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.