The Daggers began the early stages in a rather sloppy fashion, but the home side grew into the game.
The first chance went in the way of Dagenham, 12 minutes in when Northern Irish defender, Jamie Sendles-White was booked for grappling Dagenham front-man Morgan Ferrier.
This would turn out to be a recurring theme for the afternoon as the Dagenham number 10 would go on to cause the Orient defence problems all game with his driving runs.
Missed opportunities
On 24 minutes, the O’s had a golden opportunity to open the scoring, however the 911 away fans could only look on in despair as the crossbar was rattled twice in quick succession, with former Colchester United man Macauley Bonne having more than an ample chance to steer his header into the back of the net and convert.
The left flank was Orient’s main source of attack, with young full back Myles Judd regularly finding himself hassling the Dagenham defence.
Despite both teams trudging into the tunnel at half-time goalless, the general consensus on an overcast Dagenham afternoon was that Leyton Orient had the better of the first half.
Second Half Pressure
Orient’s good pressure was not to continue. John Still’s side raced out of the traps in the second half and saw two priceless chances spurned in the opening seven minutes of the second half, courtesy of Morgan Ferrier and Elliott Romain, who both looked desperate to add to their tallies of four and one goals this season respectively.
Romain was again at the heart of another attack, seeing his headed effort tipped wide by O’s goalkeeper Charlie Grainger with a superb reflex save.
Chances for Orient, wearing their third strip of all white, were few and far between in the second period and on 62 minutes Bonne saw a half-chanced header sail over Mark Cousins’ goal.
Left winger Corey Whitley was keen to add to his tally of eight goals in 13 games for the Daggers this season and nearly found a ninth goal with 20 minutes remaining with a cross-cum-shot that was scooped over the bar by Grainger.
Seven minutes later and it was Whitley’s turn to have a dig again, however his ambitious effort was fired just over the bar.
Following Whitley’s attempts on goal, the contest fizzled out as both teams seemed to accept their fate that a replay was on the cards.
East London Derby Rematch
Speaking on the Leyton Orient website, Orient manager Steve Davis hailed the clash as a “competitive derby” with “a bit of everything.”
His thoughts were echoed by the man in the opposing dugout, with Daggers manager John Still, speaking to the Romford Recorder, saying “I’m not disappointed at having a replay because it’s cup football and a local derby, which makes it interesting.”.
It’ll take another 90 minutes of football, this time at Leyton Orient’s Brisbane Road ground, to separate the two non-leaguers on Tuesday night.
Starting 11 and Subs:
Dagenham & Redbridge starting XI: Cousins; Ling, Doe (C), Robson, Lokko; Howells Boucaud, Adams, Whitely (Howell 90+3); Ferrier (Bloomfield 74), Romain.
Subs not used: Chapman, Nunn, Robinson, Okinabirhie, N’Gala.
Leyton Orient starting XI: Grainger; Caprice (Westbrooke 88), Sendles-White, Happe, Widdowson, Judd; Clay, Lawless (Boco 66), Dayton; Mooney (C) (Sotiriou 90), Bonne.
Subs not used: Sargeant, Clark, Ochieng, Dalby.