhi Elito, he curled the ball well beating Stuart Tomlinson as it hit the post as the two sides went in stalemate at the break.

Neither side made any changes at the break as the Daggers looked to be making their mark in the opening exchanges of the second period. Both sides earned early corners in the first half with the Daggers looking the more likely to score as Scott Doe made connection on his famous front post run which falls straight into Tomlinson's arms. Lewy was then called into action as Vale won a free kick in a dangerous position which required a convincing punch from the ex Leatherhead shot stopper. The game then became very open as both defences were tested with some decent creative players in action for both sides. Mickey Adams then opted to go for all 3 points as he introduced Tom Pope for Ben Williamson and Paul Marshall for Sam Morsy. Despite, Vale having the fresh legs it was the Daggers who started to have the ascendancy and one of the deciding moments of the game was just around the corner. Tremendous bravery from Nursey as he put his head in where a Port Vale boot was flying to win a free kick in a inviting position. Another class delivery found Spillane who needed no directions to where the goal was as he headed home. Cue myself running down numerous steps to celebrate with the players.

With 25 minutes to go, players, staff and fans alike knew this was going to be a big result if we managed to hold on as Vale would pile on the pressure. The cynical Richards then hacked down Baudry who had had the target man in his pocked all afternoon but still wasn't cautioned as I was sure he was the referee's love child. The Daggers were happy to play on the break with Elito providing a good outlet to prevent a constant Vale onslaught. Adams then introduced Louis Dodds for Phil Roe as they continued in their pursuit for the equaliser. The Daggers were then forced to make their own change as Baudry having recently been out for 5 months with injury suffered cramp on the widest pitch in this league meaning Charlie Wassmer was given a debut. King Lewy then had his time to shine as he produced several match winning saves. Firstly, he made a fantastic save from a shot from ex Walsall defender Clayton McDonald as he tipped it over the bar. Then Wassmer's first telling contribution of the game was a harsh decision against him as the referee pointed to penalty spot after he was adjudged to have climbed on his opponent. As the pressure was on, Lewy was too clever for Richards as he guessed the right way and saved it and then made another fantastic double save from the follow ups before Arbs cleared away. Still then brought Josh Scott on for the hardworking Woodall as the Daggers looked to the targetman to hold things up at the other end of the pitch. The Daggers then managed to prevent a late Vale surge who seemed to have accepted it wasn't their day as the boys dug deep to earn a well earned precious 3 points.

A big 3 points for the Daggers as we reached unholy heights of 19th in the league and 5 points above the relegation zone. Macclesfield and Hereford both lost to Gillingham and Rotherham away respectively while Barnet had already lost the previous night to high flyers Torquay. Plymouth had won but to fellow strugglers Bradford we went above both of them as well. That "massive club" Northampton could only manage a draw away at Crewe leaving them only a point above us despite them having a game in hand. There was immense celebrations after the game as everyone there involved with the club celebrated together after the game. After waiting for our cabs in the Port Vale car park long after the game had finished ourselves, the Bognor Daggers and the Upminster Daggers were all on the 17:50 train back to Euston in high spirits and those including myself were involved in some celebratory drinking on one of the better trips home this season.

A real decent away day which will live long in the memory considering I've only seen two of our 4 away league wins this season as I missed the wins at Macclesfield and Morecambe this season. I was overjoyed for Lewy who had received some real unfair criticism in recent weeks, people need to realise and see his potential. He is a very promising young keeper who will make mistakes from time to time but will also repay us by earning us points like he did yesday. Recognition also should go to Baudry who has been excellent in his time here and his centre half partner Arbs who has also recieved his fair share of criticism this season but was immense yesterday. Other stand out players include Bingham who hopefully gets a deserved run of games in the side between now and the end of the season while his makeshift midfield partners Spillane and Ogogo grafted hard in the middle as well. The rest of the team also showed tremendous commitment and determination to the cause as we look to be nearing survival. The work is not done yet as we all agreed on the way home that 2 wins and a draw will be enough although we aim to take as many points between now and the end of the season. I'll address you all again ahead of the Good Friday clash at home to Burton. Stay Positive. Keep the Faith. We are Dagenham.