We entered 2018 with strong hope and expectation that we could make the end-of-season playoffs, before it all fell apart and the very existence of the club was jeopardised. There were catastrophically low moments, ultimately offset by euphoria of new investment, which inspired us to an incredible run of form. Players came and went but the biggest change came when Peter Taylor arrived at the helm in place of John Still.
The Daggers went from relegation certainties to comfortable mid-table security with just a few signings, earning some of our most impressive victories since we returned to the National League. Though 2018 will forever be synonymous with our financial instability, crazily it turned out to bring some of our best moments in many-a-year. The dramatic turnaround at Hartlepool, ending Salford's unbeaten home run and getting one over on Leyton Orient, at long last, all went a long way to repairing the wounds of February. So we enter 2019 with fresh optimism and a sense of security that we certainly lacked at this stage last season. Such was the chaotic and turbulent nature of the twelve months preceding it, that nothing to happen this year would really surprise me. Ultimately, though, I suspect it's the year where we'll finish around the middle of the pile and then bring in new faces to sustain a promotion challenge in 2019/20. Like last year, we begin against Leyton Orient and a win would not only preserve our excellent form over the last ten games, but would already give 2019 it's first outstanding moment. For the first time in ages, it's Orient looking to get revenge over us rather than the other way round. On Boxing Day, we came from a goal down to win 2-1. It was an incredible comeback and finally gave us the bragging rights over our London neighbours. Even if we lose today, we've proven that we're no longer at Orient's mercy but three points today would be simply magnificent. Losing our unbeaten run against Barnet was disappointing but unfortunately it was just one game too many for us, and the absence of Jack Munns and Alex McQueen proved monumental. If they're back today which I presume they are, then we'll be at our strongest and we can take on any team in those circumstances. Orient themselves will approach today with a bit of trepidation, especially as only a Dean Brill penalty save prevented a third away defeat in a row at Dover on Saturday. Only one victory from four, that being against lowly Chesterfield, makes this their worst run of form this season. They lost to Boreham Wood prior to being defeated by us; with Wrexham closing in on them at the top of the table, they need three points and this attributes a lot of pressure to today's game. Last week was somewhat of an off day for them and they should be a lot more fluid today, especially at Brisbane Road, where they've only tasted defeat once. Josh Koroma and Macauley Bonne need no introduction to us. Koroma highlighted his threat with a lovely toepoked opener, but Bonne was largely quiet and will look to impose himself more on our defence today. Whether Jobi McAnuff is available could play a crucial role in deciding the outcome as his inclusion on the wing not only bolsters their wide options, but usually allows Koroma to play in his favoured position up front. But we can damage the O's as much as they can damage us. Against Barnet we had five at the back but also two defensive midfielders so essentially had seven players sitting back, therefore we lost the midfield and this left Balanta and Wilkinson completely isolated. Munns is the centrepiece between defence and attack and gives us so much coherency. He's nippy, runs at defenders and wriggles through even the tiniest of gaps. Wilkinson is one of the best strikers in the division. He's always lively and in just seven games has established himself as both our joint-top scorer and joint-top assist-maker. His combination with Balanta is superb and has yielded so much reward in recent weeks. It's amazing to see how far we've developed and a massive part of that is our mentality when playing top teams. Harrogate, Fylde, Salford, Orient. Played 4, won 4 - no fear. Momentum may have drained somewhat but I've already seen that these boys have mental courage. It's gonna be a big day with lots of supporters making the short trip and getting behind the team. Brisbane Road has always brought us misery in the past, from FA Cup exits to suffering relegation there in 2016. Last week we shrugged off our previous disappointments against them and now we have a chance to build on that. UP THE DAGS!
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January 2024
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