Simon Eaves reports from a vital win…
Dagenham and Redbridge beat Cheltenham 3-1 at Victoria Road to take all three points in a vital bottom of the table clash.
Daggers striker Jamie Cureton opened the scoring by knocking in the rebound after he saw his penalty saved. The visitors equalised via the spot when Jack Dunn was brought down in the area by Mark Cousins. Then Ashley Hemmings scored a fabulous second before Alex Jakubiak wriggled his way through the Cheltenham defence to make the final score 3-1.
This was a prime example of how football is a game of two halves. The first produced very little for the either side with the main talking point being a disallowed goal for Dagenham on the 30-minute mark. Cureton beat a defender to then slip a disguise pass into the channel, which Rhys Murphy ran onto a slotted the ball, through Trevor Carson’s legs but unfortunately for the home fans Murphy was just offside.
After 55 minutes the game finally sparked into life. Andre Boucaud ran into the Cheltenham box and into defender Craig Braham-Barrett. Referee Horwood believed this was a foul and pointed to the spot.
Cureton’s initial penalty was saved by Carson. The Cheltenham keeper saved low to his right; however, Cureton reacted quickest and knocked the ball across the six-yard box to then slot the ball past Carson.
Cheltenham trailed for just 7 minutes. Jack Dunn broke into the Daggers penalty area and knocked the ball away from goal and keeper Cousins. It looked as if Cousins got the touch but once again Horwood pointed to the spot. Dunn stepped up to take the penalty and sent Cousins the wrong way and equalised.
Star man of the afternoon Hemmings showed his quality just after the 70-minute mark. Hemmings picked the ball up on the left hand side and ran at the visitors defence. He cut inside and outside until reaching the penalty area, where he smashed the ball high into the far corner proving to be an unstoppable shot past Carson.
Substitute Jakubiak then rounded off the 3-1 win for the East London side. Hemmings who had the freedom of the left-hand-side all afternoon, played the ball into Jakubiak. He then wiggled his way through the defence beating 4 men before finally slotting the ball into the far corner. This rounded off the home win and ensured a vital three points.
Referee Rating: 4/10
Star man: Ashley Hemmings – 8/10