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.