Dagenham & Redbridge suffered a big setback in their playoff push as they were beaten 3-1 away at Solihull Moors, despite the home side having 10 men for over half of the game.
The Daggers went into the game unbeaten in their last seven matches and on the back of a run of 4 wins from their last 6 games. They also had an excellent opportunity to close the gap on Chesterfield, who suffered a 2-0 away defeat at the hands of Torquay in the early kickoff on Saturday.
Dag & Red boss Daryl McMahon made a single change to the lineup that drew 0-0 to Torquay last Monday, with Sam Ling coming into the lineup and Josh Hare dropping to the bench.
Fast Start
The visitors Dagenham looked for a fast start to the match, with some early pressure and a Junior Morias shot from inside the box was well saved by opposition keeper Joe McDonnell.
A chance would then fall for the home side a few minutes later from a corner as the ball fell to Moor’s defender Callum Howe who would’ve bundled in, but for an excellent point blank save from Daggers keeper Elliot Justham.
Not long after this save, in the 13th minute a long ball into the box by Solihull’s Jamey Osbourne was cleared to Howe on the edge of the box, who struck low and hard past Justham and into the bottom left corner to give the home side a 1-0 lead.
Daryl McMahon’s side reacted well to going a goal down with good build up play leading to a chance for Morias on the edge of the box, who curled an effort towards the top right corner. McDonnell again stopped the winger from getting on the scoresheet with a wonderful save to keep his side in front.
Despite Dagenham’s pressure, it would be Solihull who would score next in the 21st minute. Ryan Barnett found space on the left and laid the ball off for Callum Maycock who had plenty of time to finish into the bottom left corner.
Minutes later the game would again be turned on its head as a rash challenge from Jamey Osbourne on Mauro Vilhete gave the referee no choice but to send him off.
Even with the advantage of playing against 10 men, Dagenham would concede again just before half-time and again from a set-piece as a free-kick from just inside Dagenham’s half found midfielder Alex Gudger in acres of space inside the box and he tucked in the 42nd minute to give the home side a 3-0 lead.
Second Half
Dagenham started the second half as brightly as they had started the first, with Junior Morias again causing problems, but both of his long-range efforts were blocked well by Solihull’s defence. Then finally in the 55th minute, Dagenham got a goal back as the two substitutes combined, with Myles Weston’s cross nodded home by substitute Josh Walker with 35 minutes still left to play.
Pressure was certainly building on the Solihull backline as a poor clearance fell to Daggers defender Matt Robinson who could only direct his effort straight at McDonnell between the sticks. 20 minutes from time, the daggers would get extremely close to scoring a second as another Morias Strike from just inside the box smacked against the underside of the crossbar before the ball was cleared by the Solihull defence.
Despite a flurry of chances and a splutter of late corners the Solihull held on to secure a hard-fought three points. This was a disastrous defeat for Dagenham in the playoff race, with McMahon’s side having a man advantage for much of the game and creating plenty of chances, but in the end all three points went to the home side and this will be seen as a real missed opportunity.
Is a playoff spot still a possibility?
Dagenham & Redbridge face Wrexham at home in the last game of the season, with both sides desperately needing a win. Dagenham sit 8th in the National League table and must win to have any chance of securing a playoff spot, as they remain 3 points behind Chesterfield in 7th place. The Daggers then need Paul Cook’s Chesterfield to lose at home to Woking.
