If we only win one game this season, then please, please, please make it today. After a summer in which Barnet stole our manager, our assistant, our coach and five of our first-team players, it would be so satisfying to inflict some footballing retribution upon the Bees, who also happen to be our local rivals to add fuel to the fire. So as this eagerly-awaited clash, highly anticipated ever since the fixtures released, finally dawns upon us there won't be a more pleasing way to get a first victory of the season.
This means a lot to the club and the supporters have made it obvious to the players how important this clash is because to lose to a team of essentially our own players, managed by the staff who were with us last season including Mr Dagenham John Still, would really hurt. Even seeing Craig Robson and Mark Cousins, two adored fans' favourites at Victoria Road, line up in Barnet colours will hit hard but hopefully only act as extra motivation. Hopefully a large contingent of travelling supporters make the relatively short trip to North London and offer an unrelenting backing to the team, who really do deserve it despite our league position, which doesn't truly reflect both our capabilities and our performances. However those that do travel will be split into three groups: those who will boo John Still, those who will stay quiet and those who will applaud him. I can see the arguments for all responses but personally I feel that while the most successful manager in our history deserves a degree of respect, it shouldn't make him immune from criticism. The manner in which he made the seamless transition from Dagenham to Barnet was disappointing and did feel slightly underhand given that Stilly had earlier said he didn't have anything lined up, only to be at Barnet under a day later (though this did significantly reduce the wage bill it's worth adding). However, we need to forget about all that and focus 100% on the task at hand which is to earn three points and move out of the relegation zone. The atmosphere will be feisty but we need to treat it as if it's any other game and focus on ourselves. After losing three away games on the spin, Dagenham sit bottom of the league with their only point coming at home to fellow strugglers Maidenhead United, who were also reduced to ten men. On Saturday we were disappointingly defeated by Hartlepool United despite an assured home display. However, we completely threw it away after the break but the luxury of the Bank Holiday schedule is that you have an instant chance to make amends. Rivalry and animosity aside, Barnet will be a tough test and it's a terrible time to play them as they're fresh from a morale-boosting first victory of the season at Chesterfield of all places, thanks to a 90th minute Jack Taylor stunner. However, prior to that, they'd struggled with many fans demanding that the club sack Still, which was a happy distraction from our own problems. They've been poor against sides towards the bottom with draws to Braintree and Aldershot, plus a home reverse to Eastleigh. Elsewhere, they were soundly beaten by Ebbsfleet and also comfortably defeated away at Harrogate. Though they'll be on a high, they won't have an easy ride at the Hive, where they haven't won all season. Dagenham have been good in spells this campaign and could be much higher in the table so if we absorb the enthusiasm of the supporters there's no reason why we can't pull off a victory today, especially with the pressure on the home side to win. We don't have the best of records away to the Bees, with one win from eleven attempts, but history cannot define our future. We have a side determined to win who will battle for everything today and soon enough it will pay off for us. With such a demanding schedule, though, Peter Taylor may ring the changes. Adeloye could make way for Leighton who has been anxiously waiting for a start, and wasn't even on the bench Saturday. Plus we have key players Kandi and Reynolds who have the ability to change games. It's hard for Taylor because he wants to persevere with five at the back in the hope we'll have defensive solidity and we also want to accommodate Reynolds and Kandi, but you have to sacrifice something. Barnet's team are very familiar with us. They have a great keeper at this level, Mark Cousins, but if anybody knows his weaknesses it's us and while Cousins is a good shot stopper, he notoriously doesn't take gambles off his line much so we must swing the crosses in today. They also switched to three at the back at the weekend, which may be good for our faster players like Kandi and Reynolds, who can be expansive. Robson will be important for them, but Boucaud remains out which is a boost to us. It's guaranteed to be an entertaining clash but we desperately need the points and with the backing of the supporters, hopefully we can produce a brilliant performance. The players know what it means to all of us so I urge them to continue making us proud. Can today finally be the day? Up the Dags
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Regardless of what happens come 5pm today, a sense of defiance will grip Victoria Road as these two ex-League clubs clash. They may be separated by over 250 miles but were both rocked by financial issues which threatened the very existence of both teams. Alas, both rallied, fought and battled painstakingly to save themselves; now, having overcame possibly the most difficult period of their respective histories, continue to heal their wounds.
However, their won't be any mutual respect on that sun-kissed Chigwell Construction Stadium surface today. After a week's break from league action, the Daggers have regrouped and are desperate for that first victory, which would significantly ease the pressure. In their five games so far they've tasted defeat four times with just a point to show for their sizeable efforts. They have provided Boreham Wood and Aldershot Town with their only victories so far, also suffering defeats to Maidstone and Halifax while only managing a draw, their only point so far, against Maidenhead United, who are the only side keeping Dagenham off bottom. It's not all doom and gloom, though. In every game the Daggers have shown glimpses of talent yet are succumbing to only the finest of margins. Last week, up in Yorkshire, we were the better side but one moment of defensive indecision cost us and that's been the story of the season. We dominated against Maidstone but got nothing, were conned out of a point by incompetent officials against Aldershot and had chances against Maidenhead. A combination of bad luck and poor finishing is costing us, but that must change. To rectify that, we've brought in three new players since the start of the campaign. Alexander McQueen and Tomi Adeloye joined days before our last home game and since then have each got off the mark, while also establishing themselves as key first-team players. More recently, we've brought in Noel Leighton who got his first full appearance in Tuesday's friendly match away at Hornchurch. He scored, and looked sharp, but will probably only be on the bench today. Also playing during that match on Tuesday was a trialist, Jack Munns, who may well be the next through the door. The Dagenham-born midfielder is very familiar with Hartlepool supporters having represented them for a while, and looked like a nippy midfielder who was good on the ball. It shows that Taylor is constantly trying to strengthen his squad but at the minute he's happy with the amount of players on our books. Today will be a massive opportunity for us to get our first three points of the season and build momentum ahead of Monday's eagerly-anticipated trip to Barnet, where we'll be reunited with some old friends. However, mindful of the strain put on the young players by playing twice in three days, Taylor could make some alterations either today or Monday. We haven't played for a week though and he's likely to stick with the same side that only narrowly went down to high-flying Halifax, because judging by that performance the players are really starting to gel more. Hartlepool United are going to be a tough team to play; they're a side with a new manager since we last met and almost fresh side. Good players have come in and out but their signing of Liam Noble was arguably the best in the entire National League. The talented and experienced midfielder knows how to infiltrate the play and thread good passes in behind the defence. He shone while with Forest Green and is definitely the man to watch out for today. Other than that, they have prolific forward Niko Muir amongst their ranks after taking a gamble on the 40-goal Hendon forward, and so far it's paid off with him netting twice in five games. They also possess a brilliant goalkeeper in Scott Loach who was single-handedly responsible for Dagenham somehow losing 1-0 in the North-East last September. They have a number of good players, but also won't be relishing the challenge of facing pacy Reynolds and Kandi. Hartlepool's only win of the campaign came against Maidenhead last weekend but they were ran close by the basement side, offering Dagenham hope that they can edge it against the Pools today. A 95th-minute leveller also condemned them to just a draw at Braintree Town. Those two teams certainly aren't better than us so if they can push the Pools far then so can we. Other than that, they've drawn against Maidstone and Harrogate, while losing to a last-minute Corey Whitely goal for Ebbsfleet. This is Dagenham's opportunity to gain a reward for their efforts recently. The young players have done themselves massively proud with a number of courageous displays and it's about time we got the points to match. there's no reason why we can't be out of the relegation zone later today. COYD There have been few places more miserable to visit in recent years than Halifax, with our visits to the MBI Shay Stadium being marred with instances of severe misfortune, from our 2016 FA Cup exit to last year's infuriating last-gasp postponement. As the Daggers return for an away game which seems synonymous with anger and frustration, Peter Taylor will not only be looking to end our bad luck in West Yorkshire, but indeed his own this season.
An incident during Tuesday's trip to Aldershot Town epitomised Dagenham's season so far with such perfection and accuracy. Trailing 2-1 deep into injury time having reignited hope through Kandi's emphatic volley, the Daggers broke forward for what was their last chance, and as an onrushing Lamar Reynolds clipped the ball past the advancing Mannion in the hosts' goal, most in the ground thought he'd salvaged a dramatic point. That was until the linesman ruled the seemingly legitimate goal out. Through a combination of refereeing mistakes and sloppy errors, Dagenham were consigned to 23rd place following on from three similarly irksome results. Even before kick-off at the EBB Stadium in midweek, they should've been sitting on seven points which would've lifted them to the lofty heights of the play-off positions. However, such are the tight margins in football and especially at this level, that they instead only had a solitary point to show for their efforts and were already embroiled in a challenge. The opening game of the season saw a narrow reverse to Boreham Wood, where Daggers paid the price from switching off from a corner which wasn't properly cleared, but in truth failed to offer enough themselves. They made up for this with a dominant and fluid display at home to Maidstone yet somehow this also culminated in a loss after two moments of indecision. The first point duly arrived at home to Maidenhead but once again was overshadowed by the disappointment of it not being all three. However, despite a very unspectacular start, I think I echo the thoughts of all Daggers fans when I express my sheer pride and appreciation for this team. These are a group of kids of whom most only have a handful of competitive appearances, and so far they've performed with admirable maturity, apart from some moments of naivety which is to be expected. If we keep performing as we have, then soon we'll have the results to match. A rebuild of this magnitude was always going to take time. This weekend they will come up against another stern test, with Halifax guaranteed to provide a physical battle all over the pitch. Even without the imposing figure of Tom Denton, who left the Shaymen after many years this summer, they have players who can hurt us such as tricky winger Matty Kosylo and his attacking partner Dayle Southwell, who has two goals from four matches so far. In every area, Halifax will be dangerous and under Jamie Fullarton are certainly capable of defying expectations. They sit fourth in the table after as many games and only moneybags Salford City prevented them from carrying a 100% record into this weekend's clash. It's certainly no disgrace losing to a team of that calibre but before then they had beaten Braintree Town, Barrow AFC and Maidstone United all without conceding a single goal. The defeat to Salford could either kill their momentum or galvanise the team; hopefully for our boys it's the former. As far as the Daggers are concerned, there may well be more changes for this clash. Peter Taylor experimented with two different formations against Aldershot, switching from an initial 5-3-2 to a more attacking 4-3-3 which showed he's not afraid to make tactical changes even if it means abandoning his system. We could also see a debut for new signing Noel Leighton, with the 19 year-old forward signing following his release from Millwall. He joins fellow new recruits Tomi Adeloye and Alex McQueen in joining the Daggers and both have settled in quickly. Despite being largely ineffective in midweek, the duo were instrumental as we came from behind to draw with Maidenhead last weekend. Hopefully they replicate that performance and help us overcome a tricky outfit. Much like Adeloye last week, Taylor probably won't throw Leighton straight into the starting XI and may well persevere with the side that finished the game on Tuesday. However, our manager may also want to combat Halifax's physical presence by playing the imposing Adeloye, who will be looking to hold the ball up and bring others into the game. This is just one of the dilemmas Taylor now faces, especially with the return of Ben Goodliffe and his fellow defender Luke Pennell, who made his first start against the Shots. As for what formation we'll opt for is unclear, given that three at the back wasn't as successful. That said, it will take time to fully work and so he may stick with it. Alex Davey has been poor recently so may drop to his bench with the return of the aforementioned Goodliffe. The absence of Gavin Hoyte was widely questioned on Tuesday but personally I feel he could do a job as a right-sided centre-back, much like England with Kyle Walker. The most probable outcome, though, is that Taylor will name a side resembling something like this: Justham, Gordon, Goodliffe, Wright, McQueen, Reynolds, Robinson, Donovan, Kandi, Adeloye, Romain. Daggers are yet to win at the Shay in their 25-year history, losing five and drawing two of our seven competitive meetings. However, with all the disappointing things to occur in the last year, from the threat of losing our club to seeing our assets ruthlessly dismantled, isn't it time we put records like that to bed? Hopefully we put in a display to make the fans proud, and finally get a reward for our recent good displays. But, above all else, hopefully our pre-match drinks aren't interrupted at 2pm by a broad Yorkshireman informing us that the game is off. It may be too early to refer to this is a relegation six-pointer already but as two of the three teams on zero points clash at Victoria Road, there's no disputing that a win for either side could be absolutely huge, even at this stage of the season. For the Daggers, it's been a case of what could've been so far with two solid performances failing to yield the deserved points, so there's the sense that a victory today, regardless of how they perform against the Magpies, would be a reward for the courage that the players have displayed.
Similarly to Dagenham, Maidenhead's early season problems can be attributed to them losing so many key players over the summer. Just as the Daggers were forced to bid farewell to countless key faces such as Okenabirhie, Cheek and Boucs, Maidenhead were victims of their own brilliant first National League campaign. Having already lost Tarpey to Barnet throughout the season, they lost Barratt and Pritchard to Southend United and Blackpool respectively. Owing to no transfer window at this level, their preparations for the trip to the Daggers were rocked by another departure as 21 year-old defender Max Kilman made a dream move to Premier League Wolves just yesterday. However, despite suffering defeats to Gateshead and Solihull so far, Alan Devonshire gets his team organised and will be targeting his first points of the season against a Daggers outfit who he knows are in a similar position. As mentioned, we really should be on four points by now and one of our biggest problems has been the lack of centre-forward. It's obvious that we're creating chances and have lots of pace but a great striker with the ability to lay the ball off to supporting players with his strength really could be the missing link to change our fortunes, as Peter Taylor said at the forum on Thursday. Even though we didn't expect to sign somebody before this game, yesterday we finally did and it could be massive for us. So it's a big welcome to Tomi Adeloye, who's a powerful 23 year-old striker who's enjoyed previous stints at Chelmsford, St Albans and Hartlepool United having been developed at Charlton, Millwall and Stoke as a youngster. Not only will Tomi hopefully be the answer to our problems, but his mould of player could well bring the best out of Elliott Romain. Therefore, today or in the future, we may well see a change in formation to accommodate our current flat back four, our pacy wingers and now the two forwards. Tomi follows fellow recent signing Alex McQueen into the building, and in Peter Taylor's own words McQueen is a very athletic and versatile player who will be good for us. However, having signed from Finland, McQueen is currently awaiting international clearance and sadly this means he is unavailable for today's game, although he should be ready to start at Aldershot Town on Tuesday for our second away game of the season under the EBB Stadium floodlights. So what does that mean for today's lineup? Well, Elliott Justham will all but certainly retain his place in the side and his made a good start to the season, especially considering his lengthly spell out injured, although possibly could've done better with Maidstone's first goal in midweek. It's likely to be a similar story in defence as we'll stick with Gordon, Davey, Wright and Hoyte. Those four have impressed so far and will keep their places with no other real options as Goodliffe, Pennell and Nunn remain out. Taylor did confirm that Pennell may be fit enough to make the bench but not to start just yet. I imagine we won't want to disrupt the rhythm by tinkering too much so Taylor might keep the same midfield; Kandi and Reynolds out wide with Robinson and Donovan either side of them. This means Adeloye and Romain may make their first starts as a duo which could really define the trajectory of our season. So two games in and it's not time to worry yet, but a defeat today would potentially be damaging. However, if we perform even half as well as we did against Maidstone, I'm adamant we'll get the points that we deserve. Here's to another dominant display but this time coming alongside a three points. The team don't deserve to drop their heads as Taylor said, so imagine how much a win today would mean to all of us. Let's back the boys for the full 90 minutes and hopefully play our parts in how things turn out. Come on you Daggers. You've restored immense pride in this team and there's a big sense of hope around the place. Let's get that first win on the board, because we desperately deserve it. One of the various realisations that Daggers' relatively untested youngsters will confront this season is the intense and demanding nature of the Vanarama National League fixture list. Pep Guardiola, admittedly a name not usually synonymous with non-league, once expressed his frustration at playing four games in two weeks yet in the fifth tier, it's commonplace to contend with seven games per month and that's exactly the sort of gruelling schedule that the Daggers start the season with.
One of the advantages of this is that it gives teams a chance to build rapid momentum, but conversely it can also turn a blip into a fully-blown crisis. A quick turnover of matches is especially important when you're looking to shrug off a defeat, which is exactly the situation which will precede Dagenham's home clash with Maidstone on Tuesday evening - a contest which promises to be bright, lively and fast-paced. The game is our first home fixture of the season, and first under the floodlights. Hopefully the team can produce a performance as courageous as Saturday's at Boreham Wood, which laid the foundations for a campaign where we will only get stronger as our players begin to develop more. Disappointingly, the display - especially the late onslaught - failed to yield a point that we can be unlucky not to have attained, but it was a satisfying curtain raiser for Peter Taylor in his first match controlling the Daggers. Sixty miles from Hertfordshire, our next opponents Maidstone United were also getting their campaign underway with a home game against Hartlepool United, which resulted in a decent 1-1 draw. The Stones will be fairly pleased with what was a decent point and despite the expectation that they'll eventually be embroiled in a relegation battle, they boast talent such as Blair Turgott, who will cause our defence many problems. While the search for Michael Cheek's replacement striker continues, we will once again be reliant on Chike Kandi and Elliott Romain for goals, though neither of them offered much of a presence on Saturday as we failed to truly impose ourselves on Boreham Wood. We lacked movement and fluency, only coming close to scoring when we introduced Lamar Reynolds, who will be massive for us. Hopefully, Reynolds will be fit enough to make his full debut for the club against Maidstone. He, alongside a number of others, missed the season opener through injuries but upon their returns will bolster the strength of our side hugely. Ben Nunn and Luke Pennell will offer huge defensive solidity and bring some more much-needed experience to the side, while Blanchfield and Reynolds will inject energy to the team. We will already be forced into one defensive change following the sending off of centre-half Ben Goodliffe at the weekend, meaning our lineup will probably look something like this: Justham, Gordon, Pennell, Wright, Hoyte, Harfield, Robinson, Blanchfield, Reynolds, Romain, Kandi. I firmly believe that if we play like we did throughout the last twenty of Saturday's game that we can earn our first points of the season. Hopefully the team can produce another pride-inducing performance and continue our excellent home form since our return to the National League. A victory would be huge for us ahead of a winnable clash on Saturday against Maidenhead. |
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January 2024
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