Daggers v Accrington Stanley

Daggers 2-1 Accrington Stanley

Well, what a day it turned out to be for the Daggers yesterday. The past few months really have been a rollercoaster as we continue to yo-yo in and out of the bottom two. It was quite pleasant to not wake up for "Football Day" on a hangover for once as me and Chaz made it to the cafe just after 11. After collecting the betting slips, I enjoyed a delightful full English in the Eastbrook cafe accompanied by a budweiser as the drinking began. We then made it into the clubhouse to watch the early game the London derby Chelsea v Spurs. While watching the game, I read through the programme notes with Still's programme notes being the most inspiring for a while. He reiterated a number of times how much the players and the club appreciate the support, it is worth mentioning at this point despite the numbers not being as much as most of the teams in the Football League, the togetherness is and always has been second to none. We then made our way in the ground at quarter to 3 after not the most exciting 0-0 stalemate in the early game made slightly more entertaining by a very vocal Spurs fan who keep making the point Spurs wouldn't be happy with 4th and only wanted 3rd, how quickly expectations rise after a few months of success.

As I made my way to The Traditional Builders Stand which is normally allocated to away fans but had been opened to the Daggers fans today, there was certainly more of a buzz around the place compared to normal. As I predicted the rest of the ground looked a bit sparse however the atmosphere in the TB stand was certainly building up some momentum and creating one of the best atmospheres of the season. Gaffer John Still named an unchanged side to the team that dominated Barnet on Tuesday night with the only change being Dave Hogan returning to the bench after Jon Bond had been recalled by Watford in the week. Stanley made one change to the side that hosted Morecambe in midweek with Craig Lindfield coming in for Padraig Amond up front. Amond instead took his place up on the bench with the only other change being Ryan Hopper replacing Jersey born Kurtis Guthrie on the bench.

The players grace the stage of the Stadio de LBBD

There was a fast tempo start to the game with both teams wanting to make their mark on the game. The in form Medhi Elito ran at the Stanley defence but found his effort off target to the left of on loan from Wigan keeper Lee Nicholl's goal to create the games first chance. We then experienced a heart in mouth moment when a lapse of concentration resulted in a poor back pass from Doey which then resulted in Lewy trying to prevent the corner and kicking in straight in the path of the highly rated Bobby Grant. Fortunately, Grant was too stunned at his luck and was unable to get a clear shot on goal. Liverpool graduate Grant was again causing the Daggers defence problems and if it wasn't for a last ditch Doey tackle, he may have caused Lewy even more problems. The Daggers then fort back as some good strength from Akinde earned us a corner which after an excellent delivery from Irishman Damien McCrory found the rather impressive Mathieu Baudry's head who would have had his 1st Daggers goal if it hadn't of been from a clearance off the line. The game was very fast pace and open as both teams look the draw first blood. Ex Blackpool full back Danny Coid clearly couldn't handle the heat as he was stretchered off after a clash with Baudry and was replaced by Leeds graduate Will Hatfield.

Both teams continued to exchange blows as half chances were created by the lively Bobby Grant who had a hard volley which Lewy managed to tip over while Elito again menaced the Stanley defence before shooting wide. Akinde did earn the Daggers a free kick in a dangerous position however Mickey Spillane was unable to repeat his spectacular effort at Burton from a dead ball position as he hit the ball high over the bar into the glorious Essex sunshine. Captain Arber focused on how important the first goal was for the Daggers in his programme notes however this time it went to the visitors as the ball fell to Bobby Grant who showed his class curling the ball into the bottom corner giving Lewy no chance. A great time to score for Stanley who in fairness had probably shaded the first half in a very professional performance. The Daggers managed to squeeze a half chance in before the break as Spillane found Doey but his header was no trouble to Nicholls. After a slightly jaded Daggers first half performance I decided to sample the beer in the TB Stand in the downstairs bar.

The Daggers were now attacking Liverpool's answer to the Kop The Traditional Builders Stand as they began the second half. Still had made a change at the break as he withdrew Josh Parker from the action and introduced an integral member of the reem team Billy Bingham. Within minutes of the restart Jon Nurse was brought down by the lively tempered Aristote Nsiala but the infamous controversial Stuart Attwell waved away any claims. Nursey was then also brought off from Still as target man Josh Scott was introduced to the play. The Daggers were looking more motivated and on the front foot however Stanley's starman Grant did give them a break as he unleashed a 25 yard strike straight into Lewy's arms. Still then went into a 4-3-3 formation as he introduced fan favourite Brian Woodall in place of John Akinde who is still trying to find his feet since returning on loan from Crawley.

Unity from the boys.

The Daggers were now laying siege to the Accrington goal with the Stanley defence staying solid and resilient as Ogogo and Bingham both had shots blocked as it looked like it was going to be one of those day's for Dagenham. Paul Cook then introduced ex Shamrock Rovers striker Padraig Amond for the fairly quiet Craig Lindfield. Doey then scuffed his shot to Scott who couldn't find a Daggers equaliser as time began to run out for Still's men. Scott then turned provider as he played in Ogogo who couldn't hit the target from 8 yards out. Stanley then again required the stretcher as on loan Latic Rob Kiernan injured himself meaning Ian Craney was required to grace the stage. Despite, the Daggers dominance the Lancashire side had an outlet with the tricky Jamie Devitt who nearly killed the game off after a great ball to the substitute Amond which required a last ditch tackle from the talented Baudry. Doey then received a booking after a cynical foul to break up Stanley who were on the break again. The Daggers finally got what their persistence deserved after the composed Arbs found McCrory whose good trickery found Spillane who played a classy cross to Woodall who headed beyond Nicholls. The TB Stand erupted as the Daggers had got out of jail with 5 minutes remaining. The Daggers then backed by the vocal TB Stand went for the winner as they won a free kick in a dangerous position. An off the ball incident from Nsiala in the first minute of the 6 minute injury time resulted in him being sent off after a great spot from the linesman as he reacted angrily walking down the tunnel. From that free kick Elito found Doey at the back post as he stole the winner. Cue mad celebrations all around the ground as the Daggers had taken all 3 points at the death. Accrington managed to have two corners before Attwell blew the whistle for the final time and the Daggers had picked up a magical 3 points.

This for me was easily the best home game of the season as the Viccy Road faithful finally showed some real togetherness and backed the boys from the off. The win also took us off the bottom and out the bottom two into the dizzy heights of 21st position. A real good weekend for the Daggers as no other team in the bottom 8 managed to pick up a victory with relegation rivals Macclesfield and Barnet and Northampton and Plymouth both playing out stalemates against each other respectively while Hereford were defeated at home to Crewe and Burton were battered away at Wimbledon. The only other strugglers Bradford managed to revive a point at home to Gillingham after being 2-0 down. There is still a long way to go with 7 games left to play however it is back in our own hands as we sit 2 points above the relegation zone.

Chap of the Game: Mathieu Baudry
This week I am giving my chap of the game to Baudry who is easily one of the best defenders I have seen put on the Daggers shirt. He is composed and reads the game extremely well for a player of his age and level. Another solid performance yesterday where he made several last ditch attempts and if it wasn't for his performance, we certainly wouldn't have had the opportunity to nick it at the death. The maturity of the lad is something we have definitely lacked and is a great loan signing from Still.

There were a number of positives to take away from yesterday's encounter. The second half performance surely must have won over a lot of Still's doubters this year as his half time team talk and substitutions clearly made a telling effect and reinstalled that he is still the best man for the job. A real spirit was shown in the team to come back from a goal down and keep going right til the very end where we were rewarded. A personal highlight for me was the togetherness in the club as I enjoyed a post match pint, I reflected on why this club means so much to me. When I started watching this club, it was one of the things that made me fall in love, we don't have the thousands and thousands of supporters that the clubs around us do but we have something much more valuable which is a spirit and togetherness. I urge everyone to get to as many games as you can between now and the end of the season as together we will keep this club in the Football League. Stay Positive. Keep The Faith. We Are Dagenham.

Daggers v Accrington Stanley - Preview

Tomorrow, we host a club we know very well in Accrington Stanley, Stanley are very similar to the Daggers in size and they could be very well called the 'Northern' version of the Daggers. Stanley receive average gates of 1,700 at home with the Daggers only receiving around an average of 1,800 themselves. While the Daggers are surrounded by 5 London Premier League sides and 3 other big Championship sides who undoubtedly affect their gates, Stanley are in a similar position surrounded by 3 Premier League sides and being only 22 miles from Manchester doesn't do their gates any favours. I made my first visit to Stanley Park this season in what has to be one of the toughest away days I've done. To talk about it in brief, torrential rain in gusty winds in an open terrace to watch your team lose 3-0 in the slums of Lancashire showed me I would never survive in northern conditions. Despite this hellish journey, I did have a very good discussion with a Stanley fan on the way home who told me of how budgeted Accrington Stanley really were. On our journey back to Preston to catch the train home to London Euston, he told me of how their tannoy man was unpaid and was a local DJ who just turned up. Their groundsman's hours had been cut down despite their pitch looking the best in a long while and there was no ticket office in operation throughout the week. So next time you consider Dagenham to be a budgeted club, you may just want to take a look at Stanley's books which make Dave Andrews look like Sheik Mansour.

Recent Form

The Daggers form has been very indifferent this month as we've had 2 wins, 3 losses and 1 draw. We have been better on our own patch though with two wins and only conceding one goal showing there has been vast improvements made in the defence. Two goals each this month from Mickey Spillane and Medhi Elito may mean they will be the ones that the Lancashire outfit may want to watch tomorrow.

Stanley have been a very hard team to beat this month as they are on a 5 match unbeaten run drawing 4 games this month. They did however beat Northampton at home last week in their one win of the month. Despite their resilience to get beat this month, they have failed to keep a clean sheet in 11 games meaning the Daggers will be looking to keep this unwanted record up with the attacking line up of Akinde, Nurse, Parker and Elito.

Previous Meetings

As mentioned before the two clubs are no strangers to each other having met 13 times in the past 10 years with Stanley coming out winners 7 times, Daggers 4 times and the two clubs sharing the spoils only twice. In the most recent meeting which I mentioned earlier on, we were defeated 3-0 in a game where the familiar story of the Daggers not taking their chances meant that a brace from Irishman Padraig Amond and a goal from scouser Craig Lindfield gave Accrington a flattering 3-0 win. The last meeting at The London Borough of Barking & Dagenham Stadium ended in a comfortable 3-1 victory for the Daggers in the memorable play off winning season as goals from now Swindon Town striker Paul Benson, Charlton winger Danny Green and still Dagger Peter Gain gave us 3 points despite going a goal behind.

Team News

The Daggers welcome back "legend" Dave Hogan back to the bench tomorrow as Jon Bond has been recalled by his parent club Watford to be loaned back out to League One side Bury. Luke Howell's injury last week is not suspected to be anything too serious but is unlikely to feature tomorrow. Josh Scott came off the bench on Tuesday night and will be pushing for a start with a lot of competition up top in the attacking line up.

Accrington continue to have Sean Hessey, Brian Hughes and Dean Winnard sidelined with long term injuries. Winger Ian Craney is back in contention after appearing on the bench in their somewhat derby match with Morecambe in midweek. In true lower league style, Kurtis Guthrie injured himself in the warm up Tuesday night while centre half Peter Murphy faces a late fitness test. With a few injuries and a small squad, some youngsters/youth team may appear on the bench tomorrow for Stanley.

One to Watch:

My one to watch from Stanley tomorrow is on loan winger Bobby Grant. Merseyside born Grant was a graduate of the Liverpool Academy and played for Stanley from the tender age of 16 right through til he was 19. He was then snapped up by Scunthorpe United but now finds himself back at the club where it all started for his professional career at Stanley Park. Grant may be known for the infamous incident that involved Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard where they assaulted a DJ, Grant was released on bail without charge. A tricky winger with an eye for scoring and creating goals, he will need to be watched by Irish tomorrow.

Prediction:

Tomorrow is very much a winnable game tomorrow but we can't expect it to be easy. With Paul Cook's men being 5 unbeaten, they are going to be full of confidence themselves and will require a typical working man's Dagenham like performance to beat them. Looking back to the game at the beginning of the season, there is not a lot of difference between the two sides in what I expect to be a very even encounter. Accrington have now spent 6 years in the Football League and show that on a limited budget, it is possible for clubs like ourselves and them to establish ourselves in the Football League. After visiting Accrington this season, I have huge respect for everyone at the club as they really do have the lowest budget in the Football League and yet remain positive and go about their business in the right way. A favour from our old friends tomorrow by giving us the 3 points we desperately need wouldn't go a miss though. Get behind the boys tomorrow as we can do this. Stay Positive. Keep the Faith. We are Dagenham.