Dagenham and Redbridge came away as 2-0 victors at Chigwell Construction Stadium on Tuesday night, after a dominant performance which left play-off placed Eastleigh with little to be happy about.
Angelo Balanta and Paul McCallum both contributed with a goal to secure the three points for Daryl McMahon’s men, as the Daggers persevere with rising up the National League as the 2020/21 season starts to draw to a close.
After the 1-0 loss suffered to Bromley last Saturday, the Daggers needed some fresh ideas. In came Mo Sagaf, Mauro Vilhete and Joey Jones for inspiration. The trio stepped in to replace the suspended, Dean Rance, along with Saidou Khan and Liam Gordon who were both dropped to the sideline.
First Half
The opening chance of the game came for Eastleigh’s, Pierce Bird, who put his attempt wide, after a routine free-kick from Jack Payne to Joe Partington found the defender unmarked in the box on three minutes.
From then on, the early passages of play were all with the visitors and it took until the 14th minute for the Daggers to have their first attempt of the game, when Angelo Balanta put one over the crossbar from outside the area.
The chance started from a break, with George Sounders on the right hand side, who had done well to initially find Balanta. The two exchanged multiple passes on the right flank, before the latter got his shot off. The early effort would prove to be all the Colombian striker needed to find his feet and give him the confidence to increase his involvement going forward.
With the Daggers now growing into the contest, they were looking for a goal to satisfy their hard work. In the 23rd minute, Balanta did just that, executing a cool finish into the bottom right hand corner to put Dagenham 1-0 to the good.
It came from neat, one-touch play on the edge of the box with Will Wright and Matt Robinson linking up, before the first time ball put Balanta through one on one with just the finish to think about.
Eastleigh didn’t take conceding lightly and were straight back at it. In the 31st minute, Spitfires skipper, Joe Partington was first to meet an in swinging corner but Daggers stopper, Elliot Justham, stood firm to reject his effort, tipping the ball over for a further corner which resulted in nothing.
The home side pressed high through to half time, winning several free-kicks along the way, adamant they were not going to concede before the half-time whistle.
Second Half
As the referee marked the start of the second period, Dagenham’s level from their first half performance instantly continued. Early signs of resolute defending and sharp football, signalled how the rest of this game was going to pan out.
Joey Jones came off for Tom Smith in the 53rd minute, who had his first shot blocked, offering almost instant impact for Daryl McMahon. This came just before George Saunders had a snap-shot on the edge of the box also denied. The chances were coming to double the lead, but the Daggers were in need of a cool head.
Paul McCallum came up with the goods on 64, after he nodded in a dream cross from Angelo Balanta on the right hand side. The ‘big man’ himself gave Eastleigh’s goalkeeper little chance of saving it, as he guided the ball in from close range.
The Daggers now looked as though they were going for the kill. Not long after the second, Balanta came up with a driving effort from well outside the area, saved excellently by Eastleigh’s, Joe McDonell. The visitors now, very much, under the cosh.
With chances very limited for the Spitfires in the second period, Andrew Boyce was visibly frustrated when he sent his headed effort flying over in the 78th minute.
The Daggers then had two more chances to really put the game to bed. Firstly, Mo Sagaf blasted his shot over after some good link-up play meant the ball dropped to him in the area.
Then, Balanta again wormed his way through, getting the ball onto his favoured right foot but the connection with the strike wasn’t there.
The win puts Dagenham up to 16th in the National League, with Eastleigh dropping down to 10th position. Only 7 points now separate the two sides.
Manager and Player Thoughts
After the game, Daryl McMahon spoke to DaggersTV, with nothing but praise for his side’s performance,
“Great credit to the boys today. I think we’ve been playing well for a while now but the goals were not coming. Tonight, I think we’ve shown that when everyone comes together and sticks with each other, then we get the reward”.
A key part of the puzzle today, midfielder, Mo Sagaf also told DaggersTV,
“It feels great to get three points at home. We kept the ball well, opened them up, we were patient and then the chances came. From the keeper to ‘Macca’ (Paul McCallum), I thought everyone was superb and we all trust each other so that made everything easier”.
Next Up
The Daggers face Solihull Moors at home this Saturday, with a win meaning they would leap frog their opponents in the league table.
Whilst Eastleigh take the trip up to Notts County, hoping a victory can get them back into the play-off conversation, after Tuesday’s blip.
Starting 11’s
Dagenham & Redbridge – Justham, Wright, Clark, Jones (Smith 53), Saunders, Johnson, Robinson, Sagaf, Vilhete, Balanta, McCallum (4-4-2)
Unused Substitutes – Reynolds, Gordon, Khan, Wilson
Eastleigh – McDonnell, Partington, Boyce, Bird, Tomlinson (Green 46), Hill, Payne, Miley, Baggie (Blair 74), House, Smart (Marriott 67) (4-4-2)
Unused Substitutes – Smith, Hollands
