The Daggers had been promoted to League Two for the first time in 2007 having dominated the Conference that year.
Veteran manager, John Still had been able to use his contacts within the game to build a side that was able to consolidate itself in the fourth tier of English Football.
Crucially, Dagenham legend, Paul Benson was also able to maintain his sensational scoring ability, finishing as the top scorer in the previous two seasons.
The East London side were top of League Two in the middle of November, but poor performances over Christmas and into the new decade saw Still’s side plummet down to 13th.
However, the side finished the season well and were able to sneak into the final play-off position
Morecambe were all that stood in the way of a trip to Wembley, as the Shrimps visited Victoria Road in the first match of the play-off semi-final.
The side from Lancashire were torn apart by Benson and his fellow strike partner, Josh Scott, who scored four in a 6-0 win to all but confirm the Daggers’ place on the greatest stage.
Dagenham & Redbridge captain, Mark Arber reflects on the match against Morecambe, and the play-off final.
“The game against Morecambe was probably the game that gets overlooked in that season. Josh Scott tore them apart that day and considering the occasion, I wouldn’t have liked to have been on the receiving end put it that way. On that day, as a group of players, we were unstoppable.
“We all thought at the full-time whistle that we’d done enough, which thankfully we did and got to Wembley,” he said.
The former Tottenham trainee also admitted that there wasn’t any expectation from within the club to gain promotion, but he always had a feeling that the club could be unlikely promotion candidates.
“When I signed my new contract at the start of the 2009/10 season, I had a promotion bonus written into it, because I actually believed that we had an outside chance of gaining promotion. We had the character within the squad and two or three very good players, so I knew that we would have a chance if everybody was playing at their best,” he said.
The Daggers went up against Rotherham United in the final, who had finished the regular season in 5th position.
“Coming into the game, they had beaten us twice during the regular season without us scoring a goal, they had Le Fondre who was superb, so we knew it was going to be a tough game.”
The match was an entertaining affair, with the East London side being pegged back by the Millers on two occasions, but John Nurse fired the Daggers into the lead with 70 minutes gone at Wembley, as they hung on to a 3-2 victory, and clinched promotion.
“The goals that they got on the day were disappointing ones to concede. They didn’t have too many chances throughout the match. We were very well organised as a unit throughout the game. In the end, our big players stepped up and got us over the line,” he added.
“Leading a team out at Wembley was a moment that as a kid you’d hoped would happen and a once in a lifetime opportunity. It was a proud moment for me and my family. We celebrated long and hard afterward back at the stadium.”
Arber also reflected on the team as a whole during that season, as they bounced back from the mid-season slump to get themselves in a play-off position.
“Although I was captain of the team, it felt like I had 10 other leaders going into battle with me. We were a tight-knit group, and if new players didn’t integrate into the squad off the pitch quickly, then they were out the door.
“The day at Wembley is an experience for the players, staff and the football club as a whole, you’re never going to be able to take that away from us. We created history for so many people, players’ families, and friends as well as everyone connected with the club.
“We won at the most prestigious ground in world football and we will always be remembered as a winning team, which is special,” he said.
Unfortunately, the Daggers were relegated by a point in their first and only season in League One, and have not reached those heights since, now playing in the National League. Arber believes that perhaps those within and around the club believed that they had reached their peak at that point.
“When we went to up League One, I believed that we could push on, I wasn’t happy with just being in League One. The club and probably the supporters were happy that we were in League One, but I wanted to kick on and sustain ourselves in that league and then move forward.
“League One for the football club was the pinnacle, but it could have been so much more. We lost some key players during that summer, Benno (Paul Benson) joined Charlton so we lost his goals, which unfortunately was the difference.”
As the 10 year anniversary of the win at Wembley passes, the Daggers will be hoping to see a return to success next season, when football gets back underway.
