VNL#33 - Bromley 1 Daggers 0
If the month of March provided shoots of potential recovery, then April has duly left them irretrievably wilted. Some would say Dagenham have merely reverted to type after a brief run of deceptively good performances, which happens frequently before mediocrity inevitably returns. This was another of those games in which the scoreline was disproportionate to the nature of the game itself. Though McMahon will undoubtedly focus on the control his side exerted, that fact in itself doesn't make us unlucky. Bromley took their chance, one of precious few that was afforded to them, yet they had already done enough. We had loads but, as always, were unable to make a single one count. Luck doesn't come into it. It's poor finishing. That the damage was done by Michael Cheek was as unsurprising as the result itself. Doing what our comparatively static number 9 should be, he ruthlessly converted the one opening that came his way, as he has done throughout a career in which he has regularly scored 15 goals a season. The only main outlier to that statistic, the one club he couldn't really hit the ground running at? Dagenham & Redbridge. Paul McCallum is suffering similar fate, although he did have many moments here where he ought to have added to his rather measly goal tally. One glaring miss in the first half, another header glanced tantalisingly wide - it just isn't happening for him here. He looks a shadow of the player who dominated defences and was a battering ram for many previous clubs. The McCallum that played against us isn't the one that's playing for us. And so, this game followed the theme of so many before it. Dagenham have countless opportunities and generally play well. The opposition, at some point, emerge from a spell of pressure and promptly go up the other end. They get a chance, it's always a big one, and it always goes in. Then Dagenham regroup, have further chances but just fall short, or so the narrative says. Then McMahon puts an interview out where he laments fine margins and declares that we're close to being the real deal. Then the same cycle repeats, as it inevitably will throughout the remainder of a season that's becoming a chore to watch. Thankfully, we get to do it all again against Eastleigh in midweek, then likewise on Saturday against Solihull. Enthusiasm, it is clear, is particularly low within the fanbase, which isn't surprising after another season of colossal failure. Our current 17th place standing makes a mockery of our initial play-off ambitions, not to mention the budget underpinning them. So, 'we go again', hoping something changes. We could start with the manager.
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