Ryman League Premier Division
Daggers 0(0) Purfleet 1(1)
Well not a particularly great start to the game when our defence looked asleep twice in the opening couple of minutes. Fortunately Purfleet's attack was equally docile so weren't able to take advantage. It was to set the scene for the early stages but as usual we were able to break and counter attack. Although we had couple of chances from these positions the best fell to David Pratt. Tim Cole had collected ten yards inside his own half and intelligently looked up and produced a perfect pass through the centre of the oppositions defence then David Pratt poached the ball from a hesitant central defender and headed towards goal. The keeper was slow enough to get off his line for David to place the ball two feet either side but opted to shoot straight at him.
After 20 minutes the distribution of play was about even with both teams having had a couple of half chances each. Frustration looked as if was setting in and the Dagenham players were starting to argue with each other. This inevitably caused a lack of concentration and when ex Dagger George Georgoiu collected from 35 yards and wrong footed a normally reliable Lee Matthews he had only Gothard to beat. He waited for Paul to commit himself then calmly side footed under his body.
Dagenham then lost all shape, there were midfield and attackers playing too deep and this just created confusion. Confusion that then created various blunders in our penalty are. In all honesty it was a bit of a joke with miss-kicks, players getting in each others way and leaving the ball to be cleared by someone else. Twenty six minutes of the game had passed and Purfleet should have been at LEAST three goals to the good.
Dagenham's game did improve slightly towards the end of the first half and Lee Mathews tried in vain to redeem himself from his earlier mistake and created two of our best chances but as usual Purfleet's custodian was equal to all we threw at him. In reality the visitors commitment and work rate was well above ours.
We started a lot better in the second half but because nothing comes to our improved play within a few minutes the team's enthusiasm diminishes very quickly. It is as if the concentration span of the players is short so they lose interest. All I can say is that we can be thankful that Paul Gothard had a better attention span as he did all was asked of him.
After our initial second half flurry Purfleet started to settle down and produce the better football. They did what we never seem to do and that is keep their formation, they know where individually each player should be and collectively where each player is. I am not a football expert and bow to other people's knowledge but our three man defence is not working, is it?
Gothard continued to pull off great saves from both Purfleet's set moves and their outfield play. After a couple of inspired substitutions with Tim Cole and Gary Howard being replaced by Tolo Mas and Lee Goodwin we dominated the game for nearly ninety seconds but it soon deteriorated back to what we had seen for a majority of the second half.
Tolo was then dismissed for a tackle that I didn't actually see, this after having only ten minutes on the field. This was a shame as in those few minutes he was able to show that the number four shirt could be his, but with an impending suspension and other players fighting for this shirt he may have lost his chance.
As is usual in these 'down to 10 men' situations our game improved, firstly Mark Janney made a good darting run and finally pushed the ball to Cobb who turned but shot straight at Mead. Then David Pratt, who comes to life every now and then, won a tackle and laid the ball back to Lee Goodwin. Lee then had a one-two with someone and with a little bit of luck was able to hold onto the ball but his final shot was comfortably saved.
Then in the ninety first minute Mark Janney combined with Paul Cobb who in turn crossed the ball from the by-line across the face of the goal where it was headed home. The linesman, who was in a better position then me, indicated that the ball had crossed over the line for a goal kick when Cobb had clawed it back. In the ninety third minute Purfleet once again had another chance but this time were denied by the post.
The game ended 1-0 and as a Dagenham & Redbridge supporter it breaks my heart to say that The team is having a dreadful period at the moment and if we carry on with this apathetic attitude we will end up in the lower reaches of the division by the end of the season.
There were some very strange results in the league when I got home. Almost all the top teams lost or drew and nearly all the bottom teams won. Must be that Christmas cheer!
Gothard, Culverhouse, Pratt, Howard(Mas), Cole(Goodwin), Matthews, Broom, Cobb, Blackford, Game, Bird(Janney)
|
|
|
Ryman League Premier Division
Daggers 0(0) Aldershot Town 1(0)
It was quite a warm day but just before kick-off a steady drizzle started that was to persist through the whole match. It didn't affect the playing surface to any great degree but it did mean that the Aldershot supporters were allowed to join us under cover. This, along with the fact that they are quite vociferous created the big match atmosphere.
It was the home side who had the better start and it was good to see us settle so quickly. We showed some good passing movements especially around Aldershot's penalty area but we were denied advancing any further by what looked like two very capable full backs.
Dagenham also played well in defence, this was largely due to the midfield getting back in numbers and with the return of Tim Cole after injury. Aldershot were continuously made to play square across the field so they were also unable to test the 'keeper. Some good football was being played and it gave us supporters a reason to sing.
Midway through the half both teams were settling down but it was the visitors who had created best chance up until that point. The ball was pulled back to Joe Nartey who was completely unmarked and just inside the area. He had more time than he realised but snatched at the shot and mis-kicked it. The ball harmlessly went off for a goal kick.
David Pratt, who has moments of mediocrity and then brilliance, decided to have a forty yard run down the left which had started from inside our own half and finished with a good pass to Paul Cobb. Paul's shot didn't cause Gary Phillips any problems at all as it went wide. Cobb was involved again a little later when he collected a beautiful chip from Matty Bird that caught the Aldershot defence flat footed as it glided over their heads' but again the final shot left a lot to be desired.
Towards the end of the half Dagenham were starting to play with 'kick and hope' tactics as they began to run out of ideas and it was Aldershot whose football looked more controlled as ours had earlier in the half.
The second half created some good end to end football that was exciting but it was still the visitors who looked a little more composed as they started to put us under prerssure. As we know a lot of our goals this season have come from that very situation and it nearly happened again. Aldershot were pushing forward but the ball broke to Paul Cobb, in turn he passed to Mark Janney who then released Matty Bird, the final shot was put out for a corner. From the corner the ball was cleared as far as Janney, about 30 yards out, who took on the defence to get himself into a good position. His shot was on target and it was only the superb reactions of Gary Phillips that denied us the break we needed as he managed to parry the ball into a safe area.
Now it was the home sides turn to dominate and play the better football. We were pushing forward and when the ball broke to the Aldershot frontline our defence was in disarray. Gary Abbott was clear in our penalty area, Gothard came out quickly but committed himself too early and Abbott slotted home.
It was after this that we lost all direction and were dreadful. There was a couple of strange substitution decisions, not with regard to players coming on but the ones that were replaced, that I personally didn't understand.
But it was Dagenham that finished the stronger of the two sides. Darren Barry had a golden opportunity from 8 yards out but had his shot saved once again by a now confident Phillips. Cobb also had another chance but decided to pass when perhaps a shot may have been a better option.
As time added on moved into the ninety-fourth minute we all thought that Cobb or someone would come up with our regular 'get out of jail free' card but it was not to be. If we had got the equaliser Aldershot would have had good reason to have felt aggrieved.
In the end it was a fair result and a good advert for the game of non-league football.
Gothard, Culverhouse, Pratt, Howard, Cole, Matthews, Janney, Cobb, Shipp(Barry), Game(Goodwin), Bird.
Ryman League Premier Division
Billericay 1(1) Daggers 2(1)
Please accept my apologies for the delay in publishing the match report. This is due to the fact that I have only just thawed out!
We arrived early so we could partake in the consumption of a beer and a coke. A nice compact clubhouse with a friendly atmosphere and it was warm. Well that's enough pre-match ramblings let us move out into the stand.
Billericay have the best defence in the division and we have the best attack so it was difficult to predict the outcome of the game. Billericay settled down quickly and very early in the game they caught the Daggers out with a quickly taken free kick. The problem with it though, was that it also caught the Billericay attack out as they were unable to convert what was an exceptionally good cross. The home side looked good and composed in these early stages. I suppose that having a defence that has played together all season must help, of course that is a luxury we wouldn't know about!
It took a while for the Daggers to get the better of the game and in a sixty second period they were cleared off the line on two occasions. Firstly from a Kirk Game header and shortly after with a reverse header from Danny Shipp. Both shots were weak but it was to show that the sure footed Billericay defence could be penetrated. We then won a free kick that was dangerously close the the edge of the penalty area. Paul Cobb decided to try a shot which he hit hard and low, it deflected off of one of the players standing in the wall and then caught the outside of the left post.
Now was the time for me to visit the toilet. On the way back I heard a cheer and was then reliably informed that the reason was that Danny Shipp had been clean through in a one on one situation. Danny had done everything right and it was only the heroics of the goalkeeper along with a superb save that denied him a chance to put us one up. This was the version that I was given by the Billericay supporters that I attended the game with. At half time I heard a slightly different version. I'll précis it; Shipp was rubbish.
We were to get the breakthrough though and it came from the aforementioned Danny Shipp who collected the ball from ten yards out and fired home. This was after some good football when it could be seen that the Daggers' players' confidence was increasing,. Of course, less than sixty seconds later and before the supporters had settled back down we conceded a penalty. This was calmly slotted home by Leon Gutzmore, now the score was 1-1.
I was informed, by my fellow non-league football supporters albeit of a different persuasion, that Billericay tend to play better in the second half but in all honesty they looked in disarray and weren't given the chance to settle by a better looking Dagenham. They only managed one serious attack on our goal in the first ten minutes but it came to nothing. The Daggers though were pushing forward all the time but pushing forward isn't good enough. We were getting into some great positions but seemed afraid of taking the final shot. Paul Cobb managed to put a really good low cross in that went across the face of goal but Jason Broom wasn't able to connect.
Into the last quarter of an hour and we started to run out of ideas. This gave the home side a chance to dominate and put us under a bit of pressure. There were some good moves in and around our penalty area. Ex-Dagger Dean Parratt, who joined Billericay in the summer, collected a ball on the left and took it to the by-line. His cross was perfect and if the header from it was slightly more accurate then they would have gone into the lead.
As we know, it is in these situations that we have proved most dangerous this season. On the break Cobb collected and was able to twist and turn inside the area until finally his shot was deflected for a corner. He went across to take it, as he has for most of this season, and floated the ball in, it was an impressive looking Kirk Game who rose above everyone to head home. That made it 2-1 to us with only ten minutes to go. Kirk was involved again a few minutes later when he headed back into the path of Danny Shipp but neither he or David Pratt were able to finish.
There wasn't much more to report, about 6 minutes of time added on was played but I was hovering around the exit as I was very cold and wanted to go home. I felt it was a reasonable performance for us and if Billericay can sort out their forward line I feel that at the end of the season they will be in the top five, hopefully below us!
Gothard, Culverhouse, Pratt, Broom, Seymour, Matthews, Janney, Cobb, Shipp1, Game1, Bird.
 Billiercay 1 |
 Billericay 2 |
 Billericay 2 |