Saturday 28th January 2012 – Rotherham United (H)
After a weekend in Spain, Brian Parish returned to his favourite spot at Victoria Road for the clash with Rotherham United.
Just when we thought that we may be turning a corner and hoped that we would start to get ourselves out of the mess that we found ourselves in just before Christmas, the last few games have shown that that it is going to be a long, fraught and testing time until the end of the season. Since the draw at Southend United on January 2nd, we’ve lost league games to Hereford, Crewe, and then on Tuesday night, down at Torquay. Although the overall display at Torquay had not been too bad, even that didn’t bring much comfort to those of us who had made the long trip to the south west, and it was even less helpful when we got back to Victoria Road at 3 in the morning.
There has been some debate in the last few weeks as to whether our troubles started on the very day that we beat today’s opponents in the League Two play off final, which although it now seems like a lifetime ago, was in fact only May 2010. Although we had a year in the heady heights of League One, it alerted other clubs to the ability of our players. We could see that people like Danny Green, Romain Vincelot and Paul Benson could play at a higher level, so while it was great that they hung around at the club so long, it was that day at Wembley that probably meant that the vultures would come circling, which is what they duly did. No one begrudges the opportunity for these players to move on, as it is a scenario that we readily accept when supporting a club like this. However, there are two possibilities; firstly, a win means that players are more noticeable if we are playing in a higher division, and that means that, as a smaller fish in a bigger pond, that we could find ourselves losing key personnel. The second option is that, if we had failed to win that day, perhaps they would still have gone, and then we would have been having the type of season that we are presently having, twelve months ago.
What it all boils down to is a simple question. Would we swap that glorious day out at Wembley and a year in League One, for the stability and playing in League Two, plodding along in mid-table for five years? I reckon most would opt for the day at Wembley, and to hell with what happens next. You can talk about that day out for years; a midweek game at wherever is unlikely to still be recalled twenty years down the line, whereas when Nursey scored the winner at Wembley, everyone who was there will knowingly smile and go all misty eyed at the memory.
Our record against Rotherham is, to be brutally honest, terrible. In seven previous league meetings, we’ve managed two draws, and five defeats. We have played against Rotherham at four different venues in the league and play offs, and that win at Wembley is our only victory. Our visitors arrive in a mid-table position, but they are just five points off of a play off place, which would give them a chance to return to Wembley. On the flip side, we need the points for our attempt to stay in the division. While we have suffered three straight league defeats, Rotherham have lost three out of their last four, so this could be a close run thing between two sides that have not got great recent form.
Read more here.
Tuesday 24th January 2012 – Torquay United (A)
After his exploits in Barcelona it was back to the grind of nPower League Two last night for Brian Parish as Dagenham & Redbridge made the long trip down to Devon.
If a week is reckoned to be a long time in politics, then two and a half weeks supporting a football team can be almost a lifetime. Seventeen days ago, we gained a very creditable 0-0 draw with Millwall in the FA Cup, which stretched our unbeaten run to seven games. Hopes were high then for our home game against Hereford. However, that turned out to be a total non-event, and resulted in a 0-1 defeat.
The replay at Millwall ended in a one-sided scoreline, with us suffering a 0-5 defeat, before another “six-pointer” at Crewe on the weekend.
As Dagenham Dan and I made our way out towards Espanyol v Granada on Saturday, the text messages that came through initially bought us good news as Brian Woodall put us in front. The subsequent messages weren’t so happy making though, as first Crewe equalised, and then in the last twenty minutes, they scored three further goals to win the game by the comfortable margin of 4-1. The second was the turning point, with an Ogogo back pass taking a bobble and eluding the swinging foot of goalkeeper Chris Lewington.
Most of us have seen our teams go through a dodgy patch having seemingly turned the corner, but the last week and a half has not been the best, and it has just felt like the good work put in over the Christmas games has all been undone again.
Injuries have played their part again. Kevin Maher, injured in his first training session with the club, had started to get the midfield going again, but following his injury at Southend just after New Year, we’ve gone backwards again. It’s not just down to the loss of Maher, but having to constantly change the team isn’t good, as the points had been coming when the team had been settled and barely altered.
Tonight sees the team make their third away trip in a week, this time down to the West Country to play Torquay. Two years ago, the original game had to be called off due to a frozen pitch, and those that did make the long journey for the re-arranged fixture were treated to a tepid encounter that ended 0-0. Tonight’s game was rescheduled after we reached the third round of the FA Cup, and although the coach is only about half full, those who are making the trip seem to be enjoying it.
Read more here.
Saturday 14th January 2012 – Hereford United (H)
Hope springs eternal is a familiar mantra of many football fans, but none more so this season than Brian Parish, our very own Daggers Diary author. After a great draw with Millwall last week in the cup, it was really the case of the Lord Mayor’s show leaving town as Hereford United game to East London.
If you buy a programme when you go to a game, then there will often be an article on one previous encounter between the two teams. Usually this takes the form of a crucial league win for the home side, or a memorable cup game.
The Daggers today entertain Hereford United. Mention Friday 27th February 2004 to anyone who has been following the club for less than eight years, and you will probably get a very blank look back. Mention it though to anyone who has been supporting the club longer than that, and the chances are that they will start to break out in a cold sweat, and shudder at the memory of a night that produced (for the Daggers at least) the game from hell.
In 2003, we had lost the Conference play off final to Doncaster Rovers, and during the summer that followed, most of the side that had reached the final at the Britannia Stadium left the club. There were big changes for the club at the time, not least the move to a full time playing squad. With many of that side unable to give well paying jobs, they were allowed to leave and almost a whole new team came in. Unsurprisingly, the new players took some time to adjust, but it soon became clear that we were not going to be reaching the heights of the previous few seasons, and that was most definitely a transition stage.
Read more here.
FA Cup 3rd Round – Millwall (H)
Brian Parish heads off to the early kick off in the FA Cup as Millwall come to East London accompanied by a huge police presence.
The last few weeks have been good for the Daggers. Back to back wins at home between Christmas and the New Year over Barnet and Gillingham moved us up to the heady heights of 20th in the division. On the Bank Holiday Monday, our fourth game of a hectic schedule saw us visit Roots Hall, and a game against Southend United. I had chosen some time back to give this one a miss, and instead attend West Ham. The text message from Dagenham Dan at the end of the game to say that we had drawn 1-1 put a spring in the step (although we dropped back down to 22nd), which was especially needed after watching the Hammers laboured win over Coventry.
The good run of form continued on Tuesday night, in an Essex Senior Cup tie at Brightlingsea Regent. A side containing a few first team players won 1-0 to secure a place in the semi finals for the second time in three years. While the county cup may not figure high on the priority list, it was good to see players like Mark Arber making his return from injury (and scoring the only goal), as well as Rob Edmans. Edmans was a summer signing from Chelmsford City, but is actually yet to play a first team game due to a broken leg which was sustained before he signed for us. It was most definitely a risk, but one that hopefully will pay off for us in the future.
All this good form leads us to today, and the third round of the FA Cup. For many, this is when the competition starts, as all the clubs currently playing in the top two divisions enter the tournament. However, away from the privileged of the premier league, we all know that it actually starts in August, although none of the teams that started back in the summer survive in the competition.
Our record in the FA Cup over the last couple of years in mixed to say the least. As a conference club, we reached the third round three years in a row, which actually culminated in a appearance in the fourth round in 2003. A last minute goal by Zema Abbey at Carrow Road for Norwich put them into the fifth round at our expense, although it had been a heroic performance in front of around three thousand travelling fans. Since promotion in 2007 though, we’ve only made it this far once, and that was in the first season up. A trip to Southend ended with a 5-2 defeat, and our goalkeeper Tony Roberts achieving what must have been an FA Cup first; the first keeper to score in the competition (in 2001), and then to be sent off in the opposition penalty area. Since then, our record has not been great.
Although we have made through to round three, our only win came after extra time at Bath City in the first round replay. The two games against Walsall in the last round ended in draws, and if you want a stat here, then it is that our last win in 90 minutes in any FA Cup tie (be it the original game or replay) came on Tuesday 18th November, 2008 against Hereford. Since then, we have played eight, and the only win was that game at Bath. Read more here.
Christmas – Bury and Gillingham (H)
Brian Parish starts to see the green shoots of recovery at Dagenham & Redbridge.
In the not too distant past, football used to be played on Christmas day. More recently, teams used to play the same sides twice over the festive period, and still do in the conference and lower. But in the top division and throughout the football league, the idea of playing more than once around Christmas time has become more and more controversial in the last few years. The idea of a winter break has been put forward on more than one occasion in the last few years. Twelve months ago, when almost the entire country was buried under varying amounts of snow, the idea was put forward that we should shut the leagues down for Christmas, as is common place throughout Europe.
This year, we’ve basked in unusually high temperatures for Christmas, which would have made the shut down look a bit daft. And that’s the thing with the british weather; we all moan about it, but it is the unpredictability that makes a shut down so difficult to call. I appreciate that it may be difficult for some to understand why we don’t follow the rest of the continent (perhaps this is why the national team doesn’t do so well in tournaments, as they’re all knackered from playing for nine/ten months without a pause), but in an era where traditions are being eroded from the game, it is comforting to know that most clubs will still be playing on Boxing Day.
Read more here.
Monday 26th December 2011, Dagenham & Redbridge v Barnet, Victoria Road
This is about the closest we get to a derby game in the football league. I don’t think I really noticed the rivalry when both clubs were in the conference, but it has certainly been stepped up a couple of notches since we have started meeting in the football league. Our first visit as a league club occurred four years ago, and as Barnet cruised to a 3-1 win, they chanted that “Dagenham are going down”, to the tune of EastEnders. At the time, it was probably accurate, but we didn’t and today we are still proud members of the football league, although it is looking tough to maintain that status.
Read more here.
Saturday 17th December 2011 – Burton Albion away
Christmas is generally regarded as a time when miracles happen. For a team that has lost nine league games in a row, a miracle would probably be a game where they managed to avoid defeat. Despite this run of “form”, one thread on the main Daggers forum this week seemed to suggest that the majority of the posters want the manager to stay in charge. There are those however, that don’t want the miracles that have happened in the recent past, to be tainted by consecutive relegations.
During the week, we had the small matter of a replay in the FA Cup up at Walsall. General opinion from those who attended was that the game wasn’t the best, but after two hours of goal-less football, the game was settled by a penalty shoot-out. For the second time this season, we won a penalty competition, this time by 3-2. If only we could play each game with a shoot out at the end; we would be champions by now…
Today though, we have another league game, and it’s a trip up the M1 and A54 to Burton-on-Trent. After managing to lose a game where we had led (albeit for less than a minute) last weekend against Port Vale, today’s trip to Burton Albion is being well attended; ok, as well attended as a game the week before Christmas can be. The coach is about three quarters full, which is good going given that we now have eight days left to the festive period.
Our record at Burton’s Pirelli Stadium isn’t actually that bad. Our one visit in the football league in early 2010 ended in us winning 1-0, and before that, we won our last Conference visit, and drew the year before that. We even won our last two visits to their previous home ground, Eton Park. I know that our past record away to Burton counts for nothing (they are currently fifth in the division, seven points off of automatic promotion), but with our recent run of results, you have to clutch at any straws that you have.
Read more here.
Saturday 10th December 2011 – Port Vale – home
Today is the last home game before Christmas, and we entertain Port Vale in what has now become the latest in a long, long line of must win games.
During the week, we sold Damien Scannell to Eastleigh, who are currently playing in the conference south. With no fee involved, it means that the move has freed up some space on the squad list and also some wages. With one of the longest squad lists in the division, it has just removed one name from a list that is pushing forty places.
Port Vale are currently in 12th place, and have won a third of their nine away games. Their two previous visits to Victoria Road have both ended 1-1, which has prompted more than one fan to bet on the same result again today. After the shambles that was the “performance” up at Accrington, last weekend saw an improved display in the cup against Walsall, although the 1-1 score means that we will need to trek up to the Banks Stadium on Tuesday evening. Cheaper than usual admission and coach travel means that more people should be encouraged to travel, although time constraints at work mean that I won’t be able to attend. The winners will be at home in the third round to Millwall, and from speaking to a few fellow daggers in the subsequent days, a defeat on Tuesday wouldn’t be the worst thing that could happen. If we were to lose, then at least we would then be able to go to Torquay, instead of having it re-arranged for a Tuesday night.
Read more here.
Saturday 26th November 2011 – Accrington Stanley away
After the cautious optimism generated by the much improved performance against the League Two leaders Southend United last weekend, midweek bought us the pleasure of a trip down to Bath City for a replay in the first round of the FA Cup. A lack of available time off from work meant that I watched the game in the company of quite a few other Daggers fans in the club house at Victoria Road. It’s bad enough at times watching your team when you are actually at the game, but for me, watching them on the t.v. is far, far worse. Being taken to extra time may not have helped the nerves, but the eventual outcome was a much needed win, a boost to the coffers and another home tie in the next round. The singing that rung round the hall for the last few minutes of the game revealed the relief felt by all, although I am still not sure what is achieved by singing at the television screen.
This week has been another busy week for us in the transfer market. Having boosted our squad with the loan signings of Mickey Spillane and Christian Montano, we’ve bought in another two to help out. The first was central defender Exodus Geohaghon, who joined us on loan from Darlington, with a view to a permanent move in January. The second new recruit of the week was Adam Cunnington, this time from Kettering Town. Like Geoghaghon, he is has joined with a view to the move being made permanent when the transfer window reopens. A striker, he has already scored 5 goals in 12 starts with the Poppies in the Conference National, so he will be a useful addition to our front line.
After the midweek cup game, today sees us return to the league, and a trip up to Lancashire to play Accrington Stanley. Although it was at least twenty five years ago since the advert was last broadcast, when I have been asked where we are going this weekend, it’s bought the same response from almost everyone; “Accrington Stanley – who are they?” – the famous slogan from the Milk Marketing Board’s advertising campaign featuring Ian Rush from the 1980′s.
Read more here.
Saturday 19th November 2011 – Southend United at home
Brian Parish continues to believe that Dagenham & Redbridge will be all right at the end of the season. But a visit of the league leaders was hardly the tonic they needed on Saturday.
Missing one of your team’s games is not a nice decision to have to make, especially if things aren’t going well. Last week, Dagenham Dan and myself had to make this very choice; we could either miss our home game against Bath City in the FA Cup, or travel to Wembley to watch England v Spain. In the end, the national team won out (and won the game as well), so while we were watching England beat the World Champions, we were sitting at Wembley with the knowledge that the Daggers had been held at home by the team bottom of the Conference, and now had a replay to contend with.
As soon as the final whistle had gone at Victoria Road, Dan was looking at travel options for the replay, but with train travel not being the cheapest form of transport in this country, driving looked to be the firm favourite. However, that choice was soon discarded when he discovered what time he would have to leave, and so when it was announced later in the week that ESPN were going to show the replay, we both decided that we would watch the game in the company of our fellow Daggers at the club house. That could be fun…
Read more here.
Saturday 5th November 2011 – Dagenham & Redbridge v Shreswbury Town
It’s not been the best of starts to our season. Aside from the long run of defeats, there is, for the first time in some time, an air of discontent among the supporters. There is a sense among some at least that the manager has taken us as far as he can. However, there is a second camp, and those are of the opinion that there should be no way that he can be removed from his post, especially after all he has done for the club. Given our current run of form, most clubs would be almost in open revolt, but that doesn’t seem to be the case at the moment. If it continues however, for say another half a dozen or so games, then it may start to change.
Read more here.
Saturday 22nd October 2011 – Dagenham & Redbridge v Aldershot Town
Having missed last weekends game against Plymouth (which you can read about when I actually get round to sending it over to TBIR), I am attending my first Daggers game in a few weeks. Since the last update (which was almost a month ago, and followed the defeat up at Northampton), we finally managed to register another win, thanks to a last gasp goal from Richard Rose against Crewe on October 1st. What made this more important was that we actually won the game after being a goal down. Ok, the lead for Crewe only lasted about 66 seconds, but it would have been easy to give this one up. Instead, the team finally got some luck and were able to get the win that we had needed.
Three days later, we played Southend United in a JPT game. Despite estimates of a crowd of less than a thousand, around 2300 were in the ground to see the division leaders (at the time) gain a 3-1 win. Southend played well on the night, particularly the centre back Bilel Mohsni. Obviously Southend didn’t think he was that great, as we saw him later chasing after the coach as they pulled away from Victoria Road.
Read more here.
Saturday 24th September 2011 – Northampton Town v Dagenham and Redbridge
After two disappointing home games, it’s time for the Daggers to hit the road again, and today it’s a trip up to Northampton. Despite my protestations that I wouldn’t be attending an away game until at least November, I gave in late on Thursday afternoon, and managed to secure a lift to the game with Dan. Part of being a fan is hoping that (even when the evidence points to the contrary), you just feel that the corner is about to be turned and that this will be the game that launches your team up the table to the glory that is inevitably waiting.
Not that many of those making the journey north have much in the way of confidence, but hope does spring eternal, even when your team hasn’t won in a month, and can’t seem to score more than one goal a game.
Read more here.
Dagenham & Redbridge v Morecambe – Saturday 17th September
It’s been an uneasy few days since the last home game against Oxford. There has been a lot of criticism of the team, and in particular, team captain Mark Arber. Voted the League 2 player of the month for August, he seems to have been singled out for some of the more vitriolic comments that have been posted on various online forums. This has got so bad that John Still used his interview on the Daggers Player service to defend his captain;
The problem is that the defensive side of the team hasn’t been too bad, with eight conceded in eight games. Ok, all players have games where they don’t play their best, and although there have been moments this season already where Arber has misjudged things, he was still good enough to win the vote from an independent panel regarding the player of the month. Normally we would celebrate the fact that the club is being recognised in this way (like we did when John Still won his manager of the month awards), but for whatever reason, this award has not been greeted in the same way. Although some may not agree with it, it is not an excuse for some of the stuff that has been written on either twitter or facebook, and those should be totally ashamed of themselves. As the saying goes, it is better to keep quiet and have the world think you are a fool, than to open your mouth and confirm it.
Read more here.
Dagenham & Redbridge v Oxford United – Tuesday 13th September
The last few games have provided a reminder if any were needed, that this is not going to be the easy ride that some may have hoped for. After the draw at home to Torquay at the end of August, we lost our next game at Hereford, and then continued our poor record against Rotherham (in the league at least) by losing last weekend up at the Don Valley. In between, we managed to maintain our unbeaten JPT record against Leyton Orient, when following a 1-1 star after 90 minutes we won on penalties, by 14-13. Goalscoring is proving to be a bit of a problem (though not in penalty shoot outs, it seems), with just five goals scored in the opening seven games. Defensively we aren’t too bad, but it’s up front that we have a bit of a problem.
Read more here.
Saturday 27th August 2011 – Dagenham & Redbridge v Torquay United
Today marks the third home game of the campaign, and it’s against the side that lost to Stevenage in last season’s League Two play off final, Torquay United.
Torquay are starting their third year back in the Football League, having spent two years in the Conference. Beaten in the 2008 play off semi finals by Exeter City, they secured their promotion twelve months later via the same play off route, this time against Cambridge United at Wembley. In their first season outside the League, they did manage to reach Wembley, but in the FA Trophy final; the game was just a week after the play off semi defeat, and they lost at the national stadium as well, by1-0 to Ebbsfleet.
Read more here.
Tuesday 16th August 2011 – Dagenham & Redbridge v Swindon Town
Despite having no experience as a manager, wherever Paolo Di Canio goes this season with his Swindon Town, the media are sure to be there, perhaps waiting for that latin temperament to boil over. Brian Parish went along to see the Robins play Dagenham earlier this week.
“We may only be in the second week of the season, but the games come thick and fast and tonight marks our fourth game of the season already. After the joy of an away win on the opening day, we’ve suffered a heavy defeat at Bournemouth in the League Cup, before losing in the league for the first time at the weekend to AFC Wimbledon. But we already have a chance to put that right against a team that were relegated alongside us from League 1 last season, Swindon Town.
We are used to seeing a few West Ham shirts at our home games, but tonight, there could be more than usual, despite the fact that they are playing away at Watford. And the reason for this is the presence of one man on the Swindon Town bench; Paolo Di Canio.
When he signed for West Ham in January 1999, he was not exactly English football’s most popular person. Banned for twelve games for pushing referee Paul Alcock (and the resulting comedy fall), there were plenty who wouldn’t touch him with a barge pole. However, Harry Redknapp got him to West Ham and the rest is history. The scorer of one of the finest goals you will ever see (against Wimbledon in March 2000), it could be argued that Di Canio found his home in East London. Indeed, he still talks very fondly of his time at the club, and even treated viewers to a sight of his West Ham tattoo during a recent interview with Mark Clemmitt. Put simply, the man is a West Ham legend.
Which is great if they get to play at the Boleyn Ground any time soon, but this is Victoria Road, and the sight of other team’s jerseys in the home section annoys me. As I have ranted here before, I can cope with it on kids, but it’s when you get adults doing it that it frustrates me. Read more on the evening here.
Saturday 13th August 2011 – Dagenham and Redbridge v AFC Wimbledon
After our opening day win up at Macclesfield, we have our first home game of the season, and it’s against the winners of last season’s Conference play off final, AFC Wimbledon.
Much will have already been written about the rise and rise of the club. Formed in 2002, it’s been almost a continual upward curve for the club formed from the ashes of the original, which as I am sure that all of you are aware, were allowed to move to Milton Keynes, to form the MK Dons. For a club that has been in existence for nine years to make it all the way from the Combined Counties League to the Football League is pretty remarkable, and it’s a testament to all the players that will have pulled on the blue shirt since 2002, as well as the managers that the club has got this far in such a short space of time.
The opening day game must have been a proud moment for all those that had followed the Dons since the formation; however a last minute defeat probably wasn’t in the script, and so they will be looking to gain their first win of the season at our expense; as a Daggers fan, I hope that they have to wait just a few more days. Read more here.
Saturday 5th August – Macclesfield Town v Dagenham & Redbridge – Moss Rose
After the relaxing atmosphere of pre-season, yesterday marked the start of the 2011/12 Football League season. When we got promoted to the league four years ago, we would have been happy to have lasted a year or two before heading back to the Conference. But here we are, still in the Football League for a fifth year. Last season was good fun, and although we were relegated, we could at least sit back and bask in the fact that, for one year at least, we were in the same division as some big names of the not too recent past.
Of course, now that we have had that year in League One, there is for the first time in quite a few years, a level of expectation that is not normal for our little club. After all, if we can get promotion from this division once, then why can’t we do it again?
A quick look through the division shows a few teams that have missed out on promotion in the last few years (Torquay and Rotherham having lost the last two play off finals), plus arguably the biggest club in the division, Bradford City, who surely can’t be as bad again as they have been the last few years.
Read more from Macclesfield here.
Pre-season round up – July/August 2011
Pre-season can be a bit of a weird time. You could be keen to see how the new signings are getting on in the team, or to see those who you normally sit or stand with and haven’t seen since the end of the previous campaign. Alternatively, these games can be a bit of a non-event, with some clubs using these games to see how various players perform before offering them a contract.
Normally with the Daggers, we have two or three home pre-season friendlies to warm us up for the forthcoming league fixtures. This year, we had three home matches spread over a week. A week before the season started, we hosted Stevenage (alas no longer married to Borough), prior to that a visit from West Ham, but today it’s Leyton Orient who are here. Having played them four times last season (with both teams winning one each, and two draws), we know the opposition quite well. Our games with Orient are normally quite entertaining to watch, so hopes were high for a good game.
The club had reduced the prices for the pre-season games, as attendances in the past had been a bit on the low side. With terrace prices set at £10 for Orient and Stevenage, and £12 for West Ham, the club had produced an offer in which, if you bought tickets for all three games, then you could have the lot for £25. If anyone was attending all three, then it’s not such a bad deal.
Of course, these games are not attended by everyone. There are several that stand near us for league games that won’t attend friendly games, as they see no point in them. There are times when I can see what they mean, but last year we had two good games against Norwich City and an Arsenal XI.
Saturday 23rd July, Dagenham & Redbridge v Leyton Orient, Victoria Road
The first surprise is that our normal keeper, Tony Roberts isn’t playing, but then he is not even warming up, so it’s possible that he is not actually at the stadium. The number two, Chris Lewington is out there, along with James Shea, who I am reliably informed was at Arsenal.
If the club were expecting a big crowd for a local derby, then they were going to be disappointed. There was lots of room on the terraces, and in the seats at kick off. The league game attracted over four thousand last year, but as the game kicks off, it looks as though there is about a quarter of that in the ground.
The first chance of the game is a free kick from Damien McCrory; his effort is close enough to bring an “ooh” from the crowd. However, that’s the limit of the excitement for the next half an hour. Shea has not been troubled, and as the half draws to a close, there are a couple more efforts on goal, but nothing to trouble the Orient keeper either. So far, it’s been an eventful first half, and I am starting to think that those who miss these games might be on to something.
Just after the break, Orient have their first decent chance, but the shot goes over the bar. The biggest cheer of the afternoon is when the attendance is announced; 961. The game is still not getting going, and with the substitutions occupying the next fifteen minutes, it’s drifting into a dull, 0-0 draw.
The only excitement comes in the last five minutes. First is a last ditch tackle by Mark Arber on Dean Cox as the forward is about to shot, and then a last minute flare up involving Josh Scott and one of the Orient centre halves. It’s a bit out of keeping with the preceding 89 minutes, and although they are trying to join heads, the referee takes them to one side, tells them to stop being so stupid, and lets the game continue.
Three minutes added on, with the referee clearly hoping that something is going to happen, but it doesn’t. Once the whistle goes, it brings to an end a fairly insipid game, and I am starting to wonder if there is a good enough reason to attend the next one against West Ham.
Tuesday 26th July, Dagenham & Redbridge v West Ham United, Victoria Road
One of the regular sights at our home games over the last few years has been people turning up in West Ham shirts. Kids, I can sort of understand, but I would have thought that some of the adults would have known better. After all, you wouldn’t turn up at a West Ham game wearing a shirt of another English club (unless they were actually playing). It’s a topic which has in the past provoked several discussions on the D&R forum, but still they turn up.
Tonight, at least West Ham are actually the visitors. In the past, a full first team has been promised, only for the reserves or youth team to actually show up, so the pre-match chat is about which team will actually attend.
The reason why Tony Roberts wasn’t named or playing on Saturday is revealed in the “big announcement” at exactly 7.30pm; he is going to retire. He has been training the goalkeepers at Arsenal on a part time basis for the past few years but now has the opportunity to go full time, and as he says in his speech to the Daggers fans, he turns 42 next week, and this is a big opportunity for him. So, we lose our longest serving player, and almost the last link with the Conference winning team of 2006-07. Not only that, but he is the club’s record appearance holder, and although we all hoped that he would stay for one more year, his reaction at the end of the Peterborough game at the end of last season (if looked at now) showed that he was probably thinking of calling it a day.
Such is the size of the crowd trying to get in to see this game that the kick off was been put back fifteen minutes, to 8pm. Although tickets have been available in advance, there is still the option to pay at the gate, and it would appear that many have taken this option. The teams re-emerge to do some extra warming up, while five cheerleaders go through their routine in the middle of the pitch. Finally, just before 8pm, the teams are lining up for the pre-match handshakes, and we are soon under way.
The West Ham website had several first team players in the squad for tonight, and we are not disappointed, with Internationals Rob Green, Carlton Cole, and Jack Collison all starting. There is also a debut for the new signing from Bolton Wanderers, Matt Taylor, who appears on the left hand side of midfield.
The game starts and within a few minutes, it’s already much better than Saturday’s encounter with Orient. West Ham are in charge, but the Daggers are not being completely outplayed. The half seems to fly past, and there are chances for both teams. However, the only one that is taken arrives ten minutes before the break. A diagonal ball from the West Ham left back is played onto the left hand side of the Daggers defence. Carlton Cole is at this point being marked by Femi, but Cole turns the defender while the ball is in the air, lets it bounce, and then shoots right footed past Lewington to put the visitors 1-0 up. It’s a good goal, and gets some applause from the home fans, while those supporting West Ham are cheering.
Cole has another chance a couple of minutes later, but he shoots wide, and so, when the teams disappear off for the changing rooms, West Ham are still 1-0 up.
As is the case with these games, there are several changes at half time, and then more throughout the second half. Both teams are still pressing forward, but the Daggers are certainly getting more into the game, and the best chance falls to Josh Scott. Just after the hour, he is through on goal, but his shot is just wide. Elito also has a go from distance, but Rob Green is also in good form, and gathers almost everything quite comfortably. From the Daggers point of view, crosses are just that bit too close to the goalkeeper, and the shots are not really testing enough, but a decent crowd of just over 4,000 have witnessed a good game. There is a brief “handbag” moment between the two number 21’s towards the end, but once that is sorted out, the game carries on for another couple of minutes before the referee brings the nights events to a conclusion.
West Ham will have been pleased that they have registered another win, and are progressing well under the new manager. After the game, Matt Taylor was reported on the West Ham website as saying that Dagenham gave them a good test. That’s good for us as well, and although we may not have picked up a result from the two home games so far, at least from tonight there is some cause for optimism,. Next up is Stevenage on Saturday.
Saturday 30th July, Dagenham & Redbridge v Stevenage, Victoria Road
When we were in the Conference, Stevenage were always one of the teams to watch, and almost every year, were being touted as the potential champions. It was only in 2010 though that they finally made it, and surprised more than a few by achieving consecutive promotions. However, given the excellent stadium and fan base, it’s not a massive surprise to many who have followed them from the Conference. Hopefully they will do themselves proud in League One, and surprise a few again; personally, I reckon that they might do quite well.
Following on from two home games in a week, the car park is half empty when I arrive at the ground, and in the following couple of hours before kick off, it doesn’t get much better. With respect to our opponents today, it’s not the greatest draw and the attendance of 625 reflects this.
Within seven minutes, we are one down. James Shea, starting in place of Lewington comes for a floated free kick that he doesn’t actually reach, and it’s headed home at the back post. It’s not a good start, and the first mistake that I have seen from him. In the summer sun, the game gets going again, and isn’t as bad as last Saturday, but it’s a week before the season, and clearly managers don’t want their players getting injured before the real stuff starts next week.
The half lumbers on to the break (including a drinks interval at around 25 minutes), and the players disappear for their 15 minute sit down in the dressing rooms. The discussions around range from if anyone is travelling to Macclesfield for the first game (most are) to if Graham Westley has a wedding reception to go to in the evening, neatly attired as he is in a grey suit.
As the teams emerge for the second half, the only substitutions are the referee’s kit, which has changed from light blue to a lime green. The second half is better than the first, with chances for both teams, although it’s Stevenage who score again just after the hour. What looks like a poor corner is flicked on towards the back post where it’s turned in past a fairly static defence.
From the hour mark, the substitutions start. The Daggers make three in a couple of minutes, and it has an almost immediate impact, with chances for Reed, Walsh and Woodhall, but they still can’t make the breakthrough. One of the best players on view, Darius Charles is replaced Stevenage with twenty minutes to go, and the game is heading for a comfortable away win, when Woodhall scores for the home side. Alex Osborn squares the ball to Jake Reed, whose shot is saved by Julian in the Stevenage goal, but Woodhall is there to turn the ball home. There are a couple of chances to alter the score, but the away team hold on, even resorting to keeping the ball in the corner for the last minute of the game, which is the first time I can remember it happening in a friendly.
The three home games have provided a few answers, but it looks as though we aren’t going to know any more about them until at least half a dozen league games have been played. If we start well, then we can hope that the season might go well. If we don’t though, then it could be a long, hard season. Within a month, we might have a better idea of how the year is going to go.Same ground, different team – Tuesday 19th July 2011
After what has seemed like an age ago, I will finally get to watch another Daggers game. Since the last game of last season at Peterborough, we’ve lost a couple of our most influential players of the last few seasons. Danny Green (whose last action in a daggers shirt was getting sent off against Carlisle in April) moved south of the river to join Charlton Athletic. I think most had accepted that he would be off, given that he had been excellent since joining us in 2009, but it’s never a nice thing to lose one of your best players.
Another vital player was Romain Vincelot, our goal scoring right back turned central midfielder, who in the last week has joined Brighton and Hove Albion for their return to the Championship. Like Green, Vincelot scored quite a few goals for us last year, and was another member of the play off winning team in 2010. Although he was only at the club for eighteen months (he joined after a trial, being turned down by Brighton prior to joining us), he won many fans with his outstanding work for us, and his knack of getting vital goals. His goal-scoring header at Colchester last September (when he was knocked out cold for his trouble) cemented his place in the affections of the Daggers fans, and he will be another big loss for us this year. But, and this is what has happened in the past, John Still has gone out, and found players who are more than capable of replacing them. Both Green and Vincelot arrived at the club this way, and so although we are sad to see them go, it’s good to see that they will be continuing their careers at good clubs. They go with the best wishes of all daggers fans.
Our pre-season campaign began last week at Boreham Wood. A comfortable 2-0 was followed by an “XI” team winning 4-0 at Grays Athletic, before another first team outing on Saturday (this time at Mangotsfield Town) ended in another 4-0 win. However, the winning run ended with a 3-1 defeat for another “XI” team at Maidenhead, and so tonight will be seen by some as a chance to get back to winning ways. Various other commitments have prevented me from attending any of these games, but that changes tonight, and it’s at a team that was very familiar to us while we were in the Conference; Ebbsfleet United.
Except that, when we did play them prior to our promotion in 2007, they were Gravesend & Northfleet. Like us, the club you see today was formed from a merger, but unlike ours, Ebbsfleet’s happened less than a year after the Second World War had ended. The two original clubs had been present in the area since the end of the nineteenth century, and it wasn’t until 2007 that the change of name happened. Our last game in the Football Conference was at home to the Fleet, and since then, much has happened, most notably the MyFootballClub deal.
In the latter months of 2007, the club was taken over by MyFootballClub.com. According to the history on the club’s website, this involved paid up members of the website basically having a say in every facet of the club, from budgets, to team selection and who should be retained and sold; basically any pc football management game, but in real life. It seemed to work well at first, with the club winning the FA Trophy at Wembley in 2008, but (and this is directly from their site) “with the fall in MyFC membership in February 2009, costs needed to be slashed and the Fleet faced an uncertain future”. The future bought relegation to the Conference South, although last season was a promotion winning one (via the play offs), and Ebbsfleet are back in the top flight of non-league football.
Tuesday 19th July, Ebbsfleet United v Dagenham & Redbridge, Stonebridge Road
The first thing that hits us as we arrive at the ground is that it’s almost exactly the same since our last visit, almost five years ago. The away terrace is the only uncovered part of the ground, and we’ve been here when it’s poured down. Tonight there is rain forecast, but not until after the game. Even so, we take the opportunity to walk around the ground, and stroll past the club shop and clubhouse before settling on our spot for the first half; outside the burger bar. The burgers aren’t bad, and Dan reckons he could eat a second, but settles on a portion of chips instead.
Our spot gives a prime view of the opening goal, after eight minutes. For the first seven, the home side are on top, but a long ball from one of our centre backs, Moses Swaibi is neatly controlled by Gavin Tomlin, and from the edge of the area, he plants the ball past Welch to put us 1-0 up. There aren’t too many Daggers fans that have made the trip, so it’s not greeted with a huge outpouring of emotion, but it is politely applauded.
Ebbsfleet though continue to push and go close on a few occasions. Danny Sambridge in the Daggers goal has to be alert more than once as the home team try to get back on level terms before the break. Tomlin is put through on goal again a few minutes after scoring, but his effort is saved by Welch this time, with the defence trying to get back to help out. Despite the home side having plenty of possession, they are not getting the luck in front of goal.
As if to emphasize this, mid-way through the half, we get a penalty, after new signing Medy Elito is bought down by Duncan. It’s a clumsy challenge and was probably the correct decision by the referee. It’s not the only correct decision though, as Welch makes a good save to his right from a weak penalty, taken by Elito. Having lost our regular penalty taker in Green, we are on the look out for a new one, and on this evidence, it isn’t going to be this one. For myself and Dan though, it’s a third penalty in three pre-season games. By the time half time comes around, we are wondering how long this run will last.
The rest of the half follows the same pattern, with the home side pressing but not achieving too much, and with us seemingly content to try and play on the break. At half time, we are still 1-0 up.
While the players make their way from the pitch, we make our way from our tea bar spot to the away terrace. One of the best things about pre-season games is the ability to switch ends at half time, and we take full advantage of this. The terrace is not exactly packed (there is probably about twenty of us there), so we can spread out.
There is one change at the break, with Arber replacing Scott Doe, but it’s the home team that continue to attack. Just before an hour has been played, Ebbsfleet finally get their equaliser, when Fakinos manages to round Sambridge and squeeze the ball home from a narrow angle, beating a defender on the line. It’s not as though it’s not deserved.
It seems to spur the Daggers back into life for a few minutes, but slowly Ebbsfleet start to gain the upper hand again, and just a few minutes after coming on, Liam Enver-Marum scores from a rebound after Sambridge has made another good close range stop.
There is some good wing play from DJ Green on our left hand side, and Elito is replaced on the right hand side by Scannell. While this rejuvenates our attack, Ebbsfleet almost seal the win their performance might just deserve, when a free kick from Clint Easton defeats Sambridge, but not the base of the post. That was with three minutes to go, and would have tied the game up but instead, in the last minute, Damien Scannell gets to the line, crosses low into the six yard area where Josh Scott is on hand to tap home. Ebbsfleet have enough time to restart the game before the referee blows the whistle for full time.
It’s tough on the home side, but a failure to take their chances has cost them their winning start to pre-season. The crowd of 462 have seen a decent game, and it’s ended just as the rain has started to fall. For the Daggers, it’s been a worthwhile game, with several new players getting another game under their belts. However, we all know that pre-season is never a sure-fire way to gauge how the league games will go, and so we wait to see what the next game (at home to Leyton Orient) gives us by way of a guide to the forthcoming campaign.
90 minutes from being immortal – Saturday 7th May 2011
So it all comes down to the last day of the season. Three teams are trying to avoid that last relegation spot, and continue to play in this division next year. Notts County are at home to Brighton, Walsall are away to Southampton, and we have the relatively short hop northwards on the M11 to Peterborough, who have managed to score just the 101 goals this season. That’s just in league games by the way.
Most of us have been here before, and by that I mean, having your teams future decided on the last game. Although we may have been though it all before, it still doesn’t make it any easier to cope with, and the last week at work has not been the best. To be honest, I’ll be glad when it’s all over, one way or the other.
It’s a time to dig out the lucky underpants, or whatever you think is going to bring your team luck, but none of it matters of course, because ultimately it comes down to the eleven wearing your teams shirt, the eleven from the other team, and the match officials, on whose decisions the course of your fate rests. Blimey, that was deep.
Those travelling today are a mixture of nervous, anxious, and just plain down right panicky. There are several coaches full of Daggers fans going to this one, which means that at least there will be plenty of support, and the hope is that whatever happens, the backing will continue until the final whistle, even if the day goes against us.
Some are hoping that our hosts will be taking it easy for this one, as they have already secured their play off place, and can not advance any further up the division. However, they could yet lose fourth place to MK Dons, so they will not want to lose home advantage in the second leg of the play offs.
The last few years have been interesting for Peterborough. Promoted from League 2 in 2008, they repeated the trick in League 1 a year later, which was probably a step too far as they were relegated last year. While they have been scoring bucket-loads of goals, they’ve also shown that they can let them in as well, and they have the second worst defensive record in the division. This didn’t help us recently though, as they managed to win 2-0 at Victoria Road about a month ago.
Saturday 7th May, Peterborough United v Dagenham & Redbridge, London Road
On Monday afternoon, one of the other teams at the bottom, Plymouth Argyle, played at home to Southampton. At the same time Film4 was showing “The Poseidon Adventure” (you must have seen it before?), and so during the advert breaks I was checking the score from a game of importance to all of the teams around the relegation zone. For Argyle though, things didn’t go well, so while Gene Hackman was trying to save the remaining survivors of the upturned ship, Southampton were busy sinking Plymouth’s hopes of staying in League One.
All this meant that, going into the final round of games, there is now just one relegation place left to fill. Swindon and Plymouth are already gone, and while Bristol Rovers could still stay up, their goal difference is such that they will need a monumental win to survive, and realistically, it’s down to three teams. We currently occupy the last relegation place, and while it’s said that possession is nine tenths of the law, let’s just hope that we have that last tenth.
Normally at this point, I would start to write the match report, but if you’ve been following the scores, then you’ll already know that we lost. Badly. That’s not quite fair, as we matched them for large parts of the game, and created several chances that, had they gone in, would have changed the game completely. Despite being under the cosh for the opening twenty minutes when we could have been two or three down, we started to come back into the first half and even hit the post just before half time, by which point we were already one down.
We were once again a match for them in the second half, but after the second went in just after the hour, we had to at least get back into the game quickly for us to have a chance of getting the result we needed. Although results were going our way elsewhere, the luck in front of goal was deserting us, a prime example being a Jon Nurse header that looked in all the way, only for it to curl away from the goal at the last second. That was with ten minutes to go, and at 2-1, we would have had a chance to throw the proverbial kitchen sink at them for the remainder of the game. As it was, about a minute later it was 3-0, and soon 4-0. At this point, with the game gone, I gave up making my notes.
The final score was unimportant (ok, it got worse and was 5-0 at the end), as we needed to get something from this to have a chance of remaining in League One. When each of the last three goals went in, the singing from the large away following got louder, and although the team showed that they wanted to get at least one back, it just wasn’t to be.
In a way, our luck in front of goal sort of summed up our season. Losing Paul Benson so early in the season to Charlton was a blow, and although those that have played up front have certainly put their shifts in, we have lacked that goalscorer that every team needs. Jon Nurse, Romain Vincelot and Danny Green have all chipped in, but in the final analysis, it hasn’t been quite enough. As has been said before, to go into the final game of the season with a chance of staying up has been nothing short of remarkable, and although we have been relegated back to League Two, we can still be proud of our team. Eleven years ago, when we were winning the Ryman League, we could never have dreamed that we would be visiting places like Sheffield Wednesday, Charlton and Southampton for league games. If you had said all those years ago that this would have happened, you would have been carted off to the nearest loony bin.
But it did, and although the season has ended in the dreaded drop, we are still here, and still a Football League club. Quite a few of our supporters were in tears at the final whistle, which is fairly understandable, but let’s try and put a positive spin on this. We’re still a football league club, we still have a team to support, and although this is a setback, we will be back. And if we’re not, then we will still support the team anyway. Just because we’ve dropped a division, there is no need to stop following this club, and we won’t. At least this summer we won’t have to get more depressed by watching England muck up another World Cup campaign…
Saturday 30th April 2011 – Too close to call
I have been confidently predicting all season that our season would be determined before the last day of the season, which is either displaying enormous confidence in our ability to be safe, or a deep down pessimism that we would have already been doomed.
Going into Easter, we were just one place above the relegation zone. After two defeats (to Plymouth and then up at Huddersfield), we’ve dropped back in to the bottom four, albeit only one point behind. The bottom of League One is as tight as it could possibly be. Despite a ten point deduction, Plymouth are making a decent job of trying to get out of trouble, and are now only a couple of points away from safety. Swindon Town have already been relegated, capping a fairly miserable twelve months that has taken them one game from promotion to the Championship, to League Two. The other two teams playing for their League One future are Bristol Rovers and Walsall, but going into today’s round of games, our future depends on the following. If we lose, and Walsall beat Charlton, then we are relegated. Rovers could also be down if they lose to Sheffield Wednesday and Walsall win, so two more relegation places could be filled by 5pm tonight. Of course, if results go our way, then it could all rest on next Saturday, which I think would officially place it as “brown-trouser time”.
Our opponents for the final home game of the season are Carlisle United, who at the start of the day, sit safely in mid-table in 11th place. Some of our more hopeful fans are praying that they are going to take it easy, but if you’ve travelled all the way from Carlisle to take it easy, then perhaps it would have been easier all round to just ring up and say that you weren’t coming. It would certainly help our nerves out a bit. We have already won up at Carlisle 2-0 in December, but it may well be very different this time. It’s certainly going to be warmer watching the game than last time…
Saturday 30th April, Dagenham & Redbridge v Carlisle United, Victoria Road
Last Friday, at home to Plymouth, we had Mark Clemmitt wondering around the pitch pre-match, getting interviews with playing staff and management, before he managed to get himself in the team huddle just before kick-off. Today, we just have the club mascot, Digger the Dog, strolling around dishing out sweets to the smaller or more junior of our support. Unfortunately, there are none of these lobbed in our direction, and just when I could do with a pre-match lolly as well.
Given that we had several thousand at Wembley last May for the play off final against Rotherham, our crowds haven’t quite reflected the giant stride forward we took that day, although there has been a rise in the numbers attending our games of around 25% which is quite impressive if you think about it. Today’s attendance is just under the season’s average, but it’s still a long way from eleven years ago, when crowds were regularly around 500 for the Isthmian League.
Before the game, we get some good news. Plymouth are beaten 1-0 at Exeter, and so this means that they will now have to win their two remaining games to stay up, starting with Southampton on Monday. Argyle could not have been relegated today, but it does help our cause a bit, knowing that they are closer to filling one of the relegation places; now it’s all about us.
As you would expect, there is quite a bit of tension around, but the home fans respond to the encouragement of the players, and both start well, on yet another sunny day at Victoria Road. The season may be ending, but at least the weather is improving.
Less than five minutes into the game, John Akinde wins the ball just outside the left side of the area, and runs inside, only to be fouled by Michalik; the referee points to the penalty spot, and we have an early chance to go in front. Some look away, unable to watch, as Danny Green places the ball on the spot. His run up looks to be shorter than normal, and his kick isn’t the best; the shot is saved by Collin in the Carlisle goal. But the save only pushes the ball back into play, and straight to the feet of an on-rushing Jon Nurse, who guides the ball into the far corner of the net. We have our early goal, and the relief is visible on those faces around me. This prompts the first phone checking session of the day, and there has also been a goal at Bristol Rovers; they are one down to Sheffield Wednesday, which pushes them a little bit closer to the drop.
Ten minutes later, another check reveals that Rovers have levelled, but a draw is no good for them, as a draw for us is no good either. We know that they will now be going for the winner, and hope that Wednesday can hold out.
Our front two (Nurse and Akinde) are combining really well, and with Green as well, are causing several problems for the visiting defence. Nurse is played through by Vincelot, and his lay off to Akinde produces a shot off target, while at the other end, Carlisle are not really threatening. They have had a couple of corners, but these have either been comfortably cleared, or claimed by Tony Roberts in the Dagenham goal. So far, so good.
It gets better on the half hour; Akinde gets his shot away under pressure, and Collin once again can only parry the ball once again into the path of Jon Nurse, who taps the ball home from all of three yards and thus sends the home support into delirium. Now that the lead is 2-0, we have to keep cool heads, and not worry about what is going on elsewhere.
Of course, that is easier said than done. The noise level drops a few minutes later, when someone announces that Walsall have scored against Charlton. Suddenly everyone who has been checking the other scores is on the case again, and it’s true. Appeals for the score not to be passed onto the players are heeded, and once again a few try to start singing, and while it sort of works, it’s not quite of the volume earlier in the game. Although we are quite comfortable in this game, the tension is back.
Half time arrives, and it has remained 2-0. There have been a couple of bits of good play, but nothing to threaten the scoreboard any further. Walsall are still 1-0 up, Bristol Rovers are 1-1, and Notts County, considered by most to be out of trouble prior to the game, are 0-0 at MK Dons.
We are treated to a half time display from the Daggers cheerleaders (we’ve moved on from the stereotypical Girl Pipers), and we are indeed honoured that most of the troupe seemed to have turned up this time. During their appearances in the winter, there have been either five or six turn up, but today there is at least a dozen.
Early in the second half, Nurse is booked for encroachment at a free-kick. A few minutes later, there is another yellow card, this time for Danny Green, which will prove to be costly later in the game. The half doesn’t have the same atmosphere as the first, and the game has dipped in terms of what is happening on the pitch. Twenty minutes have gone past, before Dagenham Dan checks his phone again; now Notts County are losing, and coupled with scores as they are at the moment, they are now being dragged back in to the relegation lottery.
The minutes are ticking by, and slowly as well. We have one or two efforts at goal, and Carlisle are still not really threatening; Roberts has to claim a couple of passes that have been threaded through our back line, but aside from diving on the ball as it enters the area, his kit is still clean.
Walsall go two up with around 10 minutes to go, to ensure that their survival chances will go to the final day, and we try to make our game a bit more interesting, as Mark Arber makes a mistake to allow Carlisle a quick break. He tries to recover but isn’t going to get there before Liam Nobel can get the ball into the area. Thankfully Will Antwi is covering, and slides in to stop the ball from going too far. There had been a player free right behind him, and if the ball had got to him..
Almost immediately, we try to make Carlisle pay for their missed opportunity, as Green has a shot which is comfortably saved by Collin, but three minutes later, its game over. Akinde wins the ball some thirty yards out, and lays it out right to Green. He takes aim, and strikes it with his right foot from twenty yards past Collin to wrap up the points for us, and ensure that we go into the final day of the season with something to play for.
We will though, be doing it without Green. Possibly pumped up after scoring, he makes a daft tackle with a few minutes to go, and gets a second yellow card. It dawns on him almost straight away what he has done, but the card is already on display, and he has to go. It’s a long, slow walk back to the changing rooms, and his shoulders are slumped; you can see he knows he has made a big mistake.
The sending off doesn’t change anything in the game though, and although there is four minutes added on, we see out the remaining time, and win a fairly one sided game by 3-0. We’ve done our bit, but what else happened?
Well, Bristol Rovers drew, so with their goal-difference of -33 are almost down. They will need a club record win next week to have a chance of staying up. Plymouth lost, and now have to win their last two to have a chance of staying up, starting with Southampton on Monday. Walsall won 2-0, and now are only a point behind Notts County, who lost 2-1 at MK Dons. All this means that County are on 49 points, Walsall 48, and us on 47. We’ll know more after Monday when Plymouth have played their game in hand, but it’s all too tight to call.
Those at the bottom all have tough games next week. We go to Peterborough, Walsall travel to Southampton, and Notts County entertain the Champions, Brighton. It’s hard to explain just what it means to a club like ours to be going into the final game of the season with a chance of staying up. There have been times this season when we thought that we would be long gone by now, and then on the flip side, during March when we hoped that we might have enough to be clear by now. We’d lost our four previous games before this one, but despite this, we’ve still got a chance. Ok, it could be considered a slim one, but it’s still there. When Mark Clemmitt was wondering around the club last week at the Plymouth game, he was recording for a BBC Radio 5 live programme about a day with the Daggers. During the half time team talk, John Still urged the players on to greater efforts; “We are not Southampton, we’re not Sheffield Wednesday, we’re not Charlton, Huddersfield or Peterborough; we’re Dagenham”. We have to remember that we aren’t one of the big clubs in this division, and that most would have had us relegated before Christmas. One of the things that keep’s people coming back to this club is that they don’t give up. We aren’t the most technically gifted, but we do work hard, and there is always a chance. We have to believe.
Friday 22nd April – No time for chocolate
Easter is generally regarded as the make or break period of the football season. For us Daggers, this is just as true as it is for any team either chasing promotion or trying to avoid relegation. Not for us the tedium of a mid-table run in to the end of the season. In fact, since 2006/07, we’ve gone into the Easter games either at the top or bottom of the division we were in at the time. Not for us the casual end to the season.
I think most fans would have been happy to be in the position that we are, going into the final four games of the season, with a chance of staying up. Certainly a few months ago, most would have thought that by now it would all be over. But an excellent March got us away from the bottom, only for a slump in April to drag us back into it again. People tend to refer to the end of season games as “cup finals”, and our next one is today, against another team at the bottom of League 1, Plymouth Argyle.
Most of those who follow League 1 will know about the story of Plymouth Argyle this season. Unpaid players wages, administration, a ten point penalty, having to sell their best players to keep the club going; it’s not been the best twelve months for the team that Paul Whitehouse chose to support in those really annoying adverts for a particular insurance company. Given that this time last year, Plymouth was relegated from the Championship, and you could say that this has not been a good eighteen months for the club.
It’s often said that good news doesn’t sell papers (try that after the royal wedding on Friday), but in a move that should have shown that not all footballers are greedy and self serving, the Argyle players have decided that they will forego their May wages in favour of the non-playing staff. When you add in that the playing staff haven’t been paid since December, this is quite a gesture, and worthy of far-greater coverage that it will get.
The financial mess at the club meant that the club entered administration in early March, and was immediately deducted ten points. The Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) is due to be discussed on May 6th, one day before the end of the season. If the deal with the non-football creditors isn’t accepted, then it’s difficult to see where the club can go. Once again, we are faced with a proud football club potentially going out of business; we started the season at Sheffield Wednesday, who were in a bit of a mess at the time, and there have been others as well this season.
Friday 22nd April, Dagenham & Redbridge v Plymouth Argyle, Victoria Road
The good weather that has covered the south east this week has held, and once again, we are basking in the sunshine at Victoria Road. The atmosphere though is tense, as this is a game that we simply can not afford not to win. General opinion in the bar prior to the game is that a draw is no good, not with the games still to be played. If we lose, a swift return to League 2 beckons.
At the start of the season, we must have been the hottest favourites to get relegated in any of the four professional divisions, so to be in this position at the moment is great. We will gladly take 20th after the final round of games, but it’s not going to be easy.
The match starts, and like a few of our recent games, it’s very scrappy at the beginning. Both sets of supporters start the game in good voice, although the tense feeling is always there, and after about ten minutes, it starts to take over. Misplaced passes are being met with a few groans, and a couple of players are being targeted for wayward attempts to get the ball to team-mates. It takes just over twenty minutes before the first proper shot at goal, but even this is wide of the target. Given that a point really isn’t much use to either team, it’s clear that the nerves must be getting to those on the field, as well as those in the stands.
A few minutes after this, Danny Green registers our first serious effort at goal, but this produces nothing either. The first good chance falls to Plymouth forward Yannick Bolasie; a mistake by our left back Ilesanmi allows Bolasie to get a shot at goal, but this is saved by Roberts at the expense of a corner. Just after this, there is a free header for Zubar, but his effort sails wide of the Dagenham goal.
Half time can not come soon enough, but before it does, there is a chance for John Akinde, but his effort is blocked by David Button in the Plymouth goal. On loan at Dagenham a couple of years ago, Button is currently at his ninth club, and he is not even 25 yet.
The half time whistle is blown, and the teams retreat to the dressing rooms. Several wonder off the to toilet, some decide to spend the interval queuing at the tea-bar, but those waiting around are of the opinion that the next 45 minutes will decide which league we are playing in next year. It’s getting nervous again.
Within three minutes of the restart, the worst possible thing happens to us; Plymouth score. We give away a cheap free-kick about twenty five yards from goal, and Rory Patterson strikes the dead ball directly into the net. The renewed optimism from the half time break has just evaporated.
The home crowd start to sing again, and although we are now behind, we start to have a bit of pressure. About ten minutes after the goal, Akinde is played through, but his effort is blocked by Button. The rebound falls back to Danny Green, but his effort isn’t high enough, and Button produces an excellent second save. Plymouth are by now throwing everything in the way of shots on goal, and are defending like their lives depend on it. There are a few howls of annoyance when Button decides to take a goal kick from the opposite of the six yard box to where the ball went out, but they are the rules.
There then follows a series of substitutions. The first is forced upon the Daggers, as Scott Doe, chasing a ball back to Roberts, pulls up quite sharply. From our vantage point, it looks as though his hamstring has gone. After treatment, he is helped from the pitch, and replaced by Will Antwi.
We then have a second change, as Danny J.Green makes his league debut in place of Akinde, before Ilesanmi is replaced by Bas Savage for the final ten minutes. Ilesanmi looks absolutely knackered, but these changes have meant a change in formation, to just three at the back. Given that Plymouth have now only one forward on the pitch, even that’s looking cautious.
There are shouts for a penalty, but it would have been a soft one if it had been given, and the game continues. Each minute that passes is a minute less to save ourselves, and the home crowd are starting to get behind the team again. Despite the pressure, we are not really creating too much. When we do, the ball isn’t either sitting just right for the strike, or when we do get the shot away, it’s blocked or not on target. Frustration is now creeping in, and an awful truth is starting to dawn on even the more optimistic supporters; this could be it.
In the final minute of normal time, Patterson collects a second yellow card and is dismissed by the referee, although not before he has given him a mouthful of abuse, and takes a less than straight line back to the dug-out. The resultant free-kick produces nothing, but then the board goes up; four minutes will be added on.
There are a few people leaving, but not too many. The announcement of added time has bought a little bit of optimism back, but as the time ebbs away, so the hopes start to fade. Easter weekend is getting off to a very bad start. The whistle brings an end to proceedings, and the noise from the home fans just stops. The green army away to our right is celebrating, but we are just deflated, and the only applause at first is for the substitute Green, who is next to us when the whistle is blown. The day had started so hopeful and now this.
As we make our way out of the ground and towards the clubhouse for a consolation drink, there are two people questioning whether the manager got it wrong today, saying that he isn’t cut out for keeping the club in this division. Almost everyone walking past just looks and walks on. Without the whole staff, we wouldn’t be in this division in the first place. At the end of January we looked doomed. And now, although we have lost today, we are still just outside the bottom four. We have a difficult last three games, and if we go down then that’s what was meant to be. But at least we have given it a go and to be in the same division as some of these teams was unthinkable five years ago, possibly even last year. I would suspect that no-one on the playing staff has given up, and while it may hurt today, we have another opportunity on Monday to put it right. No one said staying in this league was going to be easy, but as supporters we must keep the faith.
Saturday 16th April – New Brighton Rock
We are now in the final stretch of the season; we all know when it is, as we all start checking who the teams around us are playing, and predicting that, if they get a draw and we win, then all will be well.
Today’s trip is a journey up to Birkenhead to play Tranmere Rovers. Another of the teams that are in and around the relegation zone, this is just the same club that a decade or so ago was playing in the League Cup Final at Wembley against Leicester City, and was regularly beating higher placed clubs in the cup competitions. However, those days are disappearing into the history books, and today the club are in an end of season competition to stay in the division.
After Tuesday nights performance at Brighton, hopes are high for a positive performance, and there is optimism that, even if we don’t win, that a draw would help us out in trying to stay in the division at the end of the season. However, Tranmere also need the win to help them out, being 18th in the table at start of play. This is the last seemingly “winnable” away game of the season (most have already written off the games at Huddersfield and Peterborough), and so it’s important that we get something out of this.
Saturday 16th April 2011; Tranmere Rovers v Dagenham & Redbridge, Prenton Park
The early exchanges between the teams are not great, and there does seem to be some nervousness in the players. However, the nerves are clearly lasting longer in the visiting players, as Tranmere are starting to win the early 50/50 challenges, and before the quarter hour is up, the home side is in front. The daggers defence is not managing to deal with the aerial threat of Enoch Showunmi, and it’s his header from a left wing cross that has the home fans celebrating. This cues much frustration from the visiting fans, for whom the goal has come too easy.
The half continues in a similar vein; we’re not able to get any kind of clearance away without it coming straight back at us. We only have one player up front, and he has been ill with food poisoning. It’s bad enough that before half time, he (John Akinde) is replaced by former Tranmer player Bas Savage. He gets a warm reception from the Tranmere faithful, but then this could be because they are, by this time 2 up.
Most of the Tranmere attacks seem to come down their right hand side (our left), and are clearly targeting our left back, Femi Ilesanmi. He is capable of playing well, and has been quite good recently, but like the rest of his team-mates today, seems to be suffering from stage fright or something, as he looks way off the pace. However, the goal does not come down this side of the pitch. Instead, it’s a set piece that causes the problem, as we are not able to deal with either Showunmi or central defender Ian Goodison, and it’s Goodison who has an almost free run at the free kick to head home for the second goal.
This brings more condemnation from the fans, and also some recriminations on the pitch, but there is nothing we can do about this; we are 2 down, and do not look like getting back into this. Half time can not come soon enough for us. It also can’t come soon enough for Oliver Lee, on loan from West Ham, and handed another start in our central midfield. He played well on Tuesday, but he has been off the pace, and picks up a yellow card before the break for a foul and argument with Joss Labadie. This has been a half to forget.
Finally the whistle is blown, and most slink off to the bar underneath the stand for refreshment. Those left in the seats are stunned into silence, before we start checking the half time scores. We already know that Notts County have lost at home to Bournemouth, and so far, thing seem to be going for us.
The players remerge for the second half, and there is another change. Darren Currie is to replace Oliver Lee, and so we have changed our formation from 4-5-1 to a more straight-forward 4-4-2. The change means that we have a bit more of a presence up front, but it still takes us another ten minutes before we create our first meaningful chance at goal; Currie cuts inside a defender on the left hand side, and hits a shot which has Tony Warner pushing the effort round the post for a corner.
The corner produces a minute or two of pressure for the home team, but our insistence on hitting high balls into the area means that unless we manage to connect with Bas Savage, then the home defence are going to clear it quite easily. Once the pressure subsides, it becomes a bit more even, but the home side are clearly in control.
With twenty minutes to go, we make our final change, when Danny Green is replaced by Cameron Lancaster, who is another loan player, but this time from Spurs. His first contribution is a daft yellow card picked up for a foul on a home defender as the ball runs out of play.
Our last proper chance created is about ten minutes from the end, when a Jon Nurse volley is turned round the post by Warner. We have another chance a few minutes later from a free kick on the edge of the penalty area, but the free kick is tubbed wide by Lancaster, and that’s roughly it from us as an attack. The last chance we have at their goal is actually a header from Mark McChrystal, who clears a left wing cross from his onrushing goalkeeper, and his header just whistles past the post.
You know it’s been a bad day when the nearest we’ve come to a goal is a header from one of their players. It’s now just a matter of time until the final whistle, and after five long minutes of additional time, we are finally put out our misery. The performance has been poor, especially after the effort we put in on Tuesday.
It’s only after the game that we find out about the food poisoning, and might go some way to explaining the display (and certainly the substitutions), but it’s still a kick in the teeth. The only bright spot is that results have gone our way, with everyone in the bottom six losing their games. The last four games, which were crucial already, have just (for those involved at least) become even more important. Our last two home games, against Plymouth and Carlisle, are must win games for us. The mobile phones have been working overtime in games in the last few weeks, but as the season comes to it’s conclusion, they could be going into meltdown.
Tuesday 12th April – Withdean and I
The first FA Cup final I watched was the 1983 game between Manchester United and Brighton. I was only 9 years old at the time, and can remember that I managed to get hold of a copy of the programme for the game. The game is memorable for Ray Wilkins goal for United, and then the last minute chance for Gordon Smith to win it for the relegated Seagulls. His weak shot was not only saved by Gary Bailey but became the name of a long running Brighton fanzine, based on a moment of commentary “And Smith must score..”
Since then, the Seagulls have not been back to the top flight. They missed out in a play off final in 1991, wearing what could only be described as a red kit that looked as though it had been dive bombed by several varieties of seabirds.
In 1997, the club was removed from their Goldstone Ground stadium, and after a couple of year’s exile in Gillingham, they moved to the Withdean Stadium, which has attracted more than it’s fair share of criticism. After all this, in the summer the club will move to a new permanent stadium, and with it, they should be playing second tier football.
We have met already this season, but it was only a couple of weeks ago. Due to the hideous weather over the winter and Brighton getting to the fourth round of the FA Cup, our original encounter at the end of January was postponed. Optimism is not particularly high as we set out from Victoria Road. Brighton only require one win to secure promotion to the Championship, and to inaugurate their new stadium in the second tier. One more win after that, and they will go up as champions.
After Saturday’s win over Notts County, we’ve moved up the table, but with Walsall and County also playing tonight, we’re just hoping that we can secure something to take from the game. If not, then we have to pray that other results go our way.
Tuesday 12th April, Brighton & Hove Albion v Dagenham & Redbridge, Withdean Stadium
Our journey down to the south coast is fairly smooth, once we have got past the QE2 Bridge which is busy with pre-rush hour traffic. Our arrival at the stadium is in warm sunshine, but there is rain forecast for tonight, so although it’s warm at the moment, all the coats loaded on are now carried off in anticipation of getting wet and a temperature drop.
The first port of call for many is the Sportsman Pub, which is next door to the ground. A few have spotted the carvery, and have made a line straight towards it. After a few minutes waiting at the bar, and a quick chat with a few that have made the journey, I venture out to go into the ground.
The view from the away section is, well, not too bad, but the distance between us and the goal nearest to us is around 30 yards, and the goal at the other end may as well be in a different postcode. The eight lane running track at our end of the stadium is not the only thing between us in the stadium, as we also have the javelin runway as well. Those that are seen throwing stuff on to the playing surface are to be ejected from the stadium, but we reckon that if anyone can do it, they should be in the British Olympic team.
With Brighton one win away from promotion, the game is officially a sell out, but there are gaps, notably in the seats behind the goal at the other end of the stadium, plus we haven’t quite managed to sell out our allocation. However, the game is all ticket because of the significance for the home team.
As the teams emerge from the dressing rooms (which are situated almost inside the away section), there is no suggestion of how this game is going to play out. We know that the management will have got them fired up, and that after the win on Saturday, they will be confident, but Brighton haven’t lost at home for a year now, and we aren’t sure that we will be the ones to break the run.
Less than one minute into the game, we go in front. John Akinde, scorer of our first on the weekend, gets a chance and puts it past Casper Ankergren, with the aid of a deflection. There is stunned delirium in the away section as we realise that we have just gone in front away at the league leaders. Dan reckons that we have scored too early, but we hold out and look to have survived when a quarter of an hour later, the game is turned upside down.
Firstly, Brighton hit the crossbar and the ball is cleared for a corner, before the home side equalise through a Inigo Calderon header. What seems like less than a minute later, Brighton then go in front, when slack marking at the back post allows a left wing cross to find the head of Glenn Murray, who dispatches it past Tony Roberts. And it was all going so well for us as well.
For the remainder of the half, it’s backwards and forwards, with both teams intent on attacking, rather than gaining a lead and sitting on it. There are near misses at both ends, but the half ends with Brighton leading 2-1. The away fans are not too unhappy with this, as we are doing much better than we had thought, but to have lost the lead and gone behind so quickly is more than a touch frustrating.
For the second half, we are attacking the goal in the land of far, far away. I admit that’s a bit dramatic, but you can’t truly appreciate just how far away you are until you’ve actually been to the stadium. And remember, this could be what awaits West Ham when they move in to the Olympic Stadium.
The game swings back in our favour less than five minutes in. Jon Nurse gets an equaliser, but how it’s scored, I couldn’t tell you as it takes a while for the fact that it has gone in to register back where we are. We’re now looking at a possible point, which then becomes a potential three, when Akinde is fouled, and Danny Green, a double goalscorer on Saturday, nets the resultant penalty. 3-2 to the Daggers.
This game is now swinging from end to end, and in keeping with the preceding fifty-odd minutes, Brighton don’t take too long to level the game again, This time its Liam Bridcutt who does the damage, with a fantastic strike from just outside the area, into the top corner of the goal. Roberts dives, but has no chance of stopping it. Now it’s 3-3.
With a win for both sides being vital, both are keen to push on, but Brighton then show why they are top of the league, with another goal, just after the hour. A corner from the Brighton right is allowed to find Ashley Barnes in the middle of the six yard box, and head home. It’s a poor goal to concede from our point of view, but it’s a crucial one for the home team. Now Brighton lead 4-3 and it’s getting tense.
Both teams still create chances. There are near misses at both ends, but there is the feeling that we would need to score twice to maybe get a point, as many can still see Brighton getting another. As the clock ticks down, a few people at the advertising boards near to the pitch becomes a few more until it appears that about a quarter of those in attendance are at pitch-side, ready to run on when the final whistle goes.
There is an announcement that people shouldn’t enter the playing surface, and the number of stewards around the perimeter suggests that they are ready, but when the final whistle does blow, the sprint to the home players is something that would normally only be seen on the stadiums running track. Brighton have won the game 4-3, and with it promotion to the Championship. With a sizable amount of the crowd on the pitch, the announcer has a go at trying to clear people off with a broadcast about leaving the area, but this is ignored so he has another go. This is repeated five or six times, and the desperation in his voice is getting more noticeable each time he repeats the warning. Eventually, a line of stewards at the tunnel area start to herd people back to the seats, so that the players can re-emerge and do their lap of honour.
We stay for a couple of minutes or so, marvelling at a couple of home fans who recreate the winning goal (a la Phoenix from the Flames), before we start to leave the stadium. The walk back to the coach is through some celebrating home fans, but we congratulate those we encounter and wish them good luck for next season. They reciprocate, and hope that we can stay up in the division. Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve given them two good games.
It’s frustrating to lose a game like this, as we have played so well, but ultimately have been denied a valuable point. The team went out, and gave a performance to be proud of, and those that saw it will be proud to be a dagger on the day. However, the fact remains that we are in a battle to stay in this division. We still have some winnable games over the next few weeks, and we should concentrate on those. We expected nothing from this one, and I suppose that we got exactly what we thought we would get. But to lose it like we did, having played so well is annoying to say the least.
Essex gets cup fever – Tuesday 12th April 2011
In between our league games against Notts County and Brighton, the plan was to attend two cup games. The first of these would be the first leg of the FA Youth Cup semi-final at Stamford Bridge, and then the Essex Senior Cup final the following evening. In all, this would be a run of four games in consecutive days, ending with a trip to the south coast to possibly watch Brighton secure promotion. What more could anyone want?
Sunday 10th April, Chelsea v Manchester United, Stamford Bridge
Given that the two first teams had met just a few days prior to this in the quarter finals of the Champions League, you might think that there would be a bit of interest in this “re-match”. And you’d be right, as when we arrived at Fulham Broadway about an hour or so before kick off, there were plenty of replica shirts on view from both teams. There’s even an away section, which I’ve not seen at any FA Youth Cup game before, but then this is one of those fixtures that would probably warrant it.
Dagenham Dan has booked our seats, and these are four rows from the front; all well and good you might think, except that we are just to the side of the goal, which means that any errant shots from the coach warming up the goalkeepers will head in our direction, possibly knocking out of my hand the bottle of coke that I’ve bought, and I can’t afford that, not at these prices. So when United (it’s their goal we’re behind) are doing their final shooting practice, we give up trying to take pictures and head back into the safety of the concourse area.
There is a decent crowd in the ground today (it’s eventually announced as just over five and a half thousand), and a healthy following from United as well. They spend most of the first half singing, which is also not something I’ve heard too much of at Youth Cup games before. The only time I’ve really heard any sort of communal chanting was at West Ham v Coventry in 1999, when Joe Cole, Michael Carrick et al ran riot and won the final 9-0 on aggregate. Whatever happened to them?
There are some nice touches from both teams, and good play all round. The game is flowing nicely, and a theme starts to develop that carries through the rest of the game; there is no questioning of the referee’s decisions. I know, I found it difficult to believe as well, but it’s absolutely true.
Chelsea go close on a couple of occasions, but it takes them half an hour before they take the lead, when Nathaniel Chalobah sweeps home a loose ball in the penalty area. United try to respond, but will go into the break 2 down, when the same player scores his second with a looping header from a left wing corner. This finally quietens the noisy away following, who, so far have spent most of the game reliving John Terry’s penalty miss in Moscow, and also the win the previous week at the same ground. The home fans respond with a “stand up for the champions”, but the visitors go again with another song. However the game is halted for half time, and we can all calm down again.
The second half begins and before we have played a third of it, United are back in the game. A flap at a corner by the home goalkeeper Blackman allows Jesse Lingard to get the visitors back in the game. Now it’s a close call as to who is going to win this, as both teams are going for the result. With 15 minutes left, Chelsea are starting to think that they will be in the final, as they get a third through Bobby Devyne, who taps home unmarked at the back post, but once again they are pegged back, when United’s best player on the day, Paul Pogba gets the second. He almost manages another, with an acrobatic overhead kick, but the effort goes over the bar. For a few minutes either side of their second goal, United are winning the tackles and 50/50 challenges, but with five to go, the momentum swings back to Chelsea.
For the last few minutes, Chelsea retain possession, and run the remainder of the time down, before the final whistle has been blown. It’s ended 3-2 to the home team, and has been a thoroughly entertaining game for the neutral. The second leg in Manchester should be fun.
Monday 11th April, Aveley v Billericay, Ship Lane Thurrock
And so on to Monday night at Thurrock for the biggest night in the Essex football calendar; the Senior Cup Final. I am supposed to be joined for this one by Dan and Liam, but both have ducked out of it, so I have to decide if I am going to attend. Despite the rain clouds overhead, I decide to go, and head for the bus stop along the road, where I have a five minute wait before my transport arrives.
Although the final is generally played towards the end of the season, it does occasionally get held over until the following campaign. The last time this happened was last year when, on the night of the final between Hornchurch and Colchester at Dagenham, the heavens opened, and waterlogged the pitch. Despite a good forking, the water wouldn’t drain away, and the game was postponed. I know that simply because I was there.
I have actually seen the Daggers win the trophy, but that was way back in 2001, when (in another held over final) we beat Canvey Island on penalties in a game played a week before the start of the season. In an entertaining game, it ended 2-2 and ten a side. The final has been played at various venues around the county, and has visited Southend, Dagenham and Hornchurch, where the 2010 edition was eventually staged. This year, we’re back at Thurrock.
Our campaign with the Daggers campaign ended back before Christmas, when we managed to lose a 2 goal lead to Canvey. For those daggers of a certain vintage though, the Essex Senior Cup has provided some memorable nights out. There was the trip to Harlow last season, when each home goal was celebrated with a blast from an air raid siren that was positioned on the home terrace. Then there was the game at East Thurrock on a bitterly cold December night, which had almost the entire Daggers first team playing, a second half delayed for twenty minutes because of fog, and an eventual exit on penalties after extra time. Although it doesn’t sound great, it’s nights like these that almost always get bought up as soon as the draw is made each year, usually prefixed by the words “Do you remember..” In a way, it almost defines the gap between those that have been supporting the club for years, and those that haven’t. Those youngsters don’t know what they’ve missed out on..
This year, the final is between two Ryman Premier Division teams; Aveley and Braintree Town. The two teams know each other quite well, and not just because they are in the same division, but also because their last league meeting was just two days prior to this game.
After the regulation team presentations and handshakes (as well as team pictures) the game gets under way. The two league meetings have both ended 1-0 to Billericay, and when they score with the first shot at goal of the game after 61 seconds (from a free kick by Adam Flanagan), I already think that this might be it as far as the goals are concerned.
Aveley, to their credit though, come straight back, and a long range shot has the Billericay goalkeeper scrambling across his goal to push the ball behind for a corner. But this is about as good as it gets, as Aveley really don’t look like breaking down the opposition defence. It’s about this point that a group of small children find another with a ball, and head off into a corner of the stadium to have their own game. Clearly they think it’s going to end 1-0, and have decided to make their own entertainment.
Billericay almost double their lead on twenty six minutes, when a header is cleared off the line; whether the defender knew much about it is another matter, but it just delays the second goal for a few more minutes.
With ten minutes left in the half, Harrison Chatting gets the second, with a fine curling effort from just outside the box which has the Aveley goalkeeper not having too much of a chance to prevent it going in. It’s probably about right given the game so far.
For Billericay, Micah Hyde is controlling the midfield. After a few hundred games in the football league for, among others Watford and Barnet, he is stalking the midfield in the Ryman Premier. Like Dietmar Hamann for MK Dons back in October, he is able to find space and time on the ball wherever he is. Almost everything that Billericay do is channelled through him at some point.
The half ends with Billericay 2 up. And that’s how it finishes as well, as the second half is a bit of a non-event. There are a couple of yellow cards for dissent, but there’s not much to maintain the interest. Cedric Ngakam puts two headers wide mid-way through the half, and there’s even a half chance for Aveley to restore some pride, but not much else happens, Just after 9.40pm, the referee blows the final whistle, and the Essex Senior Cup is over for another year. Billericay have won, and I have a few minutes to get out of the ground and to the bus stop so that I can get home. Next stop, Brighton.
Payback time – Saturday 9th April 2011
After last Saturday’s late defeat to Exeter, we had a midweek home game against the divisions top scoring team, Peterborough United. With an opponent that had already scored over 90 goals in the league, you would have hoped that the team would keep it reasonably tight for the first few minutes or even quarter of the game. So when we were two down in the first seven minutes, those that had been long term supporters were starting to fear another Hereford style mauling. For those not aware of the place of Hereford in our club’s history, one year after we lost the Conference play off final, we lost a Friday night game at home to them by the narrow score-line of 0-9. In the best traditional of the BBC vidi-printer, that’s nine. Down to ten players after fifteen minutes, we were 0-3 at half time, and then the floodgates opened. To make it worse, the game had been televised, and for weeks after, we had quite a bit of stick from opposition fans when we were away with the team.
So to lose only 0-2 was a bit of a relief after the start. However, many had written off the game, and some saw the final result as, well, a bit of a result. Today’s game though is a different matter.
Just under two years ago, the fans of Notts were basking in the news that their club was to be the beneficiary of a Middle Eastern windfall that would propel the club up the leagues, and possibly to the Premier League. Finally they would be able to be the equal of Forest.
Fast forward to today, and it’s not quite turned out like that. The finance promised didn’t really materialise, and although the club romped to the League 2 title last season, this year has been tougher than they hoped. Paul Ince has just been relived of his duties as head coach, and coming to today’s game, seven defeats in nine games has seen his short time in charge bought to an end and today, County have Carl Heggs has been put in charge of keeping the club in the division. Sitting fifth from bottom at start of play, this is one of those “must-win” games for both clubs that we all hear so much about.
Saturday 9th April; Dagenham & Redbridge v Notts County
If we can win this one, then the negative thoughts that came after the defeat to Peterborough might be banished. However, with County having just appointed a new (temporary) coach, the theory goes that this will bring an improvement that will ensure survival. On several occasions this season, we have beaten a side only for them to change managers almost immediately after. This is new one for us this year.
The game starts in bright sunshine, and warm temperatures; summer is finally on the way. It takes several minutes before we have the first effort at goal, but Danny Green’s free kick goes wide of the post. He will have more success later on though.
Just a couple of minutes later on, Jon Nurse fluffs a glorious chance, after a low right wing cross by the influential Green. For the first fifteen minutes of the game, it’s the Daggers who are on top, and County aren’t in the game a great deal. But we all know that possession means nothing without converting the chances being created.
The first goal comes just after a quarter of an hour. Once again Danny Green is involved with another cross from the right, but this time John Akinde meets it at the back post and gets the ball over the line. There is some hesitation from the home support, as most of us think it’s gone wide, but once we see the players congregating around the scorer, there is much relief and celebration in the home section. First blood has been drawn by the home side.
At this point, Dan gets his phone out, and gets the latest league table up on the screen; we are up to 18th, and a couple of places above the dreaded dotted line. He did this last week, just after taking the lead at Exeter, and we lost that one. Lets hope it doesn’t happen again.
For the next twenty minutes or so, the game gets a bit on the tense side. There is an amusing sideline going on though, in that we are treated to a display of expert analysis from one of our supporters. Each team has the occasional know-all, who will give forth his opinion on any aspect of the game, whether it’s complete garbage or not. Lee Evans did a routine during his Live and Dangerous tour of 2002, when he reckoned that, instead of employing some expensive foreign manager, clubs should just employ the know-all from the terraces, because “he seems to know what he is talking about”. Add the suffix “I could do that with my eyes shut”, and the know-all is complete. The target this week is Danny Green, who has committed the cardinal sin of not tracking back quick enough. Even team captain Mark Arber isn’t safe.
Just before half time, it starts to get more interesting. Firstly, Jon Nurse is played through, and although he is being manhandled by Graeme Lee, he tries to keep going, but is eventually bought to the ground. Despite being up the other end of the pitch, Lee Hughes races back to remonstrate with the referee (an action he recreates on more than one occasion throughout the remainder of the game), but it doesn’t change the decision; Lee is red carded, and leaves the pitch. The away fans (or at least some of them) complain bitterly, but from as last man, he has to go. As if to exact the ultimate punishment, Danny Green (him of the slow tracking back), plants the resulting free kick past Stuart Nelson in the County goal, and it’s now 2-0.
The fourth official holds up the board to signal four minutes of additional time, but almost at the end of the allotted time, we get another chance, when Jon Nurse is played through, and lobs the ball goal-wards. An excellent clearance off the line is then ruined, as the ball falls to Akinde, who despite having his back to goal on the edge of the area, is fouled, and the official points to the spot. Cue more moaning from the away team. Green is given the ball, and is successful; 3-0.
The first half eventually finishes, with almost eight minutes of added time played. As the officials leave the pitch, they are abused by the angry away fans, as the players tunnel is situated under the stand housing the visitors.
At the start of the second half, it becomes clear quite quickly that County have nothing to lose, and will be going all out to get something out of the game. There is the occasional break from the home side, but, despite the one player advantage, it’s County who are in the ascendancy. Twenty five minutes of Notts pressure eventually pay off, as from a left wing corner, substitute Njogu Demba-Nyren scores with a header. This seems to raise the spirits of the away fans, although the home fans in the covered north terrace are now getting anxious. Dagenham look sloppy, and are giving the ball away very cheaply. Against a better side, we would be in deep trouble, even with the player advantage.
With ten minutes to go, any noise in the ground (from both sets of fans) just seems to disappear, like we’ve all suddenly been transported into a noiseless vacuum. It’s quite strange, but it just goes silent. Perhaps the tension is getting to everyone.
As the clock ticks down (and it seems to be getting slower), there is a further chance for Notts at the ninety minute mark approaches. Hughes is fouled on the edge of the area, and a free kick is awarded. Hughes gets up and complains about something, but while this is going on, the ball ends up in the net. It’s an excellent strike, but the whistle has already been blown. Cue more moaning, but this time that the goal should be given. The free kick ends up doing nothing, and then the board goes up; five more minutes to play.
Given our position, we should be able to see this out, but after the second half has shown us that it’s not going to be easy to survive. The ball ends up on the top of the net a couple of times, and although there are still some moments when there looks as though there could be a seizure or two in the terrace, we get through it, and finally, the whistle is blown. We’ve won, 3-1.
It’s been a long day. The sending off should have made things a bit easier, but in the end, it’s almost been brown trouser, or squeaky bum time. We’ve moved up to 19th in the table after this result, which matches our highest placing of the season. Our next game is away to Brighton, which is probably about as difficult as it’s going to get at the moment. Today’s win though has put the bounce back in the step, and at least we are out of the bottom four.
Time off for good behaviour – Saturday 2nd April
The Daggers have made the long trip westwards today, for a game against Exeter City. It’s been unfortunate recently that I haven’t been able to make any of the last three daggers games; two because of international duty, and then because of cash.
Since my last Daggers game, the team have drawn at Leyton Orient (1-1), at home to Sheffield Wednesday (also 1-1), and then lost 0-1 at home to Brighton. Two points from those three games isn’t a bad return, but the bottom of the division is tight enough that one win from those three would have helped us out enormously. Still, it’s two more than some would have expected. Today’s reason for missing the trip though is all down to money. In the next few weeks, we have a trip to Brighton, and then to Tranmere four days later. These are not cheap days out. As mentioned recently by Mark Pitman in his piece about the Welsh Premier League, cost is becoming an increasingly important factor when selecting which games to attend.
So, I have instead have settled on a local game. Today’s match of choice is an Essex Senior League game, at the Terrance MacMillan Stadium in Plaistow between London APSA and Southend Manor.
APSA were formed less than twenty years ago, when the Asian Football League (AFL) started, and after several years playing in this league, the club made the step up to the senior level. The club (then known as Ahle Sunnah) won the first Asian League, and played for several years in various Asian run competitions. According to the club history, the plan was to eventually get the club playing senior football, but their home, the Terrance MacMillan Stadium wasn’t up to scratch at the time. So while the stadium was bought up to standard, they played at Aveley FC, before heading back to Plaistow. They eventually gained their place in the Essex Senior League in 2003, and have spent the intervening years there.
Saturday 2nd April, London APSA v Southend Manor, Terrance MacMillan Stadium
Cost today is not an issue here; it’s a fiver to get in (after you’ve managed to successfully negotiate the front desk to the leisure centre that the stadium is attached to), and £1 for the programme. This however, is a bit of a problem, as I only have a £10 note, and those collecting the money don’t have any change. So the idea is that after finding the tea bar, I can go back to them to pay for the programme. Except that they don’t have any change either, and so Dan coughs up to pay for my tea and programme.
We are not expecting a big crowd today. A quick glance at the attendance stats in the programme shows that APSA have the lowest average gate in the league, with just 17. Southend Manor average 50, so it’s not going to get terribly busy today, which might be handy if they haven’t got change for programmes or the tea bar.
Although the club has strong Asian links, there are strangely few in the crowd. The six-a-side pitches outside the centre are full of people playing the short-sided version of the game, but none of these will wonder in to the stadium to watch the game. Their “A” side are doing very well in the South Essex Sunday Football League, and are in the running for three trophies. However, will any of these make the step up to the first team?
After the obligatory handshakes between the match officials and the two teams, the game begins. However, the first few minutes are not particularly exciting, and two small kids that have wondered in are running around the athletics track with luminous guns, ending up in the steeplechase water pit. Once bored with that, they end up in the hammer throw net, and rest up for a bit, clearly conserving energy for their next big operation.
The home side have had a few corners and done nothing with them. But after a quarter of an hour, it’s the visitors who go in front. A shot through a crowded area falls to the feet of Terry Griffiths, who half volleys the ball home. This brings several volleys of abuse aimed at the female assistant referee who is patrolling the left side of the APSA defence. We only find out the scorer in the second half; there are no announcements as there doesn’t look to be a public address system. Perhaps if there was anything wrong, the whole crowd could be notified by an announcement at conversational level.
Just a minute after the goal, there is more mouthing off, this time by the left back of APSA, and the referee awards a free kick. With the play over the other side of the pitch and not much crowd noise to drown it out, we can hear more or less the verbals being given out. It’s a daft moment, as the free kick is straight in front of goal, about twenty yards out. The free kick though isn’t taken advantage of, and so he gets away with it.
This sets a trend during the first half, of whoever appeals the loudest, gets the decision. There are several that have those watching (and those playing by the looks of it) generally bemused by the decisions that the officiating team are making. To be fair to them, they also get a couple of close calls right, but that doesn’t help their caase, at least in the eyes of both sets of management, whose complaints you can clearly hear, even from the other side of the arena.
It takes APSA a good half an hour to create their first proper chance at goal, but this is comfortably saved by the Manor goalkeeper. They are forcing a few corners, which is down to either good attacking play or the playing surface which is causing the ball to bounce up and bobble at the wrong moment. There is enough time for a quick break by the visitors just before the half time, but nothing comes of it, and so when the players troop off across the running track to the changing rooms, Manor are still 1 up.
At this point, the crowd, such as it is, disappear from the seated area, and wonder off. Hopefully they are going to supply the tea bar with loads of change, but from the amount of polystyrene cups that are visible for the start of the second half, I’m not so sure that they have.
After a quarter of an hour, Southend are 2-0 up. It’s at this point that we find out who scored the first, when (presumably) a home official wonders over to a couple of visiting fans to ask who got their second. They think that the first was scored by Terry Griffiths and the second was by Eddie someone – quick as a flash Dan turns round to ponder out loud if it was Eddie Charlton. All we need is for Cliff Thorburn to get a third and we are sorted. Someone helpfully reckons that it was actually Eddie Hart, but that’s all we know. The goal is actually quite a nice flick with the outside of the left foot, after a clearance rebounds back into the area. It loops over the keeper, and nestles nicely in the back of the net.
The refereeing fun and games continue a few minutes later, when he awards a thrown in to the home side, but it looks as though it’s taken by the visitors. Play continues, with the APSA players trying to get back into position, indignant that they have been deprived a throw in that they thought was theirs. To make matters worse, the ball then goes out of play and the linesman on the far side to where we are sitting signals a goal kick, but the referee awards a corner. Cue more “industrial” language from the home team, but there is no card, or free kick. We all know that officials have a difficult time of it; players trying to get opponents sent off, faking injuries and such like, and we know that everyone makes mistakes. The two assistants though seem to be making a decision, only for the head honcho in the middle to over-rule them.
APSA are starting to look a bit dispirited when they make their two substitutions. The two that come on looked ok at the half time interval, but that was with no-one to tackle them. How will they do with opponents?
The answer is not much. With ten to go, Manor score a third with the best move of the game. Some neat passing is finished off with a shot from the edge of the area to finish off the game. Almost at the same moment, we get a text from down south; Dagenham have gone in front.
Feeling quite happy with our selves, we sit through the next couple of minutes of the game in front of us, thinking about how many places we will go up in the division if we can hold on. Dan even produces the league table on his phone (which at this point has us at 18th) only then to get another message; Exeter have equalised.
Still a point for us would be a good outcome. With this one drawing to a close, our thoughts are turning westward again. As we leave the stadium, and manage to get through the turnstile at the sports centre, we get another message; Exeter have won 2-1. Frustrated is the only word I can think of to describe how I feel at this moment. Well, I can think of others, but I’m not going to use those ones. A winning position has been lost, and now, with Peterborough at home on Tuesday, this run in to the end of the season is going to get tight again. This could still be a bumpy ride to May 7th.
Get to the point! Saturday 12th March 2011
It’s amazing what changes in a week. Last Saturday, on our way to Bristol Rovers, most were of the opinion that a win was vital, but a draw would be a reasonable result. Fast forward seven days, and there is a new spring in the step of the daggers fans as we make another trip west, this time to play Swindon Town.
After last weekend, we had another midweek game, this time against Colchester United. An early goal from Bas Savage was enough to secure us the points, and we achieved something we hadn’t done all season; win two consecutive games. For a team chasing a play off position, Colchester weren’t too impressive on the night, although they could have got an equalizer in the last minute. The audible groan as the free kick was conceded was replaced by a hush that seemed to suggest that we were going to give up a much needed win. When the free kick went straight into the wall and was cleared, the relief was not just audible, but visible as well, with several around me praying for thanks. When the whistle went, it got the loudest cheer of the night. The second loudest was when it was announced that results had combined to move us up to 20th, our second highest position of the season, but more importantly out of the relegation places for the first time since October.
So confidence is now everywhere, and today we have a journey to another of the teams trying to stay in the division, Swindon Town. Like us, they were at Wembley last May for a play-off final, but they lost to Millwall. Had it not been for an unfortunate bobble of the ball just as Charlie Austin was about to shoot, then they may have been in the Championship, and today would have been a short trip to South London.
As it has turned out, the season has gone far worse than anyone could have expected, culminating in a change of manager recently. Paul Hart has been drafted in to keep the club up, having done the same in the last couple of years, notably at Crystal Palace twelve months ago.
Swindon are another of the ex-premier league clubs in the division this season, having spent one year in the top flight back in 1993-94. In the week that Spurs got to the Champions League quarter finals, they were one of five teams that Swindon beat that year, on their way to conceding a ton of goals.
They had been promoted to the top division in 1990, but after winning the play off final against Sunderland, they were relegated two divisions after being found guilty of irregular payments to players, although this was reduced on appeal to one division. The club (according to their own website) have always had a bit of a problem with finance.
This year though, it’s not finance causing the problem, but result on the pitch. Going into this game, they are bottom of the league, so it’s another big game for both teams.
Saturday 12th March; Swindon Town v Dagenham & Redbridge
It’s a half reasonable spring afternoon when we arrive to negotiate the magic roundabout which is outside the ground. It’s been a (relatively) short journey, with a three hour coach ride from East London to Wiltshire. There is a service station stop, but this is only a short one, and there is no chance of repeating the hill rolling championships of last week. Honestly, don’t ask.
Today is “Armed Forces Day”, and around the ground, there are soldiers rattling collecting tins, and selling “Help for Heroes” t-shirts and badges. We even have a trip back to yesteryear before the game, with a marching band on the pitch, performing for at least fifteen minutes before they leave the arena, ready for the players to enter.
With the armed services being honoured, we have the national anthem before the game. I know this is regular occurrence in North American sports, but this is the first time it has happened in a league game that I have attended. The anthem is belted out by all inside the ground, and after the obligatory handshakes, the game can finally begin.
We start quite well. A couple of corners are gained, and although we don’t do too much with them, it is an encouraging start. Ten minutes into the game though, Solomon Taiwo picks up an injury, and although he tries to carry on, he is soon replaced by Bingham. This heralds a period of the game in which Swindon look threatening, and we seem to be unable to string three passes together. The frustration in the away section is coming to the boil, and there are a few that, if they had any toys, would have thrown them out of the pram.
The home team are gaining a fair amount of confidence from their spell in charge, and in particular David Prutton, who looks to be in control. He has probably the best chance of the first half during their dominance, when he is one on one with Tony Roberts, but his shot is saved and we clear it.
Once the team have settled down after the reorganisation of the substitute, (it takes a good fifteen minutes), we start to get back into the game. Again, we aren’t making the home goalkeeper work too much, but we are starting to force the play again, and as the half winds down to its conclusion, the assumption is that we should get through to the break level.
Of course, as soon you start to think this, it all goes wrong. A mix up between Abu Ogogo and Scott Doe allows Mike Grella to nip in and lob the ball over the stranded goalkeeper. It’s not quite deserved, as a level score might have been more like it, but it’s been the same thing that has been costing us all season; individual mistakes. There are four minutes to be added on, but we don’t too much with it, and the break arrives with the home fans in buoyant mood.
The second half starts and it has started to get a bit colder. The clouds have gathered over the ground, and they are more than evident in the away section as well. The frustration levels are reaching new levels, and people are starting to go the same shade of red as our home shirts. Abu Ogogo picks a yellow card early in the half, and there is a small amount of pushing and shoving, before the referee restores order and resumes the game.
The rest of the half is starting to get a bit on the scrappy side, with both sides not really creating too much except for half chances. The defences for both teams, although not particularly secure, are just about holding firm. There are last ditch challenges, and refereeing decisions that annoy both the home and away fans. The game is starting to get away from us, and although we get the occasional half chance, we are starting to look like we have come a long way for nothing. Then with five minutes to go, a corner is only half cleared, and it falls to Peter Gain just outside the area. His half volley is bounced into the ground, but it heads goal-wards, and is deflected by Jon Nurse. This touch is enough to loop the ball over the goalkeeper and send the away fans into delirium. After looking as though the hard work of the last week would be going to waste, we’ve now got the opportunity of a point.
The home fans are crestfallen, but there is still time to win the game. Four minutes are added on, and we try to keep the ball in the corner, although we somehow contrive to lose it. In the last minute the home side attack and break into the penalty area; from our view at the other end of the stadium, it looks a certain penalty The home fans certainly think so, as do their management; however we clear the ball and the final whistle is blown.
Once that goes, several home players surround the referee, and the reception as the officials leave the field can be described as hostile at best. The away team though gather in the middle of the pitch, and have their usual post-match huddle. Then, once that is done, they walk over to the travelling support, and there is applause from both groups. There is a feeling on the coach home that we got away with a good result, especially with the late goal and penalty appeal. Results at the bottom of the table have gone our way, and while we are still 20th, we are still out of the relegation zone. It could have looked so much worse, so a point is valuable. But next up is Charlton at home, and then a trip to Leyton Orient. This is going to get tough again.
Bloomin’ eck! – 5th March 2011
We are now reaching the stage of the season when almost every game can be labelled as a “six-pointer”. Whether it’s two promotion chasing teams, two at the bottom of the table, or one of each, the fixture attains almost mythical proportions to describe just how important it is.
There is also a school of thought that suggests that, when you are in need of points (at whichever end of the table you occupy), that it’s important to keep playing games. Just as we had hit a bit of form (or what passes for it this season), we had a free Saturday when we should have been playing Leyton Orient. Our two games following the weekend off were against two teams at the top of the table. On the Tuesday night, we secured a hard fought and entertaining (if somewhat fortunate) point against Huddersfield, before losing to an 88th minute goal against Bournemouth a few days later.
What these games have shown up (and this has been evident all season) is that, while the effort can not be faulted, we are seriously lacking in a forward who can score a goal. Our highest scorer so far this season is Romain Vincelot, a central midfielder who arrived at the club as a full back and who has scored nine. Our second highest scorer is Jon Nurse, (with five) who in three and a half years at the club has probably played in almost every position except goalkeeper and centre back.
So today’s trip to Bristol Rovers (who are at the bottom of the table like us) probably qualifies under the category of a “six-pointer”. For both teams, a win could be the start of a run of results that pushes them up the table, and closer to safety. For whoever loses, it gets a whole lot harder to stay in the division.
Rovers have already won 3-0 at Victoria Road, way back in September, when they had only a handful of shots on goal, and won at a canter. This result was in a run of games that eventually led the club to their highest position of the season at the start of October, when they got to ninth in the league. After their win against Rochdale on October 16th, they dropped down to 21st within two months, which included a defeat to Darlington in the FA Cup. Things are not good around the club, especially as they also announced in the week leading up to the game, losses of around £1m in the last year.
Saturday 5th March, Bristol Rovers v Dagenham & Redbridge
While a few of our travelling contingent make the five minute stroll up the road to the nearest pub, I wonder straight in to the ground. It’s early, and there is not too much going on, although the kids that will eventually provide the “guard of honour” as the players come on to the pitch are wondering around, waving their flags. Perhaps it’s just a practice.
Then there is the obligatory mascot. Given the clubs nickname is the Pirates, it’s perhaps not much of a shock to discover that their mascot is a pirate. I’m not sure of the accuracy of the costume though, as I picture most pirates as having a parrot on the shoulder, and at least one wooden leg. This one has neither of these, and while I have seen Pirates of the Caribbean, I think they should have pandered to the stereotype. Mind you, it might have been difficult kick a ball..
Given the importance of the game, it’s perhaps not a surprise that it starts in a fairly scrappy fashion, and for the first fifteen minutes one person suggests that this would make a poor League 2 fixture next season. With mobile phones being checked for updates at Swindon v Walsall, the news that it is also 0-0 early on is met with a fair amount of relief, but with the knowledge that there is still a long way to go.
Rovers have the first chance (or several at goal), as a good old fashioned goal mouth scramble sees Tony Roberts make an excellent save, before they managed to hit the cross bar, and then a shot is cleared off the line. This is already shaping up to be a long afternoon.
Gradually though, we start to get somewhere. A couple of quick corners produce our first effort at goal, with a Soloman Taiwo header going a couple of feet over the bar. It’s not that close, but at least we’ve had an effort at goal. This signals a change in the game, as suddenly we now start to look a bit more confident, while Rovers are starting to go backwards. They still manage a couple of half chances, but these end up in the home support behind the goal, rather than heading towards the net.
The Rovers subs are warming up in front of the away support, which has been put into a corner of the stadium, although there are a few Daggers fans in the seats that have been provided behind the goal. The stand looks like a subbuteo effort; in fact, the whole stadium is a bit strange. Many cricket stadiums have several stands, and this is almost the same kind of arrangement. The opposite side of the stadium to where we have been placed contains three different stands, and one of those is similar to that behind the goal. It’s not your standard football arena, but then again, this is a rugby stadium.
One of the subs for Rovers has started running along in orange boots. Cue the songs about having carrots on his feet, which brings a smile and a thumbs up from him, which is quite nice. One minute later, another sub comes along with his hood up. This brings a song about him being ginger; the removal of the hood reveals his bright red hair, and so there are more songs to follow.
Six minutes before half time, we lose our left back to injury, and so we have to make our first substitution of the afternoon. Off goes Damian McCrory, and on comes Femi Ilesanmi. To say that Femi has divided opinion since he has been in the team is to be polite. There is clearly talent there; after all you don’t play in the football league if you are no good. However, his inexperience shows at times, and there are times when you genuinely fear when the opposition starts to attack his side of the pitch. However, today is not one of those days; aside from the first minute on the pitch when he is out of position, he plays really well.
On the other side of the pitch is Phil Ifill, and he has his brother playing centre back for Rovers. Phil has also experienced a difficult year, but today his display is faultless. The same can not be said for his brother.
With about a minute to go before half time, Romain Vincelot is bought down by the Rovers Ifill, and after some pushing and shoving, as well as some debate as to whether the foul was inside or outside the area, a free kick is awarded, and Ifill gets his marching orders. With Rovers down to ten, the optimism levels increase in the away section; this goes through the roof (if there was one on the away section) when Danny Green blasts the free kick past Conrad Logan to give us a lead.
The referee gets the inevitable abuse as he leaves the field at half time, although to be fair to him, it’s not as though there was much option available to him. The break is very welcome, and the feeling is that while we need a second to make the game (almost) safe, aside from the goalmouth scramble early on, they haven’t caused too many problems.
The second half is almost the same as the first, except that the home side aren’t able to stop getting themselves offside. They have two goals ruled out as clearly they are eager to make amends for their first half display. Once we have weathered the storm, we start to push forward again, and while we don’t seem to be able to make too many chances, neither are they. With twenty five minutes to go, Darren Currie is replaced by Bas Savage, and he is greeted by a not-so-warm welcome by the home faithful. However, it is probably about the right time to introduce him, as we are only playing one up front, and we now need someone to hold the ball up for us.
The home subs are still warming up in front of us, and one of them disappears off to use the portable toilets near the away section. He is gone a couple of minutes before he re-emerges, and once he does, it’s to enquiries about whether the toilet stinks or if he has washed his hands. A couple of minutes later, a team mate uses the same one, and is out fairly quickly. Make your own minds up.
The second goal comes six minutes before the end of the game. A Danny Green corner is headed home by our flying Frenchman Vincelot, who appears to have almost the freedom of Bristol in the penalty area. Cue more celebration in the area section, and the exit of large swathes of home fans. The reaction of team captain Mark Arber to the second goal was very telling; a turn to the away fans and fists clenched in celebration. The attendance figure is shown on the scoreboard, but there are less than that now left in the ground. Some aim a few insults at the away section, and some are given back, but the home fans (as we would be) are more disappointed in their own team. This was clearly not in the plan.
Five minutes of stoppage time give only a faint glimmer of hope to those still thinking of a fight-back, and when most of those have elapsed, the exodus of home fans starts to gain momentum. At the final whistle, the ground is half empty.
The celebrations in the away end show just how important this win is. There are several attempts to get Bas Savage to do his moonwalk, and although it takes a few minutes, he eventually gives in. Obviously, if we are unsuccessful in our attempt to stay in the division, then it will have all been in vain. However, its days like these that you remember. With the Swindon-Walsall match ending 0-0, we have just boosted our chances of staying up enormously, although next week we have to travel back down this way to play Swindon. In between, we have a home game with Colchester United, and while that won’t be easy (they near to the play off positions), the confidence will no doubt have been boosted.
Double dose of disappointment – Saturday 19th February 2011
For us Daggers, today is another free Saturday. We should have been playing Leyton Orient in a league game, but instead they have a FA Cup Fifth Round tie against some team called Arsenal. In the last couple of weeks, we’ve gained another home win, after beating Yeovil 2-1 despite being second best for much of the first half. This moved us up to the heady heights of 22nd, before a Tuesday night trip to the midlands to play another of the teams in the League One relegation zone, Walsall. With time off work proving difficult to obtain, this was a game that I had to miss. However, thanks to the modern miracle that is the text message, I was kept up to date by Dagenham Dan. The game didn’t go well for us, and another defeat meant that we had missed another chance to get closer to those teams just above us in the table.
So, in an attempt to find another game to go to, I went through the fixture lists, looking for a game that leapt out and got the juices flowing. There were several games in the Isthmian League that stood out, but in the end the winner was an Essex Senior League encounter between Clapton and Takeley. However, things did not go quite according to plan.
Saturday 19th February 2011 – Clapton v Takeley, Spotted Dog Ground (Part 1)
The day starts with the sky completely grey and solidly covered in rain clouds. It’s been raining for the whole morning, and after an early check of the fixture websites, there are several pitch inspections for the middle of the morning.
By the time I leave home at 1.30pm, the games at Hornchurch and Romford have already been called off. Although I have looked at the Essex Senior League site, there is no news on the Clapton game, so I travel in hope of seeing a game, rather than expectation.
I get to Upton Park at 2pm, and instead of turning right out of the station towards the Boleyn Ground, I have to turn left and head towards Forest Gate. It’s a bit of a walk to the Spotted Dog Ground, but at least with the help of Google Maps, I know what the area around the ground looks like. When I eventually get there, it’s almost exactly as it was on the internet. The Spotted Dog Inn next door to the ground is boarded up, and although the tyre yard next door seems to be open, there is no sign of life. There’s none inside the ground either, as the gates are locked, and there is no sign of movement. A quick inspection of the signboard outside the ground shows a club telephone number. I try that, and it’s the same as the one listed on the League website. It rings a few times, before it’s answered; the number is a wrong one, and before I can check that I have dialled the right one, they have hung up. A quick glance at the call list on my mobile shows the same number as on the board; something has gone wrong somewhere.
Still, as there is no life in the ground, I now have a decision to make, and it has to be made now. I can either wait around, and see if there is a game going on, or use my back up plan.
I decide that I will go to the second game, and see if that is on. This means that I now have another walk back to Upton Park station, and hope that I can catch a train in time.
Saturday 19th February 2011 – Eton Manor v Sawbridgeworth Town, Mayesbrook Park (Part 2)
As I get to Upton Park, an eastbound train has just departed; the passengers that have just left the train are coming up the stairs, as I am trying to get to the platform. In the distance, there is another train just a couple of minutes behind, which is great; however as it draws closer, I can see that it is only going as far as Barking, one stop short of the station I need.
Thankfully the wait at Barking is only a couple of minutes before a train to Upney comes along. I need to be at Upney by 2.45pm as it’s a decent walk through a park before arriving at the ground. The drizzle has continued, but at least the heavier rain has stopped. There is a game going on in the park, but this is one of those times when I need wipers on my specs, and from a distance, I can’t tell quite what is going on.
As I get nearer to the ground, the only noise that I can hear is those from the park game, and through the drizzle, a goal is scored. I’ve no idea who by, but the collective cheer tells me that at least one team is happy.
There is no noise coming from the ground that Eton Manor share with Barking; not a dickie-bird. A closer inspection reveals that the only occupants of the playing surfaces are seagulls; this one is off as well.
Sunday 20th February 2011 – Fulham v Bolton Wanderers, Craven Cottage
It’s just as well, given yesterday’s events that I had booked a ticket for this one. With Bolton only winning their replay at Wigan on Wednesday night, the fixture gods had decided that this would be a Sunday game. And with no engineering works on the district line to disrupt my journey, why not take in another game?
If those in charge of the oldest cup competition in the world have their way, the replay could soon be a thing of the past. It was twenty years ago that the idea of fixture congestion led to the removal of second replays, and to the penalty shoot out becoming part of the FA Cup.
The League Cup has already gone this way; there is now just the one game in the second round (when most of the top division teams enter) instead of the two that there used to be. If there hadn’t been a second leg, then West Ham (for example) would never have beaten Bury 10-0 in 1983; they would have simply progressed to the third round having actually beaten a lower league side away from home.
Another change proposed is the seeding of the “bigger clubs” (i.e. Premier League) so that they can not meet another until later in the competition. If applied to this season, then Manchester United and Liverpool wouldn’t have played each other in the Third Round. This is an idea to halt the fall of attendances in the FA Cup, but given these times of financial difficulty, charging normal league process for a game is probably going to have more of an effect on those attending, having already shelled out more than enough on a season ticket.
Then we have the idea to change the kick off time to 5.30pm, because the broadcast partners reckon they will get a bigger audience for the game. Why the change? Perhaps if we actually had a more competitive league in this country and different teams made the final, more people would watch?
For today’s game, Fulham have charged £20 for a ticket, which isn’t bad. In the week that UEFA announced the ticket prices for the Champions League final at Wembley, it’s good to see that there are at least some games involving Premier League sides that are still reasonably affordable.
The FA Cup games have been spread all over the weekend; the draw for the quarter finals is being made at half time in this game, at the end of the fourth round replay at Manchester City. The winners of this game will be away to Birmingham City, and after the first half, that will be Bolton. Fulham have several chances to clear a cross, but eventually the ball falls to Ivan Klasnic, and his left foot volley beats Schwarzer into the corner of the net. For the remainder of the half, the home crowd alternate their anger between the team (which is not performing as well as they have done recently), and the referee, Stuart Atwell.
Mr Atwell, previously the youngest referee to officiate in the Premier League, must have forgotten his cards in the changing room. Shirt pulling has now become an offence punishable by a bit of a talking to, and is not just committed once (in particular David Wheater) but several times. There are other offences by both teams that apparently warrant no more than a quick chat; I’m all for a referee that allows the game to flow, but to completely disregard any kind of discipline is asking for trouble.
As the teams leave the field at half time, a couple of the Fulham staff have a go at the boy Atwell, but while there is a bit of booing as the team leave the pitch, the full treatment is dished out to the referee. A few minutes later, members of the 1975 Cup Final team are presented to the crowd, which includes Alan Mullery. The ex-players are asked a couple of questions, and when Mullery is asked if Fulham can get back into the game, his reply is that “only if they can do something about the referee”, which is greeted with the biggest cheer of the day.
The next biggest cheer is for the return of Bobby Zamora twenty minutes into the second half. Aside from a couple of half-chances, the home team have not really created too much, and anything they have made is ruined by the need to take one extra touch of the ball before getting the shop away. At least now there is a bit more of a physical threat up front, but only time will tell if it makes any difference.
All the while, Bolton are coping quite nicely, if not entirely possibly within the laws of the game. Their attacks are also slightly more threatening, with Martin Petrov forcing Schwarzer into a near post save. Petrov also has a bit of a set-to with Chris Baird; there is an elbow thrown, and then Baird reacts, but Atwell shows only yellow to them both, which surprises those around me who were expecting red cards for each.
There are four minutes of stoppage time added, and finally in the last minute of the game, there is a yellow card for shirt pulling, but it’s Stuart Holden that collects it, rather than the culprits throughout the game. Fulham still create very little, and when the whistle goes, it is the visitors that confirm their trip to the Midlands, and Fulham’s hopes of emulating 1975 are over for another year.
To blame the referee for the result would be pushing it. Sure, there were some decisions that were more than a bit puzzling, but Fulham were not good enough on the day, and Bolton just about deserved to take their place in the next round.
The highest ground in England – Oldham Athletic away – 5th February 2011
The last update was after the home game against the MK Dons, which had ended in a last minute defeat. Our next scheduled game was meant to be at Brighton, but given their involvement in the fourth round of the FA Cup, that was called off and rearranged for April. In fact, given the results on the weekend of the fourth round, our game at Leyton Orient has also now been postponed, which means that we will have another free weekend coming up.
Our last game before today’s trip was last Tuesday, at home to Brentford. In the summer of 2009, we lost three players to the Bees, although only one of those is actually still at the club. However, by the time we get to play this game, two of them (Strevens and Foster) have long gone, and Sam Saunders is the only one remaining, and he is only on the bench.
There have been rumblings of discontent around Brentford recently, and their display on the night at Victoria Road only backs this up. Our 4-1 is our biggest win of the season, and we played really well, although Brentford are woeful. A couple of days after the game, Andy Scott is sacked, and Brentford are the latest club to have to start a search for a new manager.
Today’s opponents though, are Oldham Athletic. Boundary Park is the highest football league ground in the country, were one of the founder members of the Premier League in 1992-93, and spent three years in the top flight from 1991-94. The early nineties were a successful time for the club, with a League Cup final appearance at Wembley in 1990, as well as two FA Cup semi-final appearances, and a Second Division Championship in 1991. Some put their good fortune down to the plastic pitch that the club used at the time, but it wasn’t just down to their playing surface that they managed to do so well. The team at the time contained decent players like defender Earl Barrett, goal-scorers Roger Palmer and Andy Ritchie, a tricky left winger in Rick Holden, and had a manager in Joe Royle who would lead the club into the top flight for the first time in their history.
Unfortunately for Oldham, their relegation from the Premier League came at a time when the popularity of the division started to rocket, and with it the riches that we see today. At present, they are the longest serving club in the third tier of the English League, which is something that we Daggers would like to try and emulate.
Saturday 5th February; Oldham Athletic v Dagenham & Redbridge
I have a guide book to the Premier and Football League grounds, although it is quite a few years old now. One of the things that it mentioned about Boundary Park is that a few of the locals called it “Ice Station Zebra”, due to the wind that sweeps in off the Pennines. However, for our visit, it’s not too cold on the day, just wet. Very wet.
On our way up to the game, we receive several text messages from those already up in the area, saying that it had been raining solidly for several hours and that the game could be in serious doubt. To support this, other games in the area, such as those at Bury, Macclesfield and Altrincham have already been postponed. With this in mind, we spend the last hour or so of the journey going through the fixture lists in the papers, trying to find a possible replacement. Hopefully they aren’t needed.
We arrive in Oldham just before 1.30pm, and it’s still raining. The stewards outside the ground are trying to raise our spirits, by saying that the pitch looks quite good. They have been working on the surface all morning, and are confident that the game will go ahead. It has passed the 1pm inspection, but there is still time for it to be called off. We have a quick stroll around to one of the local pubs, but we are soon back on the way to the ground, and as soon as we get to the away turnstiles we go into the ground.
Three of us have been collecting the tokens for cheaper Football League tickets from one of the popular national newspapers, and having got six tickets, we have all got in for about half price. With the coach fare, it’s working out to be a cheap day, although this will all have been wasted if the game doesn’t go ahead.
The teams warm up, and it’s still pouring down. The ground is still mostly empty with less than 30 minutes before kick off, but then it starts to fill up, reaching the final attendance just as the teams emerge down the steps and on to the pitch.
Boundary Park, aside from being the highest football league ground in England, has also got only three sides to it. The Broadway Stand was demolished, with the idea being that a new stand would be built in its place. Presently though, there is nothing there, although there is a nice view of the car park, and the housing estate behind it. The terrace is still there, but it’s not occupied, except for a lone camera gantry, and an Oldham/Scotland flag, The ball boys occasionally visit to retrieve an errant clearance (mainly from the Daggers) but aside from that, it stands alone.
As the first half progresses, it looks as though we could get a result here. Oldham don’t look like a side that are fifth in the table at the start of play. Morais has the first chance of the game, but his header on 15 minutes goes over the bar. We’ve started the game in a nervous fashion, but are still in it. It takes us almost 40 minutes to force their goalkeeper Ben Amos make his first save, but he has to make a decent stop to prevent a Jon Nurse volley from creeping in. Less than 90 seconds our left back, Femi Ilesanmi makes a mistake, and that allows Oumare Tounkara a chance to go through one on one with Tony Roberts. However, his effort sails over the bar, and although there are still a few minutes left, half time arrives with the score at 0-0.
The first half has been quite quiet at times, with the only noise being the rain bouncing off the roof of the stands. I personally would have been quite happy for this to continue, but five minutes into the second half an attack down the Oldham left results in Abu Ogogo falling over, the ball going into the path of Dale Stephens whose shot eludes Roberts and crashes into the net. It’s the first time we’ve heard some sustained noise from the home fans, although the school kids that are nearest to the away fans are dishing it out in the way that only kids can.
The songs flying back all involve it being past their bed time, or the fact that their homework is due soon. However, on the pitch, Oldham are in control, and for a 15 minute period after the goal, they are in charge. The next goal, as it is said in pundit-land, is crucial, and it looks as though Oldham are going to get it.
With twenty minutes to go, our 4-5-1 formation becomes a much more recognisable 4-4-2, when Billy Bingham (no, not the former Northern Ireland manager), is replaced by Bas Savage. We now have two giant lumps up front, but it’s a change that we need. Within 5 minutes, the change makes an impact. Jon Nurse throws the ball into Savage, about ten yards from the goal line, but the ball goes over the striker and his marker. Amos starts to advance to claim the ball, but Romain Vincelot nips in and just gets to the ball first. His header just gets over the line before the defender can get there, and from looking as though we are out of the game, we are now level. We are now starting to get a hold on the game, and suddenly we are winning the 50/50 challenges. Still, there is the occasional scare, such as when we think the referee has given the home side a penalty with less than ten minutes left. The kids next to us are celebrating, before they realise that it’s actually a goal kick. They look crestfallen, while we breathe a huge sigh of relief. We might get a point out of this.
There are still a few minutes and a couple of near misses to suffer before stoppage time is announced; four minutes. Oldham have a couple of corners, and go close with a couple of our fans almost exploding as they shout for a corner to be cleared. Then with a minute to go Peter Gain goes for the ball, but seems to end up rearranging one of the home players testicles, and gets a straight red card. This adds another couple of minutes to stoppage time, and once again the ball is launched into our penalty area.
We have one more close call to survive, but once the referee blows the final whistle, the celebrations in the away end are about gaining an unexpected point. The news trickles through that Walsall have won, so although we have drawn, we now drop to the bottom of the table. However, the gap between us and those just above the relegation zone has narrowed, albeit slightly. There is still hope of avoiding the drop, as we are now starting to collect points on a regular basis. We still need to start winning games, and over the next few weeks, we will play Swindon, Bristol Rovers and Walsall, who are all in the places around the bottom of the table. Points will be needed against all of those if we are to stay up, but we can do it. As it says on the back of the Oldham tickets, “Keep the Faith”.
Let’s Kick Racism out of Football – January 2011
December was a really good month for us. We had a 100% win record for the month, and the fact that we only played once is not going to take that away from us. Going up to Carlisle for our longest journey of the season and winning meant that it was a great day out.
January though, has not been so great. Although we won up at Hartlepool last weekend that was the only game in which we have picked up any points in January. We have already lost to Brentford (1-2), Southampton (1-3) and Rochdale (0-1).
Of course the downside to only playing once in what is traditionally a busy month is that those games that were postponed because of the weather now have to be fitted in somewhere else in the calendar. This has meant that, after today’s game (our fifth in January), we don’t play again until February 1st, and have a total of eight games in February. Not only that, but the way that the fixtures have fallen could see us have our game at Leyton Orient on February 19th postponed, as well as the trip to Exeter on April 2nd, through possible cup commitments for both. So for us, after today we still have 22 games to play, and of these 12 are at home. However, before anyone gets excited, our last home win was against Swindon on October 2nd, and we’ve lost the last three at home. The way it looks at the moment, it’s not much of an advantage to have.
Once again, we have had sad news in the week leading up to this game. Dave Powis, the father of our current supporter’s club chairman passed away at the start of the week. Known as “Wise Dave”, he was a former vice-chairman of the supporters club, and had been a fan of Dagenham (before the merger with Redbridge Forest in 1992) for many years. Dave will be very sadly missed.
Today’s game is against M.K. Dons, and it’s been designated as the “Daggers against Racism” day, where adult terrace tickets are available in advance for 99p, and the hopes are that a big crowd will be in attendance. Of course, this is also a chance to gain some new supporters or to at least encourage some to attend on a more regular basis. The cast list for today’s festivities include members of parliament, mayors of both councils, and Lord Mawhinney, the honorary president of the Football League. High powered stuff.
Saturday 22nd January, npower League 1, Dagenham & Redbridge v M.K. Dons
With last weeks win up at Hartlepool putting a bit of a spring back in the step, it was onto another difficult game against an opposition side who are sixth in the table at the start of play. However, the flip side is that in the previous five meetings (including the game earlier this season) we hadn’t won once. Indeed, we’ve only scored twice in those games, so the confidence was tempered a bit. The programme reflected the mixed history of the M.K. Dons, as the much seen pieces from Leigh Edwards profiled ten post war strikers for M.K. Dons, except that all but one played for the old Wimbledon club in south London, rather than the club in it’s present guise.
The history and heritage of the club (and that of AFC Wimbledon) has been covered elsewhere, but it seemed to sum up quite early in the day, the strange nature of this game. With the tickets being cheap as well, there was no segregation in force, which meant that there were pockets of Dons fans all over the ground. The ticket price did contribute to a bumper crowd (for us at least) of 4,446, but for many home fans having sections of away fans in their section wasn’t a welcome development. The p.a. announcer proudly told people (several times) that this was the first time since our last period in the Isthmian League that there was no segregation in force, but I’m sure I remember several games in the Conference where there was no partitioning of fans.
The game starts after both managers sign the anti-racism board that will be bought back out at half time for the dignitaries to add their signatures to. The teams start the game looking fairly equal, with one of our many loan signings, Marvin Morgan looking particularly useful up front, alongside Gavin Tomlin who had scored the winner at Hartlepool. The Dons don’t have Dietmar Hamann in midfield, which looks like its good for us as he completely run the game when played up there in October. The half though, is not exactly flowing, and I’m struggling to think of a way to describe it; it’s not quite as bad as the North Korea-U.A.E. game that we had seen at the Asian Cup, but it’s not the best 45 minutes of football you’ll ever see. The ball spends a fair amount of time in the air at this level, but it feels as though there’s a competition between the teams today to keep the ball off the ground. When the board goes up to show just one minute of additional time, several people around take this as their cue to head towards the toilet, which probably sums it up quite nicely.
The half time entertainment is provided by a local dance troupe, who perform at most home games, along with watching people about sixty yards away signing a board, to express their support for the anti racism message of the day. Once this excitement is over, and the half time scores are announced, the teams emerge to recommence the game.
The second half is much better. Dagenham are starting to push a bit harder, and starting to force the Dons defence into a few mistakes. At the other end, the black shirted Dons push, but except on a few rare occasions, don’t look like getting anything. There are several offside decisions for each side, and then are a couple of moments that help to decide the game.
The first is a decision which goes against the Daggers, when Marvin Morgan falls to the ground in the area under a challenge; the referee waves play on, and it is unfortunate that from my vantage point, I can not see if it’s a penalty or not. The next one comes a few minutes later. Danny Green, having been booked in the first half for a foul jumps for a header with Luke Chadwick, and leads with his elbow. Although there is no damage to the Dons player, the resultant red card is the right decision, and leads to several comments, most of which concede that it was a stupid thing to do and that the card was about right. This does mean that we are now without him for up to three games, which will not help our chances of staying up, although this was not an immediate concern; now we have to get through the rest of the game with a player less.
However, the doubts at first are unfounded, as we start to get closer to scoring the all important first goal. Jon Nurse replaces Medy Elito on the left side, and we are starting to look good again going forward. There are still moments at the other end as well, but it’s starting to look like a draw, which would be a point well earned.
It’s always at the time when you think that you might something out of a close game that it all goes completely wrong. There are four minutes of stoppage time, and in the last of these, a harmless looking shot from Mark Carrington eludes Tony Roberts and trickles into the net.
We’ve all been there, when our team loses in the last minute, and it hurts. Those who have already started to make their way to the exits quicken their pace, and for those that remain, the realisation that we have blown it sinks in. To apportion blame is unfair; it’s just one of those things, and if we are being honest, Robbo has saved us more times than anyone can remember. A couple of the players sink to the turf when the ball hits the net, and there isn’t the time to respond at the other end.
The crowd makes its way out, past discarded chips boxes and polystyrene cups. The feelings of frustration are not helped by the small groups of away fans giving stick to our players, but most just ignore them and shuffle out of the ground. The result may not have been totally unexpected, but to lose so late is just horrible.
There is now a seven point gap to Swindon in 20th place, and although it’s possibly a bit early, some are already conceding that relegation is a probable, rather than a possibility. The eight games in February will determine our season; either we finish the month in with a chance of staying up, or we go into March just looking to enjoy the rest of our trip in League One.
Carlisle – 11th December
It’s been a while since I updated the diary, since the start of November in fact. So, in order to bring this right up to date, here is a recap of the last few weeks.
After Southampton, we had an FA Cup first round game at home to Leyton Orient, which was our first home cup draw in ten attempts. A 1-1 draw in that meant that we would have a replay ten days later. In between, we achieved our first away win in the division, 3-1 at Yeovil, and not wearing the unlucky green kit. The replay at Orient went badly at first, going 2-0 down before fighting back to draw level with 20 minutes to go. Unfortunately, the home side managed to score again, and that was it as far as the goals went, and the hopes of making the third round for the first time since 2008 went out of the window.
Between Orient away and Oldham at home, the supporters club lost one of it’s stalwarts in Jan White. Jan had been fighting against stomach cancer for some time, and it ultimately claimed her life. It is people like Jan that help keep clubs like ours going, and these unsung heroes are to be found at most clubs up and down the country. Jan will be sorely missed.
After the cup exit, we played at home to Oldham, and lost only our second home game of the season by 0-1. Three days later, we made the long trip down to the south west to Plymouth, and although we went in front, Plymouth came back to win 2-1. We were by now in the bottom three. And that, on November 23rd, was our last game until today.
That brings us right up to date, as we had no game on November 27th (it was FA Cup second round day, and we ended up at Thurrock v Lewes), and last weekend’s game at home to Huddersfield (like so many others) was postponed because of the weather.
So, a coach load of daggers fans found themselves standing in the car park of the football club on Saturday morning, ready for a 6am departure time from Dagenham, and the long trip ahead to Carlisle.
Except that we didn’t start out at the time specified. As 6am approached, there was no coach in sight, and as the time ticked on, the nerves started to jangle about whether we would make it or not. The coach company had offered to send a smaller coach, which would have meant that not all of us would have been able to go. Dagenham Dan offered to drive, as did a couple of others, but thankfully at 6.45am, the coach screeched into the car park, not quite making a hand brake turn in an attempt to turn the coach round as quickly as possible. With both the front and side doors open, everyone jumped on board as quickly as possible, and within a few minutes we were able to leave Victoria Road for our long journey northwards.
We have been up to Carlisle before. Six year ago, we played up there in their one year in the Conference, which for Carlisle ended in promotion after just one year outside of the football league. On a cold November afternoon, we had a man sent off late on, and lost 1-0 to a last minute goal.
With Carlisle having a decent home run of form (unbeaten in seven) the levels of optimism amongst the away fans wasn’t the highest, although most were determined to enjoy the day out. As the day started to get lighter (and we started to warm up again after the heating kicked in on the coach), the driver had clearly decided to make up for lost time, and was flooring it all the way up. I don’t think I have ever been on a coach that had left the ground so quickly, and progress was good along the motorways. Our first stop of the journey was a 30 minute break at the M6 toll services at Norton Caines, but the second at Tebay was much more picturesque. Most service stations have views of the motorway, but Tebay has views over the snow covered hills that in the opposite direction to the motorway. It looked fantastic, and several of us, took pictures of the landscape, having clearly not seen enough snow in the last week or so.
After leaving the second service stop, we completed our journey into Carlisle, and made it to the stadium with more than an hour to spare. Having been on a coach for several hours, many went straight round the corner to the local rugby club to test the quality of the bar. As for me, I wanted to go straight in, so having been in the bar for only a few minutes, I went back round to the away fans entrance, and went in.
Carlisle United 0 Dagenham & Redbridge 2
Given that the game is only two weeks before Christmas, and that it’s up the other end of the country, hopes for a large away following are slim. In the event, most of us agree that the 109 that make the trip is a pretty good effort. This includes several that have clearly been watching Newcastle and their fans penchant for removing their shirts in all weathers. They do relent at half time, but most go back to their topless state for the resumption of the game. This earns the admiration of many of those that have travelled, although the same people are expressing their disbelief that they are doing this.
To be honest, this is probably the most interesting part of the first half. Carlisle are denied what looks from our view point an almost certain penalty, while at the other end, our best effort ends up in the side netting. We are quite happy with a draw at half time, but it’s not been the most exciting of games so far.
Thankfully, it starts to liven up after the break. There are a couple of good efforts from Bas Savage, while Carlisle start to improve with near misses of their own. As the half progresses, we are starting to collect yellow cards, with Abu Ogogo, Danny Green and Kayleden Brown all being cautioned within 15 minutes. Green and Ogogo have pushed their luck prior to their cautions, and we are now starting to worry about keeping eleven players on the pitch.
Sixty seconds after the fourth yellow card (we had already got one in the first half), we go in front. Yet more running from Bas Savage puts the defence under pressure. Brown collects the ball on the left hand side, and crosses low into the area, where Medy Elito, on loan from Colchester, side-foots the ball home. The away fans are now starting to sense an away win, and in the “cursed” green kit as well. The time of year lends itself to the singing of “Jingle Bells” and the fact that it’s fun to see your team win away. Unfortunately, we’ve all been to too many of these games, and it doesn’t get an airing until eight minutes later, when more good work from Brown and Savage result in the ball landing at Danny Green’s feet, and his shot crashing into the roof of the net from the edge of the area. The feeling of relief from the players is all too visible, and the support is making sure everyone knows how much it means to them as well.
As if to make the celebrations even better, the home fans are now leaving in droves, prompting several away fans to start singing “Oh Ah, it’s a fire drill”, which brings a smile from a couple of the stewards, one of whom bears more than a passing resemblance to Keith from The Office. Although the fire drill chant is smiled at, he seems to take offence at the office reference.
The jingle bell chant finally makes it’s long awaited appearance, and the last couple of minutes are played out, with us safe in the knowledge that it’s been a good day out, three points in the bag, and the journey home should be a good one.
Of course, the fun doesn’t end there. There are plenty of high spirits on the coach home, and a couple of songs are sung again as we start the long trek south. The problems with the coach from the morning are forgotten, and we can enjoy the several hours that will pass between leaving the ground and getting home.
At least we would have like to have done that. Our one and only stop on the way home is back at Norton Caines, this time for 45 minutes. When we all get back on the coach to complete our journey, it doesn’t want to start. About ten get back off the coach to play football in the car park, and it’s another twenty minutes before we resume the journey. There are apologies from the driver; the reason for the delay is given as the batteries are overheating, and that they had to cool down before they could get going again.
The delays have soured the day for a few, but most are just happy to be on the way home. We are back at the club after midnight, so the whole journey has been around seventeen hours. Most people would consider that a mad way to spend a Saturday, but as most of you will know, it doesn’t matter as it’s your team playing. And to have picked up three points as well, will mean that this is one of those days that will be talked about for a while yet. Although we are still third from bottom after the game, we have closed the gap to those above us. There might still be hope for us to stay up.
Southampton – 2nd November 2010
At the end of the play off final in May, one of the songs being sung on the way back home was the Que Sera Sera classic, that we were going to St Mary’s. The appointed day had finally arrived, with us heading towards the south coast one place off the bottom of the table. Our away form hasn’t been great so far. We had a couple of draws at Charlton and Colchester at the end of September, which made us think that we might be on the verge of getting that elusive first away win this season.
Fat chance. Since then, we’ve lost at Milton Keynes in what was one of the worst games I’ve been to this season, and then lost 3-2 at Rochdale a fortnight ago. We are still getting points at home, but most of these have been draws and although we have only just reached the start of November, it is a worry that we haven’t been able to do any better away from home than two draws.
Our opponents for the latest away day are Southampton, who themselves didn’t have a great start to the campaign, and were 22nd as recently as September 18th. Since then, they have won five from seven, and a win against Dagenham could move them into the play off places. It’s been an eventful few years for the Saints; cup finalists in 2003, relegated from the premier league two years later, administration, another relegation, and more managers than you can shake a stick at since that appearance in Cardiff against Arsenal. Last year the club just missed out on a play off spot, despite a ten point deduction. We are going to be in for a tough evening tonight.
The journey to the game is supremely uneventful, with not much to distract us away from the mind numbing tedium of nearly three hours on a coach to get to the game. Normally we would be able to distract ourselves with chat of previous away trips in years gone by (always a favourite) or how we all think we are going to get on in the game that day. Unfortunately, optimism is not particularly high for this one, with most reckoning on a three or four goal defeat. One of our group reckons that, if we can escape with “mild chafing”, then we would have done well. With positive thinking like this, it’s a wonder we even bothered getting on the coach to travel. For most though, this is a ground-tick, so a trip to a new stadium is always welcome, particularly when most don’t think we will be going back in a hurry.
Even before the game starts, there is a problem. Our regular goalkeeper, Tony Roberts, doesn’t complete the warm up, and so when the teams emerge for the pre-match hand shake, several spot the change. He has been replaced by our back up, Chris Lewington. Only normally seen in either Essex Senior Cup games or pre-season, he will be making his league debut tonight. There are instantly two schools of thought about this; either he will make himself a hero and we will somehow nick this one, or he won’t and we will get duffed over. We pray that he makes himself a hero.
Southampton 4 Dagenham & Redbridge 0 – St Mary’s Stadium – 2nd November 2010
By the time the first goal is scored on eleven minutes, we have already seen enough to work out how the night is going to turn out. A cross by Alex Chamberlain gets palmed into the net by Lewington, and the away fans can already sense a long evening.
There are times in games when you think you can see what is coming next. One of our regular away fans made the comment about 35 minutes in that, if we could get through to half time only 1-0 down, that we could go on and get a result. This met with general agreement, and suddenly, being outplayed didn’t matter; make it through to half time with the same scoreline, and we could get something. Naturally, two minutes later a second goal (almost a carbon copy of the first) was scored, and the slightly depressed air returned. Now the hopes were not about getting a point, but just to get away without taking a severe beating.
Half time came, and many disappeared downstairs to the concourse area to drown their sorrows. Despite the score though, the second half produces a slightly better display (although not much) from the team, and even more noise from the away contingent that had travelled south. There are times when, as supporters, we know that the game is up, and that all is left to do is to enjoy the evening and have a sing. By the time Lee Barnard makes it 3-0, the singing has started to become almost non-stop, and when it gets worse ten minutes later, the fans are doing themselves proud with a constant noise that was to earn praise of D&R message boards from the home support. There was the old favourite of celebrating a pretend goal (about the only thing we did have to celebrate all night) when 4-0 down, although I got the feeling that, even if we had scored, Southampton would have gone straight down the other end and got another one.
Although the fourth is scored with over 20 minutes to go, there is thankfully no further addition to the score, and we finish with our heaviest defeat of the season. Up at Rochdale a couple of weeks ago, we had gone 3 down before starting the fightback (we lost that 3-2 in the end), but there was none of that tonight, and to be honest Southampton wouldn’t have let us get away with it. The only bright spot of the evening is that most of the teams around us have not done well either, and so we are still in 23rd position, and four points away from safety, although the goal difference column now looks a bit dodgy. Still, next up is the FA Cup, and a home tie against Leyton Orient. Although we beat them in the league a few weeks ago, they have had a decent run of form recently, so it’s not going to be easy. A local derby should generate a decent crowd, and a decent atmosphere. From our point of view though, we just need a win.
Milton Keynes – 9th October 2010
The last couple of away games have been good for us. Draws at Charlton and Colchester (alongside a home draw with Exeter and a win against Swindon) have seen us move off the bottom of the table, to the heady heights of 20th. While the performances are improving, our inability to win games is costing us at the moment, but the panic button isn’t being pressed just yet.
Our trip today is to the land of the concrete cow, straight roads and almost endless roundabouts; Milton Keynes. Named after two famous economists, the town was one of the “new towns” that sprouted up after the second world war, like Basildon.
The club though has a very chequered history, as most reading this will know. Originally called and based in Wimbledon, the club left their Plough Lane ground in 1991 to share with Crystal Palace, and while the arrangement worked for a while, there were always people who rightly wanted to take the club back to their home borough in London, of Merton. Since the original move, the club have moved again, changed their name, and the supporters of the original Wimbledon FC formed their own club, and started from scratch. AFC Wimbledon now plays in the Conference National, while the new M.K.Dons are only two divisions above them.
Stadium M.K. is on the shortlist as one of the venues for 2018, if we win the bid. It’s another of the new stadiums that have been cropping up over the last few years, and is the type of enclosed bowl that has already been built at Coventry and Southampton. And also at Leicester, Derby, Sunderland and Middlesbrough. The unique thing about this one though, is that it isn’t finished. The upper tier is still completely devoid of any seats, and has no back wall. The seats that are in place though are quite comfy, being the same style of padded seat that are used at Arsenal. The stadium will look quite good though if it’s ever completed.
Reaction to the club nationally has always been, shall we say, mixed at best? Some footballing publications still don’t recognise the current club, preferring to refer to them as “Franchise FC”. People in the local area still seem a bit indifferent to them as well, with attendances often only half filling the ground. While they have had some success in recent years (the league two title and JPT in 2007/08), crowds are not quite flocking to the stadium in their droves.
MK Dons Supporters Team v D&R Supporters Team
Several years ago, we tried to get a supporters team going, and succeeded for a while, playing either six or seven a side games, at the local goals or power league centres. However, a few wanted to try their hand at playing eleven a side, and so a few games were organised. They won a couple and lost a few as well, but it was never what you call a consistent thing. The team would play a couple of games, and then not re-appear for several months at a time.
Things are on the move though, and the team is being re-formed again. The team played a couple of weeks ago against AC Wimbledon, and to see the players troop into the clubhouse at Victoria Road after their game was a joy to behold, it really was.
Today, they have left the club extra early to make the trip to Milton Keynes to play their fellow fans team before the main game at 3pm. I don’t play at all (two left feet, etc.) but having had a change of plan to our original schedule for the day, myself and Dagenham Dan managed to arrive a few minutes into the second half, and when we get there, it’s only 1-0 to the home team. I hope that I am not too harsh on our lot when I say that the opposition look as though they play more often; for a start, all their kit matches, while we (in the best tradition of a side thrown together at the last minute) have bit’s of kit that don’t, and there are at least four different colours of socks on the daggers team. It’s a bit like watching the Barbarians rugby team, whose players wear the socks of their own clubs.
When we get there, it all starts to happen. Firstly, one of our players gets sent off for what the referee reckons is a punch, but it’s nothing of the sort. It’s more a forearm to the back of the neck than a punch, but it’s still a red card, and it leaves them a man down for the remainder of the game. The visitors battle on manfully, and are kept in the game by the (sort of) player-manager Steve Wilson in goal. The gaps though are appearing, and two quick goals (the first of which is a real beauty and celebrated with a slightly over the top forward flip) put the game out of reach. The daggers though battle on and score a consolation goal towards the end via Charlie Davis, who celebrates with a Bas Savage style moonwalk. Dagenham Dan was working the video on his camera, but managed to drop it at the crucial moment, but the close up of the ground is really good work.
The ref brings the game to an end, and the teams shake hands, with all that has gone on before being left on the pitch. So while the players go to the changing rooms, us spectators clear off to head up towards the stadium for the main event.
MK Dons 2 Dagenham & Redbridge 0 – Stadium:MK
Having parked up out side the ground in what looks like a water -logged lunar landing site, we headed round the ground towards the ever-present fast food outlets. The standing comment among (possibly most) visiting fans is that the ground was a flat pack from Ikea, which is handy as it’s on the same industrial site as the stadium. Resplendent in shiny black bricks, it’s a decent looking ground if you look at the hotel at the front of the stadium, and don’t mind the back-less upper tier. Next to the hotel, and also the club superstore, is a pick and mix stall, and several of us take the opportunity to stock up, before strolling round for lunch.
Walking round to the golden arches and a popular chicken outlet, we encounter the curse of Milton Keynes; a roundabout. But this is made of traffic cones, which just goes to show how much they must love the things in the town. No photo taken by anyone on the day does this justice, so you’ll just have to trust me on this.
Inside the ground, the music is limited to a selection of songs from John Lennon. This is to commemorate the fact that he would have been 70, the day before the game. This is not a bad thing, as there are lots of classics in there, and even the big screen (hidden from most of the away fans as it’s right over our heads in the seat-less upper tier) shows just one image; that of Lennon. However, in a slightly odd departure from this tribute, there is just one deviation. “Baby hit me one more time” from Britney Spears manages to appear from nowhere, and gets played the whole way through. I’m not a massive fan of the Beatles, but I’ve seen a few of the tribute bands, and I don’t remember that one at all.
Our record in Milton Keynes is fairly dismal, with three defeats out of three. We’ve even lost the one home game we’ve played, so optimism isn’t high, despite our recent good run of results. The first half of the game is one of the worst you will ever see in your life, and is only bought to some semblance of life just before the break, when Tony Roberts concedes a penalty. In keeping with the general dullness of the game however, Jermaine Easter manages to hit the outside of the post, and leave the score at 0-0. It’s pretty turgid stuff, and even the weather looks to have given up on this one, as it stays grey and overcast throughout.
The second half brings an improved performance from the home team, which isn’t saying too much. This is in contrast to the visitors, as it’s just as bad as the first period. Within ten minutes the home team have gone in front, and we just do not look like getting it back, which is pretty damning, given that we still have over half an hour to play. Seven minutes later the game is done and dusted, as the second goal goes in. Dietmar Hamann is running the game for them, and looks as though he has barely broken into a sweat. He is outpaced a couple of times, but there are players around him to cover this, and he often manages to create room, showing the class of a player that has won the European Cup as well as appearing in a World Cup Final. League 1 is looking easy for him.
The 299 daggers fans aren’t drifting away, but in keeping with the general “atmosphere” the game meanders back to it’s lifeless start, and when the referee signals the end of the game, it’s another defeat at this ground to add to the collection. It’s been a miserable day and finally it’s all over, with just the drive home to come.
London – 29th September 2010
I think it’s fair to say that the season has not started in quite the way that we had hoped. With goals difficult to come by, losing our top scorer for the past four seasons to a team in the same division, and only one win so far, we may not have been expecting to lead the division but would have hoped to be slightly higher than the 24th and bottom place that we are in at the present. Still, as Yazz sang in the late eighties, the only way is up..
When the fixtures were announced in June, the trip to Charlton was one of those games that almost every dagger was looking forward to. With memories of the FA Cup game in January 2001 to look back on, it was then slightly frustrating that we then drew them in the JPT, and played at the Valley just a few weeks ago. Honestly, trips to Charlton are like London buses; none for ages and then two almost together.
Another to come under the category of “eagerly anticipated” was the games against Colchester, and our first Essex derbies as a football league club. While we had several while in the conference (against Canvey Island and Grays Athletic for two), we have had to wait until our fourth year in the football league to play our first league one. We played Southend in both the JPT and FA Cup in 2007-08, but the League games were always going to special.
The special nature of the Charlton fixture, particularly the away game, is all due to an FA Cup third round tie, played on Saturday 6th January 2001. As mentioned (briefly) in the previous report on our JPT visit at the end of August, that was the day that Dagenham & Redbridge, in their first season back in the football conference, went to Charlton and were a few minutes away from recording a historic win. Rightly, this is a day that many who were there look back on with huge fondness, and despite the pessimistic feelings that many are starting to get about this season, the trip to Charlton is one that many were still looking forward to.
Charlton Athletic 2 Dagenham & Redbridge 2 – 25th September 2010
It’s reckoned that money makes the world go round. It’s either that or love. Which ever way you look at it, if you love your team, then in this division, it costs a fair amount to watch them week in, week out. Of course, it’s neither money or love; it’s actually a centrifugal force that makes the earth revolve at several thousand miles an hour, spinning us around the sun. That’s how we get days, and seasons. But then again, you didn’t log onto a football website to learn about how planets, did you?
I mention this because for a third tier game, we are being charged £25 to enter the ground. Less than one month ago, we visited for a JPT game, and on that occasion, the tickets cost a tenner. But a month later, and for a game that Charlton are expecting their lowest gate for the whole season, we are paying two and a half times that original price. I wonder if the board at Charlton still think they are in the premier league.
Going into the game, we had not managed an away goal in the League. Also, we had lost every game that we had played in our new green away kit. With Orient playing and winning the night before, we had gone back to the bottom of the table, having moved up from 24th after a draw with Exeter in our last game. So, confidence was not at it’s highest level before the game. Dagenham Dan was quite upbeat though, and thought that we would get a result. I would have been happy with just a goal, given our lack of them away from home.
The game also marked the 25th anniversary of the “last game at the Valley”, when the board at the time decided to up sticks and move to Selhurst Park. At the time, Charlton were struggling financially, and had almost gone out of business a year or so earlier. Much was made of it at the time, as ground sharing was not common, and indeed is still not widespread, although it is more common outside of the football league. Charlton were away from their home stadium for seven years, and the campaign to return included fighting local elections on a single issue, which was to return to the Valley.
The game starts well for the home team. The first ten minutes are chaos in the Dagenham penalty area, with the goalkeeper making a couple of saves, to go alongside the goal-line clearance and the rattling to the crossbar. The goal (almost) inevitably arrives after ten minutes, and it’s looking bad. We haven’t yet scored away from home (aside from a goal in the League Cup at Milton Keynes), and we are going to have to do something that we have failed to do so far.
We do start to create, but Charlton look dangerous almost every time they venture forward. However, although they look threatening going forward, they are frail at the back, and the gaps are starting to appear. It looks as though the home side will go into the break leading, but a foul on Bas Savage gives the visitors a lifeline. Danny Green steps up, and strokes the ball home; finally, half way through our fourth away game, we have our first goal, and the away fans are in raptures. The home fans though are none too impressed with the referee, and let him know it as they leave the field.
From our point of view, the second half is much, much better. The team start to play in the way that we know they can; high-tempo and lots of closing down of space, which is denying Charlton any chance of playing like they did in the first half. We are starting to close in on point away from home, when we go into stoppage time of four minutes. Less than a minute later, the home side score what looks like to be the winner. The home fans celebrate, and I think we have all been there when your team concedes a last minute winner. However, the singing doesn’t stop, and two minutes later Jon Nurse scores a deserved equalizer. His first goal since the play off final at Wembley in May, he is injured in scoring, and has to be replaced. He is the second substitute in the game to be substitutes (the other was Kyle Reid), and the home fans are starting to voice their displeasure again.
The whistle goes, and the away section of the ground is celebrating. Not only have we got our first away goal, but the first away point as well, and it arrives at Charlton. I apologise if it seems like I keep going on about this, but I find it difficult to explain just what it means. Many of those there would have been watching the team when we were in the Ryman League, to be playing in a league game at the Valley, like the opening day at Sheffield Wednesday, is still taking some getting used to. The great thing is that, these types of games just keep on coming, because next up is a game up at Colchester.
Colchester United 2 Dagenham & Redbridge 2 – 29th September 2010
The very nature of derby games are that both sets of fans are bound to be wound up, and claim “bragging rights” at least until the next fixture. Colchester have a new stadium to replace their previous ground at Layer Road, and the new ground, it’s fair to say, is a lot bigger than their last home.
It depends on your point of view, on whether or not this is a derby game. Colchester are definitely in Essex, so there are no problems with that side of the equation. It’s the Dagenham & Redbridge bit that is causing some confusion,.
For example, Dagenham is in the London Borough of Barking & Dagenham, and the local council sponsor the stadium so when you see our goals on the Football League show, it lists our home ground as “The London Borough of Barking & Dagenham Stadium”, although most still know it as Victoria Road.
A few years ago, we did play in the London Senior Cup, but it was only a one year thing, and we lost the first game we played anyway. We do compete in the Essex senior Cup, as the club is affiliated to the Essex FA, so we feel like an Essex club. Besides this, the postal address has Essex in it, and we are the “pub team from Essex”, so it must be true. We are an Essex club, and this must be a derby game.
I have visited Colchester United before, but it wasn’t to watch the daggers. Dagenham Dan and I did make a trip to watch Colchester v Oxford in the FA Cup in November 2003. This in itself is not that newsworthy, nor is the fact that Colchester won 1-0, on their way to the fifth round. The most notable moment (for Dan at least) was when he was taken to one side by a steward; we had gone to stand in the away end, as Dan was born in Oxford, and so wanted to support them for the game. When a steward asked to see his scarf, which was blue and white, I had visions of having to make my own way home, with him being chucked out. Thankfully, the scarf was one of those scarves that you seem to get at every England game, as it was for a game against Liechtenstein from a few weeks previous.
Colchester is a historic place. It’s the oldest recorded town in Britain, being mentioned by Pliny the Elder in AD77, and was the capital of Roman Britain. For all you trivia fans out there, it was also the epicentre for one of Britain’s largest earthquakes in 1884, and the University of Essex has one of the few Frisbee golf courses in the country, staging the European Championships a few years ago. Interesting huh?
While it’s not that old, the new stadium (the Weston Community Homes Stadium) was inaugurated in August 2008, with a friendly against Athletic Bilbao. The previous ground at Layer Road may have been atmospheric when full, there was no room to do anything around the ground, and so the move was probably inevitable. In these days when stadiums are required to do much more than just stage football matched, the old ground was simply not up to it.
The new stadium though is built in the middle of nowhere, and the slip road from the motorway isn’t finished yet. So although the ground itself is finished, the surrounding area is in need of a bit more work. The traffic into Colchester is a bit of a nightmare, but then we have travelled up in the rush hour, so that was only to be expected, but from our approach, there is only one way in and out. I hope that this isn’t the case.
I mentioned the fact that Charlton was an expensive £25 to get in on Saturday. Tonight is a bit better at £19, but they are clearly trying to make it up in other ways, as there is no other explanation to charge £2 for a normal 500ml bottle of coke.
Colchester are unbeaten in the League going into the game, having won three and drawn five out of their eight games, and so were going to be a bit of a tough one. We are unbeaten as well, albeit in two, and they have been drawn. However, there is a bit more confidence around after Saturday’s game. Dagenham Dan however isn’t so upbeat this time, and reckons that we might lose this one.
The game starts and we look quite good. Clearly the trick of scoring away from home is one that we have mastered, as we go one up after 15 minutes after good work from Gaving Tomlin, which allows one of Soccer Saturday’s favourite’s, Bas Savage, to tap in from a couple of yards. We are looking quite good for our lead, but Colchester are not going to let this stand, and start to attack. It’s looking good for us, until a few minutes before the break, when Ashley Vincent heads their equaliser. The goal is hard enough for us to accept, but then the truly annoying “Tom Hark” gets played as the goal celebration music. Isn’t it time this was banned?
The second half starts and it’s fairly even stuff, although the home team are starting to look like a side nearer the top of the table. Twenty minutes in, and david Mooney puts Colchester 2-1 up, and celebrates in front of a completely deserted North Stand. Well, empty aside from some flags and two ball boys, who look totally disinterested in the fact that they are now winning.
Having come back twice on Saturday, we have played well enough tonight to suggest that we can get back into this game as well. Seven minutes later, Romain Vincelot drifts into the penalty area, and is unmarked at the cross comes in. His header loops into the net, but it comes at a greater cost, as one of the home defenders clashes with Vincelot, and the subsequent clash of heads is enough to send the medical staff sprinting into the penalty area. Celebrations of the goal are cut very short as the away support see that he hasn’t got up, and an unwelcome hush starts to descend over the stadium.
Several minutes of anxious waiting ensue before eventually he is helped on to a stretcher, and is carried away from the playing area, to a standing ovation from both sets of fans. The game resumes, but this will mean a large amount of stoppage time. Chances are created at both ends, before the board is held up; there will be nine more minutes, and although both go close, the game ends as a draw.
Our position hasn’t improved greatly as a result of the last two games. While we have done well to pick up our first two points away from home, we are still just one place off the bottom of the division. The good thing is that we are still in contact with the teams around us, and we have now shown that we can pick up points away from home. We have a big month coming up, with three of our five games at home, so points will be needed from those, as well as something from either the M.K. Dons, Rochdale or both. This is going to be an important month.
Wednesday 1st September – A bumper Bank Holiday by Brian Parish
Sometimes going to football can be a bit like going back to school. You’re told where to sit by the number on your pre-bought match ticket, the atmosphere can be a bit like a boring lesson (if the game isn’t great), and then you encounter head-master like stewards who tell you what you can and can’t do, especially if it involves a vuvuzela. There’s even a uniform, in the (various) shapes of replica kit that can be bought and worn by people attending the game. So, in the spirit of going back to school I thought I would share with you what I did on my bank holiday weekend, which involved four games if you’ll allow me the extension on to Tuesday night.
Saturday 28th August, Dagenham & Redbridge 2 Tranmere Rovers 2
With the previous home game against Exeter City having been postponed, this now by default became the home debut in League One. The rumours leading up to the game had been concerning our top scorer for the last few seasons, Paul Benson, and a possible move across the river to Charlton.
Theories abounded on the unofficial forum; if he plays, he stays, but if he doesn’t then he is on the way out seemed to sum it all up quite nicely. As it turned out, he started, and put the same amount of work as he always does. However, two days after this game, he did eventually sign for Charlton. In the lead up to the game, there had been a call for someone to take over the role of dressing in the mascot costume for the day.
The club had been one of the last in the football league to have this, as it had always been resisted by the supporters. For a start, we had no idea what our mascot should be; a large knife to represent the daggers? In the end, it was a safe decision to have a dog, and call it “Digger”. This meant that someone obviously had to walk round the pitch, before the game and at half time to entertain the fans, and also to hand out or throw the sweets that had been provided by the supporters club. This was done by one man (even appearing at the play off final in May), but today was one step too far. A plea went out for someone to take over for the day; this was duly answered and Digger the Dog was able to make an appearance, although somewhat more spritely than normal. Perhaps the new dog food was finally paying dividends.
Whatever they were feeding the mascot, it wasn’t helping the team in the first half, as we struggled to break down a flimsy looking Tranmere defence. This changed though a few minutes into the second half, as we finally broke our League One goal-scoring duck with a goal from our French midfielder, Romain Vincelot. A second followed soon after from Mark Arber, and the chants of derision were being targeted at the visitors. Perhaps it’s the fact that I used to go to West Ham that makes me think that this is only going to come back and bite us on the behind. The born pessimist in me was unfortunately proved right, as first the away side got one back, and then scored a cracking free kick two minutes from the end to earn a point. This reminded many of us of our first home game in the League, three years ago, when we lost a lead to Wycombe in the last minute. Still, it was a point, and it moved us off the bottom. Now we could look forward to Charlton on Tuesday.
Sunday 29th August; FA Cup Preliminary Round, Romford 3 Beaconsfield SYCOB 1
With Dan having been at a wedding on Saturday, he had scoured the fixtures for a Sunday game, and came up with this one, just a few miles away in Aveley. The stadium may be the home of Aveley FC, but for the past couple of years, they have shared with Romford, who having reformed in 1992, have played at several different stadiums since. As you would expect from a British bank holiday weekend, the weather was very hit and miss. For the first half, we sat on the terrace, watching as Romford took an early two goal lead, and never looking in danger of losing it.
Just as the whistle went for the break, the heavens started to open, and after a quick visit to the tea bar, we retreated to the main (or only) stand in the ground to watch the second half. I have been to just over 1100 games now, and have not yet seen a goalkeeper score.
There has been the occasional own goal, but nothing going into the right net. Mid-way through the second half came the closest moment so far. The Beaconsfield goalie had a tendancy to stand way off his line when the Romford goalkeeper had the ball. So, with the rain still pouring down, and the grass getting wetter, the ball was launched downfield. Too far in front of the forwards, it was flying aimlessly through to the Beaconsfield keeper, when he realised he had misjudged the flight of the ball. As it bounced over his head, he turned and scampered back to his own goal, and probably wouldn’t have made it in time if it had been on target. Instead it went a few inches wide, and my chance of seeing a goalkeeper score disappeared for another game. After that, he stayed on his line. Funny that.
Monday 30th August – Ryman Premier League, AFC Hornchurch 2 Wealdstone 1
I live in a town which is about equal distance between Dagenham and Hornchurch. If things had turned out different, I might have been a Hornchurch fan. As it was, I went to Dagenham first, and that was that. I still like to take in the occasional game at Hornchurch, but I know where my loyalties lie. On the August bank holiday weekend, there is the Havering Town Show which takes over about a third of the local park. This year the star attractions were Stacey Soloman, one half of Chas and Dave, and Gerry and the Pacemakers. The chance to see that lot perform was tempting, but in the end a visit to a game won the day.
One consequence of our promotion in 2007 was that we lost the Bank Holiday game that we played while we were outside the football league. This has lead to some fun days out (beating Canvey away in 2005 in the blazing sunshine was quite good), and some abject days, like losing at Crawley in a year earlier. As the football league clubs don’t play, I tend to look around and see what else is going on. And this year, Hornchurch were the lucky recipients of my £9.
As you’re reading this, you will probably already have read about Stuart’s trip to Hornchurch earlier in August, so I won’t bore you with the details again. It was suffice to say that the first half of this one wasn’t the best, and only woke up when Wealdstone took the lead. Hornchurch fought back quite well, equalised from a penalty, which was either harsh, or definite, depending on a) where you were standing in the ground, and b) which team you supported. Just a couple of minutes after getting level, a neat finish from Leon Hunter put them in front and proved to be the winner.
Tuesday 31st August – JPT 1st round, Charlton Athletic 1 Dagenham & Redbridge 0
One of the things that almost all Daggers fans looked forward to when we got promoted was the trip to Charlton, and the chance to visit past glories. Well, glory, as we had only visited once, and that was way back in 2001. But that was the FA Cup, and it was one of those rare occasions when the nation sits up and takes notice of a small team and their heroic exploits against a big club; the daggers (from the conference) held Premier League Charlton to a 1-1 draw, with the home team needing a late deflected equaliser from John Salako to save themselves.
Although the league visit in a month’s time is still being looked forward to, it did take a little bit of the gloss off it, when we were drawn together in the Football League Trophy. This competition is generally played in stadiums that are half empty at best, and it doesn’t seem to be taken that seriously by the teams competing either. So much so that a few years ago, a rule was introduced, saying that a certain amount of the players picked for a starting eleven had to have played the previous league game.
Cup competitions can be seen as a distraction; you only need to look at some Premier League selections for both the League and FA Cup competitions to see that. For me, they have always been a good thing, as a win in a knock out competition can help league form. When the club reached the fourth round of the FA Cup in 2003, it was in the middle of an eleven game winning run that moved us from mid-table to a play off position. Of course, a home draw would have been better, but aside from the Essex Senior Cup, that doesn’t seem to happen.
In what must be getting close to some kind of record, this was our ninth consecutive away draw in a cup competition. For the record, the last home game we were given in a cup game was in this competition, two years ago, when we beat Barnet. If anyone knows of a longer run, please let me know.
As I mentioned previously, there was now an added edge to the game, with our main striker, Paul Benson, having joined Charlton just the day before. Lots of pre-match chatter was about whether or not he would start (which he did), and what the reaction of the away support would be. Many had him down to score (which he didn’t), although he did get close on a few occasions. The chant of “what a waste of money” bought a smile from the player himself, and lots of happy laughter from the away fans.The game itself though showed up just how tough it is going to be this season. A bit on the lightweight side up front, we coped well defensively, and in Chris Lewington, seem to have a back-up goalkeeper who is better than those we have had in the past. But the flaws are there for everyone to see.
Goals could be a problem this year, and selling your best striker is not going to help. The manager though, has always got a plan and hopefully this will be no different. Otherwise this diary could get quite morbid. In (John) Still we trust!
Saturday 14th August – A brief distraction by Brian Parish
The first home game of the season normally generates quite a bit of excitement, and for those of us at the daggers, this was to be extra special this year, with our promotion to League 1. However, two days before we were due to play, it was postponed due to the sad passing of Exeter City striker Adam Stansfield. The Grecians were to have been our opponents for the game, but given the circumstances, the request to call off the game was a natural reaction, and this was readily agreed to by both Dagenham & Redbridge, as well as the Football League.
Football at a time like this, particularly for the family of the person involved seems totally unimportant, and the desire not to play at a time like this is totally understandable. Internet forums for both clubs were full of people discussing the merits of both playing and postponing the game, but in the end, the decision not to play was taken. Hopefully, a fitting tribute can be paid to Adam at Exeter’s next game, which is at home to Bristol Rovers on August 21st. For what it’s worth, even though either the minute’s silence or applause would have been impeccably observed at Victoria Road, it seems only right that they play their first game after this sad news at their own stadium.
Of course, when a postponement happens, then a free Saturday afternoon opens up. You can either participate in that great British tradition of queuing at one of the many shopping centres around the country, sit back and watch Soccer Saturday and see the wonder that is Phil Thompson slowly losing it as Liverpool try their best to bugger their game up, or you can take in another game.
With this weekend being the first (or to use it’s proper title, the Extra Preliminary) round of the FA Cup, we (that being me and Dagenham Dan) took ourselves off to the heart of Essex, to enjoy the delights of Witham Town v. Wembley.
FA Cup, Extra Preliminary Round, Witham Town 3 Wembley 0
On my one and only previous visit to Spa Road (or the Spicer McColl stadium, to use it’s official title), the referee failed to turn up, and so they had to drag some local referee away from his horlicks to officiate. In the way that only county leagues can, he was ably assisted on that occasion by a linesman who was possibly one of the more “fuller-figured” officials you will ever see. Ah, the glamour of the Essex Senior League.
But I digress. Today is the first game on the long road to the FA Cup Final. The “march to the arch” or “the magic of the cup”©, starts today.
Despite the gathering rain clouds overhead, the rain does hold off for the first 40 minutes or so, which is longer than the Wembley defence manages to, going one down in just 71 seconds. It may not be the first goal of the competition this season, but it must be one of the quickest. Wembley’s defence is clearly trying to emulate the referee from my last visit by not showing up, as only the lino’s flag saves them from a second goal just a few minutes later.
With half an hour played, the lead has been doubled, and if they had any dreams of playing at the national stadium just up the road from home, they have now been well and truly buried. Witham and Wembley may occupy the same rung in the football ladder (Witham in the Essex Senior League, Wembley in the Combined Counties League, both are step 5 of the non-league pyramid), but they look miles apart in terms of their overall play. For the first half, it is the home side that have looked like the team to progress, while Wembley can see the cup disappearing from their grasp already, and it’s not even the middle of August.
At half time, we change our vantage point, so that we can hear ourselves think above the row being created by the vocal home support. Well, the five who stand behind the goal and are banging the corrugated iron back wall in an attempt to make some noise. One Wembley fan suggests that we should have bought a vuvuzela or two, but it’s a tough call; annoying noise via a plastic trumpet or the thump of someone’s hand against a corrugated iron wall?
Any hopes of a stirring comeback are finished just after the hour, when Witham make it 3. From then on, although they try hard, Wembley just don’t have any kind of quality to make inroads to the deficit. The Robbie Savage look-a-like in midfield for the visitors tries to prompt the team forward, but he ends up going side to side, more like a long haired Ray Wilkins. The home side have a few more chances as the game starts to draw to its conclusion, but are unable to inflict further misery and when the final whistle blows, it’s Witham Town who progress to face Ilford in the next round. For the team that comes from the same town where the final will be staged in May, it’s all over for another year.
Saturday 7th August 2010 – Day 1 in League Division One by Brian Parish
Four years ago, we started our conference title-winning (although we weren’t to know it at the time) season at Forest Green Rovers, and wondered if we would ever make to the football league. With several former league sides in the division, and that number boosted by Oxford United and Rushden & Diamonds, the odds on a side with an average home gate of not much more than 1200 winning promotion to the football league seemed remote.
Fast-forward to the present day, and once again we are away on the opening day of the season, but this time to Sheffield Wednesday. They may have dropped a division or two in recent years, but this is not the conference. We are about to play as “equals” in a League One game.
The last four years have been something of a dream for the Dagenham & Redbridge faithful. After reaching the top of the conference on December 30th 2006, we managed to stay there, winning the title with five games to spare. This meant a debut season in the football league, which at times was highly nerve-racking, but ultimately we retained our league place, thanks to a heroic 3-2 win at Darlington on the penultimate day of the season. The following year, we missed out on the play offs by one place, and then last season came the biggest day in the club’s history.
Beating Rotherham at Wembley meant that we would be playing in the third tier of English football for the first time in the history of either Dagenham & Redbridge, or any of our illustrious predecessors. Winning the play offs was more than a touch surreal. To be even playing at Wembley seemed to be enough for much of our support, but to win was more than some could imagine. The image of the supporter’s club chairman blubbing like a five year old on national television made great viewing for us later on that evening during the celebrations at the clubhouse.
The surreal feeling was meant to subside once the fixtures were announced in June, but just seeing our club’s name in the same division with Charlton Athletic, Southampton and today’s opponents did not alter this. The pub team from Essex, three years after getting into the football league, are to be playing at one of the traditional homes of English football, Hillsborough.
Hillsborough was one of the venues for the 1966 World Cup in England, and will be again if we win the bid for 2018 in December. Aside from this, it’s also home to one of the oldest clubs in England. And it’s also where 96 Liverpool fans died, on April 15th 1989.
This heralded the Taylor Report into football stadiums, and arguably hurried along the influx of obscene amounts of money into the game. Where once anyone supporting a team was treated with almost utter contempt, it gradually became fashionable to follow a team. Clubs spent money like it was water, and many got themselves into more and more debt, trying to keep up with Manchester United, for a short while Blackburn Rovers, and then Arsenal and Chelsea. Sheffield Wednesday have had their fair share of problems which continue to this day, and are attributed by many to their time in the premier league.
Sheffield Wednesday 2 Dagenham & Redbridge 0 – Hillsborough – Saturday 7th August
The journey up had been a bit dodgy, with the coach almost breaking down at Leicester Forest services, and a call to the AA had been needed. A thirty minute delay to the second half of the journey had those of us who had been there, recalling the trip to Stockport for our first game in the league three years ago. After being allowed to continue on our journey (which involved another brief stop at the next services along the road), we arrived at the ground around 2.15pm.
Getting off the coach, and looking up at the West Stand, it took a while for us to finally accept that we would be playing here in a league game. The surreal feeling took about thirteen minutes to wear off. Two minutes later and it’s gone completely. Suddenly the hopes of pre-season have been shattered in a twenty minute spell, that has us on the ropes completely. The shouts of the away support are being drowned out by the home fans, which narrowly outnumbers us by about 45 to 1. Half time can’t really come soon enough, and although we start to make a bit more of a game of it, it’s not really going to plan.
We have been allocated the lower tier of the north stand, which is also known as the Leppings Lane end. Several people mentioned pre-game that it felt a touch on the strange side walking down the tunnel towards the seating; if this is same tunnel used on that fateful day, then it’s not that much of a shock. The first two rows are to be left unoccupied, but we are encouraged by the stewards, not to worry too much about the seat numbers on our tickets, and just use any seat. There is the customary half time entertainment, which consists at Hillsborough of a local fan trying to hit the crossbar from the half way line. The effort is not quite on target; I say that, but it’s actually a woeful effort, as it never gets more than four foot off the ground. In the end, it dribbles aimlessly between the penalty area and the corner flag, which rather neatly sums up our first half. When the announcer asks why the Daggers players aren’t having a go, I would like to have heard their replies. Perhaps they don’t want to do worse than the retro shirt clad local.
The second half starts, and it’s much better from the visitors. The home side still look as though they could score if they put their minds to it, but we do look much better than in our nervy opening half. A couple of substitutions sum up the difference between the two clubs. They are able to call upon the services of Neil Mellor, a goal-scorer for Liverpool in the Champions League in their winning campaign of 2004/05. Our substitutions include a player that two years ago, was playing for Hayes & Yeading in the Conference South.
But then that’s what supporting the Daggers is all about. You will have, no doubt, read about the adventures of following Lewes, and it’s a bit like supporting the Daggers, although we are playing in the football league. We know that we aren’t able to spend vast sums on transfer fees or wages. Our record fee was for Damian McCrory, and that was not much more than £15k. We are realistic enough to know that we aren’t going to be challenging for the top places in the division, but then again based on attendance, budget and almost every other criteria, we shouldn’t have won promotion last year. But we did. And the great thing about following this lot is that they keep surprising everyone, with last year being the case in point.
Anyway, back to the game. Although there is the usual banter between the home support and our goalkeeper Tony Roberts (and their enquiries about who had been eating all of the pies) the game starts to dribble out towards the inevitable home win, which has been coming since the fifteenth minute. There are occasional bursts of noise from both the home and away fans, but there isn’t much more to get excited about. Perhaps the most inventive chant of the day is from the away fans (not that I’m biased here of course), and the assertion that Wednesday are in the “Same League as Dagenham”.
Once the whistle has blown, the team make their way over the supporters and there is mutual appreciation from each group, before they go into their post-match huddle, and we file out of the ground, sagely telling anyone who will listen that it wasn’t as bad as all that, and that we may well be ok. The next nine months will tell us of course, and like lots of teams across all divisions, it could be a tough year. As the old song went, “whatever will be, will be”, and although we may not end up back at Wembley again, it’s a year that we are determined to enjoy, and savour. It’s not every day that you make the third tier, and although this may not sound like a big thing to some, it’s huge to us, and we are determined to enjoy it while it lasts.
