House of Flying Daggers

[CFuller]

JULY 2028 (continued)

Our League One campaign should've kicked off on 29 July at Hillsborough against Sheffield Wednesday. However, due to reasons beyond our control, we would have to play our first league match three days earlier.

 

The unusual story behind that began when the Shropshire FA arranged its Senior Cup Final between the reserve teams of Shrewsbury Town and AFC Telford United for 1 August. That happened to be on the same day that Shrewsbury were scheduled to play against us at Victoria Road, and Telford were lined up to host Wednesday.

 

Any logical person could see that the simple solution was to rearrange the Shropshire Senior Cup match for another date. That did not happen, though, as the Shropshire FA's chairman seemingly wielded as much influence as Sepp Blatter or current FIFA dictator Sheikh Salman al-Khalifa.

 

Instead, the League One matches involving the two Salop teams concerned were pushed forward to 26 July! Four teams would have to start their competitive season three days before everyone else, for the sake of a county match!

 

This wasn't the first time the Football League schedule had been disrupted for that same reason. Shrewsbury and Telford contested last season's Shropshire Senior Cup Final as well, and on that occasion, they were given permission to kick off their league campaign early. Nevertheless, I felt disgusted that the FL had rolled over with the willingness of a loyal pet dog instead of taking the common-sense approach.

 

All that meant that, instead of taking things easy on the final Wednesday evening of July, we were hosting Shrewsbury in what was now the curtain-raiser to our 2028/2029 season. The Shrews finished 14th last season and were not seen as obvious contenders for promotion. We, on the other hand, were.

 

After last season's surprise run to the play-offs, one bookmaker had us down as 20-1 fifth-favourites for promotion to the Championship. Only Ipswich Town, Barnsley, Notts County and Tranmere Rovers had been given shorter odds. Could we prove the bookies correct with a strong display right off the bat?

 

26 July 2028: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Shrewsbury Town

The action quickly switched from end to end in the early stages of what looked set to be a fiercely-contested match. Dagenham captain Mark West was the first player to get close to scoring after 8 minutes, when his curling drive was held by Shrewsbury keeper Calum Barrett. On 13 minutes, Shrews winger Joe Geer headed wide a free-kick from midfielder Ashley Cousins.

 

A 20th-minute effort from Daggers middleman Geraint Harding swerved wide, but our next chance would result in the opening goal. After 27 minutes, Matthew Fraser lofted a free-kick into the visitors' penalty area, where Benjamin Ashton leapt above a trio of Shrews to nod it home! Benji had scored in his first ever competitive match, and we had a 1-0 lead!

 

Ashton also showed his defensive qualities in the 41st minute, heading away a right-wing cross from James Weir. Cousins got to the interception first and volleyed towards goal, but another Daggers debutant, Kobe Nuyts, punched the shot away to keep us ahead at half-time.

 

Kobe had only been troubled once in that first half, and the Belgian would have even less to do in the second. Nicholas Bates pulled wide a shot barely two minutes after the restart, and that was the sum total of Shrewsbury's post-interval scoring chances. From then on, we were firmly in the driving seat.

 

A couple of corners failed to bear fruit, although West did come quite close to scoring our second goal after 74 minutes. His angled shot was palmed away by 34-year-old Barrett, who'd already played as many times for the Shrews this season as in the whole of the last campaign.

 

Barrett conceded twice in his only previous Shrews appearance, and that would be the case again here. With barely ten minutes remaining, Max Hicks marked his Daggers bow with an assist for West, who slotted home his 79th goal for the club.

 

Mark narrowly missed out on number 80 in the 83rd minute. He would finish the match with a yellow card for persistent fouling. By then, a straightforward 2-0 win had already been sealed.

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 2 (Ashton 27, West 80)

Shrewsbury Town - 0

League One, Attendance 6,077 - POSITIONS: Dag & Red 1st, Shrewsbury 24th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Nuyts, Charles, Dalton, Ashton, Beech (Plummer), O'Reilly, Harding (Busetto), Fraser, Dam, West, Hands (Hicks). BOOKED: West.

 

That wasn't too bad, now, was it?

 

Sheffield Wednesday also won their opening match, beating AFC Telford United 1-0 away from home. We faced the Owls at Hillsborough on Saturday, when the League One season got underway for real, and whoever won that match would definitely be top of the table after the opening weekend.

 

29 July 2028: Sheffield Wednesday vs Dagenham & Redbridge

Pirmin Tache scored in both of Sheffield Wednesday's matches against us last term. The Swiss midfielder threatened to do so again after five minutes, but he curled a free-kick just wide. Three minutes later, the Owls got in a flap. Wednesday were unable to clear Gareth Flood's low cross out of their area, and Troy Hands made them pay by sliding the ball into the net. First blood to the Daggers!

 

The hosts reacted strongly, and they almost cancelled out Troy's strike within a couple of minutes. Tache found Mariyan Belchev in the area, but the winger smashed his shot against the crossbar! Belchev would go close again after 18 minutes, skimming the bar from another excellent Tache pass.

 

On 24 minutes, Gareth's corner for Dagenham was headed wide by William Barnes. Three minutes later, Flood was hurt in a strong sliding tackle from Owls midfielder Jon McNally. Play carried on, and Jonathan Roche swung an excellent delivery to Troy, whose diving header was held by Wednesday's goalkeeper Yanko Cheshmedzhiev. Gareth received some treatment and struggled on until half-time, by which point we were still clinging onto a 1-0 lead.

 

Tache attempted a thunderous drive for Sheffield Wednesday in the 51st minute, and he sent it just past the far post. We then launched a quick attack of our own, but Hands was unable to keep his shot on target.

 

Another glorious chance for 2-0 went begging after 57 minutes. Roche picked up a weighted pass from Barnes and took it to the byline before cutting it back to substitute Marvin Green. The teenage debutant went for a vicious strike at the goalie's left-hand post... and he put it wide.

 

That was a potentially costly miss, as Wednesday would go on to dominate the final half-hour. On 68 minutes, Daggers vice-captain Tim Beech was booked for a seemingly innocuous clash with Owls striker Themis Norman. Tache drifted the free-kick to Belchev inside the six-yard box... and Belchev's header struck the bar! The Bulgarian had already been flagged offside, but that was a stark warning.

 

Further cause for concern came from Norman's 72nd-minute header, which Nuyts did well to secure. Four minutes after that, Roche found the side netting with a strike that could've given us breathing space. Our fans grew more anxious when Owls right-winger Neil Briers half-volleyed wide after a fast-paced attack in the 79th minute.

 

On the last occasion we held a single-goal lead at Hillsborough, we lost it in injury-time. This match would also be decided by a late shot from Wednesday. Two minutes into stoppage time, Owls defender George Dean played a long ball to Norman, who sprinted past our centre-backs into space. He shot from the edge of our penalty area... and Kobe got just enough of his fingers to the ball to turn it over! That fantastic save earned us a famous first-ever win against the four-time English champions!

 

Sheffield Wednesday - 0

Dagenham & Redbridge - 1 (Hands 8)

League One, Attendance 21,592 - POSITIONS: Sheff Wed 9th, Dag & Red 1st

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Nuyts, Beech, Charles, Ashton, Warren, Roche, Barnes, Martin (Harding), Flood (Green), West (Pert), Hands. BOOKED: Beech.

 

For the second season in a row, we had started off with back-to-back shut-out victories. We'd also defeated two sides that we failed to beat last term. Was that merely a false dawn, or was this really going to be our campaign?

[CFuller]

AUGUST 2028

Having won our opening two games in League One, we looked to make it three out of three when we travelled to AFC Telford United. While we had made the most of our early start, Telford were perhaps wishing that it was still pre-season. The Bucks had begun their first full campaign under new manager Darius Henderson with successive defeats and were already bringing up the rear.

 

We had some bad news on the injury front before our trip to Shropshire. Defender Alex Busetto suffered a hernia in training, and he would be out for around six weeks as a result of that.

 

5 August 2028: AFC Telford United vs Dagenham & Redbridge

AFC Telford striker Patrick Sinclair was determined to get his team off to a strong start. Sinclair failed to get close with his first two shots in the opening six minutes, but his third attempt in the 8th minute was met by a save from Kobe Nuyts.

 

Telford didn't test us again for a while, although Sinclair did get our centre-back Josh Charles booked for a foul in the 20th minute. A little less than two minutes after that, Bucks captain Niall Keown gifted us a corner almost out of nowhere. Gareth Flood curled in a promising delivery to Matthew Fraser, who headed beyond the far post.

 

Nuyts then made a comfortable save from an Aron Yates header on 24 minutes, shortly before we had our best chances yet to open the scoring. A first-time drive from Mark West was pushed away by Telford goalkeeper Dominic Obodo, but only as far as Jonathan Roche. Our right-winger tried his luck from a very tight angle... and he struck the far post!

 

This was turning into a thrilling end-to-end match, and the pendulum swung back towards the Bucks in the 29th minute. Centre-back Kelly Phillip pumped a long ball over our defence and to striker James Walsh, who headed it past Nuyts. Fortunately, the Irishman was miles offside when he received Phillip's pass, and so the deadlock stayed intact.

 

The offside flag would be raised against us on 30 minutes, when West's clinical header from Tim Beech's right-wing cross was disallowed. Mark then set up a great opportunity for his new strike partner Max Hicks to give us the lead after 38 minutes, but Max powered it well off target. I was not impressed at all.

 

At the end of a goalless first half, I told my players that they had to show much more attacking ambition. They responded by breaking through just five minutes into the second period. Hicks showed what he could do from dead-ball situations with an excellent free-kick delivery to Gavin Dalton, who flicked home our first goal!

 

Two minutes later, however, a missed interception by Daggers substitute Benjamin Ashton put our newly-gained lead in jeopardy. Benji's failure to clear a Peter Shanahan cross saw the ball fall to Walsh in an incredibly dangerous position. If Nuyts hadn't stood his ground and blocked Walsh's shot, it would surely have been 1-1.

 

As it turned out, we would soon be leading 2-0. On 57 minutes, Hicks broke free of the last defender to connect with William Barnes' pass and blast it home! Max had scored his first competitive goal for Dagenham, and he was chasing a second before long.

 

His 62nd-minute free-kick failed to find the net, but his connection with Gareth Flood's centre three minutes later did, and it was 3-0! The Bucks were now getting desperate. Substitute Jack Lampitt attempted to get the home fans geed up with a half-volley in the 67th minute, but Kobe simply watched it sail wide. Nuyts pushed away Lampitt's next shot in the 73rd minute, and the rest of our defence worked hard to keep Telford at bay.

 

After 81 minutes, a fierce shot from Lampitt struck his team-mate Walsh in the back and deflected kindly to Dagenham left-back Matt Warren. Matt's clearance bounced towards Max, who used his pace to take the ball from our half all the way to the Bucks' area. His run was halted by a tackle from Phillip, but the defender could only knock the ball on to West, who showed his predatory instinct to claim our fourth goal! Our impeccable start to the season continued, while Telford were consigned to a third straight defeat without scoring!

 

AFC Telford United - 0

Dagenham & Redbridge - 4 (Dalton 50, Hicks 57,65, West 82)

League One, Attendance 9,112 - POSITIONS: AFC Telford 24th, Dag & Red 1st

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Nuyts, Beech, Charles (Ashton), Dalton, Warren, Roche (Martin), Fraser, Barnes, Flood (Green), West, Hicks. BOOKED: Charles.

 

It may have been very early days, but we were already looking like a major force in League One.

 

Attention quickly switched to the League Cup, and a Round 1 tie away to our new divisional rivals Dartford. Despite losing their first match as a League One club, Carl MacAuley's Darts had since gone on to win their next two. They would not be brushed aside easily.

 

8 August 2028: Dartford vs Dagenham & Redbridge

Sure enough, Dartford took the game to us from the start and won a couple of early corners. In the second minute, captain Corey Archibald's hanging ball was nodded just over the bar by winger Joel Cousins. When the Darts won another corner in the 8th minute, Archibald tried a different routine. He played an outswinger to Sam Prangley at the near post, and Prangley cut the ball back for Cousins to drive home the opener.

 

Dartford were 1-0 up, and that position looked surprisingly solid, as their defence proved difficult to break down. Our first real shot at goal was in the 36th minute, when a piledriver from debutant Roy Ganfield sailed off course.

 

Our other striker, Ollie Pert, fared even worse two minutes later. Ollie brilliantly glided past Darts defender Peter Docherty to latch onto Victor Dam's, and when goalkeeper David Page charged off his line, he had a clear view of goal. Inexplicably, though, Pert chipped the ball over the top and behind! Dam then cleared the bar with a piledriver in the 39th minute, and we went into the break wondering how we weren't back in contention.

 

My decision to replace Pert with Troy Hands at half-time didn't make much difference. While we had packed the centre of the park with midfielders, Dartford were using their wide players to rip us apart.

 

In the 50th minute, some excellent left-flank crosses from Cousins and full-back Mark Gibson led to a scramble in the penalty area. Wales Under-21s striker Prangley eventually fired in Dartford's second goal, while his strike partner Gavin Bowker was writhing on the floor hurt after a strong challenge from Gavin Dalton. Bowker's game came to an early end, and our involvement in the League Cup looked to be going the same way.

 

In the 61st minute, Dean Martin headed over from Geraint Harding's corner, which was the first of several we would win midway through the second half. On 64 minutes, Page's excellent save from a Ganfield drive earned us another.

 

That started a run of FIVE Dagenham corners won in the space of three minutes... but we still couldn't break through! The closest we came to scoring was from the third of them, when Page produced a breathtaking fingertip save to stop Gavin's header from looping into the net.

 

After a frustrating period of play, I brought on centre-back Josh Charles for Ganfield... and sent captain Dalton up front as a target man! Gavin was definitely no Mark West, mind, as he showed with a wayward long-range shot in the 75th minute. Still, it was perhaps worth a try. The final 15 minutes went by without any further goals, and so - for the fourth time in five seasons - we exited the League Cup at the first hurdle.

 

Dartford - 2 (Cousins 8, Prangley 50)

Dagenham & Redbridge - 0

League Cup Round 1, Attendance 1,116

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Nuyts, Plummer, Dalton, Ashton, O'Reilly, Barnes (Bailey), Harding, Martin, Dam, Pert (Hands), Ganfield (Hands). BOOKED: Ganfield.

 

It was obviously disappointing to crash out of the League Cup so early again, but we had other priorities. Continuing our strong league start was one of them.

[CFuller]

AUGUST 2028 (continued)

Our next game in League One was away to Rochdale, who'd picked up just one point in their opening three matches. Keeping goal for the Dale was Euan Duncan - the 21-year-old Dundee United loanee who kept 18 clean sheets in this division last season while at Shrewsbury Town. I actually tried to sign Duncan last month, but he chose to move to Spotland instead.

 

12 August 2028: Rochdale vs Dagenham & Redbridge

I got one up on my former target Euan Duncan after just three minutes, as we moved one goal up! Josh Charles' header from Matthew Fraser's corner looped over Duncan to give us the perfect start!

 

Josh's delight didn't last very long, because an unconvincing clearance from the centre-back would cost us the lead after 11 minutes. Rochdale midfielder Joseph Lowe got above William Barnes to nod the ball on to former Leeds United striker Alex Kiwomya, who calmly placed it into the net.

 

After conceding our first league goal of the season, we looked rather on edge for a while. Rochdale were enjoying plenty of possession, and they weren't afraid to shoot from long range. Attacking midfielder Jeff McGowen attempted a couple of ambitious shots in the 17th and 29th minutes, though he did not get close to the target on either occasion.

 

The next time we went forward looking to regain our advantage was on 37 minutes. Mark West thought he could get the better of Duncan from 50 yards, though a wayward strike into the stands proved otherwise.

 

Another Daggers attack broke down three minutes later, when Barnes got a horrible connection to a Fraser pass. The ball was knocked on to Rochdale striker Oliver Hall, who sent McGowen towards our goal. McGowen was forced to pass back to Matt Hopkins before he could reach the penalty area, but Hopkins then found Kiwomya with an excellent pass that the experienced forward turned into a goal. West missed an opportunity to level in the final minute of normal time, and so we were 2-1 behind at the break.

 

I adopted a 3-5-2 formation for the restart, and I told my wing-backs to attempt more early crosses towards West. Left-back Matt Warren took full notice of my comments. In the 52nd minute, after playing a one-two with Max Hicks, Matt curled in a first-time cross that West dispatched with an unstoppable header! Our three elder statesmen had all combined to give us a level game!

 

Hicks then forced Duncan into a difficult save after 57 minutes as Rochdale came under the cosh. Shortly after that, our right-back Tim Beech - who was actually born in Rochdale - was felled by an excellent tackle from home left-back Bill Swift. Play continued as Beech lay on the pitch in agony, and West won us a corner after his strike was turned behind by Duncan. The extent of Tim's injury then became clear - he would have to come off, and I had to make my final substitution. On came Daniel O'Reilly, who despite being predominantly right-footed was not a natural right-back.

 

We couldn't create a great deal of scoring chances thereafter, but Rochdale couldn't take advantage of theirs. Ally MacKenzie blazed high and wide in the 69th minute, and his free-kick three minutes later was nodded off target by fellow Dale midfielder Scott McPherson.

 

West went fairly close to scoring from about 40 yards out in the 80th minute, but we would have to make do with a point. That wasn't too bad, all things considered, as although our perfect record was gone, we remained top of the table.

 

Rochdale - 2 (Kiwomya 11,40)

Dagenham & Redbridge - 2 (Charles 3, West 52)

League One, Attendance 4,660 - POSITIONS: Rochdale 20th, Dag & Red 1st

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Nuyts, Beech (O'Reilly), Charles, Dalton, Warren, Roche (Ashton), Fraser, Barnes, Flood (Dam), West, Hicks. BOOKED: Hicks, West.

 

After the match, physio Sam Cutler told me that Tim Beech had sprained his ankle. Our vice-captain would be facing around 5-7 weeks on the sidelines.

 

Tim's bad luck gave young right-back Dan Plummer a chance to show that he was ready to become a League One regular. Dan came into the starting XI when we hosted 14th-placed Oldham Athletic, who'd lost both of their away games thus far.

 

There was some positive news regarding goalkeeper Daryl Ryan, who returned to the match-day squad following a sports hernia. Kobe Nuyts had been in good form, mind, and so the Belgian would keep his starting place until Daryl was 100% ready to return.

 

15 August 2028: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Oldham Athletic

Sadly, Gareth Flood's injury woes resurfaced after barely two minutes. Flood was brought down by Oldham full-back Tom Dakin as he tried to latch onto a cross from his fellow Irish winger Jonathan Roche. Gareth badly hurt his thigh, so he would have to come off and be replaced by Marvin Green.

 

Thankfully, that injury didn't stop us from taking control of the match. Josh Charles scored another early opener after six minutes, when his downward header from Matthew Fraser's corner bounced into the net.

 

Oldham's goalkeeping captain Stoyan Karaneychev hadn't covered himself in glory, but he would later make a couple of redeeming saves to keep his team above water. Max Hicks raced through in the 9th minute, only to be denied by the Bulgarian, who also got his hands to a fierce Mark West effort shortly afterwards. On 19 minutes, Fraser drifted in another excellent corner to Charles, but Karaneychev came to the Latics' rescue again by catching Josh's header.

 

We were battering Oldham on virtually every front, although our goalkeeper Kobe Nuyts would not have a completely quiet first half. In the 28th minute, he produced an assured save from a dangerous effort by James Galloway. Any fears that we would soon surrender our lead disappeared after 36 minutes. Matthew's corners were once again a bane to Oldham, as Mark nodded in another of the Scot's deliveries to give us a 2-0 lead!

 

Barely a minute later, though, a through-ball from Galloway gifted Ross Stone an opportunity to get Oldham back to within one goal. Luckily for us, Stone pulled his shot inches past the post. When Galloway came off with a stubbed toe just before half-time, the Latics' hopes of turning their fortunes around diminished further.

 

As far as we were concerned, the second half was all about consolidating our position. Hicks nearly strengthened our lead in the 58th minute, but Karaneychev came off his line to parry Max's shot. Dean Livingstone then cleared behind for another Dagenham corner. This time, Fraser was the recipient of a fine delivery from Green, which Matthew was unlucky to head just over the crossbar.

 

Oldham then wasted their last two chances to claw a goal back. Darren McQueen blasted a banana shot well off target after 64 minutes, and his replacement Roberto Harrop dragged wide an effort from close range ten minutes later.

 

The Latics just couldn't get into this game, as Fraser was running the show with a mesmerising midfield display. He almost put the icing on his 'man of the match' cake in injury time. The woodwork kept out Fraser's header from another Green corner, but our excellent young playmaker still received a standing ovation at the end of a comfortable 2-0 win.

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 2 (Charles 6, West 36)

Oldham Athletic - 0

League One, Attendance 5,669 - POSITIONS: Dag & Red 1st, Oldham 16th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Nuyts, Plummer, Charles, Ashton, O'Reilly, Roche, Fraser, Martin (Barnes), Flood (Green), West, Hicks (Dam). BOOKED: Charles.

 

Matthew Fraser had used up so much energy in that match that I wasn't sure whether he could play in our next home game against Colchester United four days later. I eventually decided to give Matthew a well-earned rest and drop him to the bench. He would only come on if we absolutely needed him.

 

Gareth Flood would definitely play no part in the Essex derby. The winger had suffered a thigh strain and wouldn't be back until September.

 

We scraped to a couple of narrow wins against Colchester last season, and they were likely to be tricky opponents again when they travelled to Victoria Road. David Holdsworth had led the U's to three wins and a draw in their opening five league matches this season.

 

19 August 2028: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Colchester United

Eight minutes into the game, Dagenham midfielder William Barnes curled a free-kick narrowly over the Colchester bar. The U's had their first attempt at goal five minutes later, but teen wideman Haydn Brown's effort was easily gathered by Kobe Nuyts.

 

Things then went fairly quiet for a while, and then Daggers duo Mark West and Victor Dam blazed wide a couple of shots just before the half-hour. In the 31st minute, Nuyts' safe hands caught a curler from Colchester striker Matt Peters. United would have another chance two minutes later through right-winger Joel Ashley. The former Liverpool trainee received the ball deep in his own half and dribbled to the edge of the area, where he bent a shot off target.

 

West attempted a wicked bender for us shortly after that, but David Croft made a comfortable save for Colchester. It'd be fair to say that both sides had some improving to do in the second half.

 

The U's arguably made the brighter restart. Ashley sent a shot into the stands after 47 minutes, and midfielder Jimmy Harrison had an attempt blocked by Daggers counterpart Geraint Harding soon afterwards.

 

Harding was having a fine day at the office, but captain West most certainly wasn't. On 54 minutes, Mark latched onto a terrific long ball from Benjamin Ashton, only to swerve a terrible effort past the post from the semi-circle. West scooped another edge-of-the-area attempt over the bar after 60 minutes. I lost faith in him after 70, when I chose to bring on young Ollie Pert in his place.

 

Josh Charles headed over a decent chance for the Daggers just before West was subbed, and we would go much closer to scoring shortly after the change. Barnes drove a 30-yarder towards goal, and Croft's catch kept us waiting for a goal that wouldn't come. Colchester tired towards the end and were unable to trouble our defence, but after a tepid Essex derby finished 0-0, we were perhaps the more disappointed side.

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 0

Colchester United - 0

League One, Attendance 5,969 - POSITIONS: Dag & Red 1st, Colchester 5th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Nuyts, Charles, Dalton, Ashton, Plummer, O'Reilly, Harding, Barnes (Warren), Dam (Martin), West (Pert), Hands. BOOKED: Barnes, Warren.

 

In spite of our first genuinely disappointing league result this season, we remained unbeaten in 1st place. It was highly doubtful that we would still be there after our next match, against probably the most reputable team in the division.

[CFuller]

AUGUST 2028 (continued)

Ipswich Town may have won the Football League under Sir Alf Ramsey in 1962, and the UEFA Cup under Sir Bobby Robson in 1981, but their glory days were now ancient history. The Tractor Boys were playing in League One for the third season of their last four, having suffered relegation from the Championship earlier this year.

 

Ipswich had made a shaky start to this campaign, recording two wins, two draws and two defeats in their first six matches. They did, however, have a host of players who were more than good enough for this division. Chief among them was striker Jonathan Smith, who was being courted by Premier League side Sheffield United, having scored six goals in just four league games thus far.

 

Our trip to Portman Road on 26 August was the first time we'd ever played the Tractor Boys in the league. Before then, we'd lost at home to Ipswich in the FA Cup in 2002, and also in the League Cup in 2015, though we did beat them narrowly in a friendly four years ago.

 

26 August 2028: Ipswich Town vs Dagenham & Redbridge

Midfielder Alan Byrne drove wide Ipswich's first shot in the opening minute, but the Tractor Boys would soon start rolling over us. In the fifth minute, captain and right-back Matthew Gibson crossed to Jonathan Smith, who headed against the bar. Smith then beat Josh Charles to the rebound, which he volleyed in to make it 1-0 Ipswich.

 

We responded positively to going behind, with William Barnes and Max Hicks each narrowly missing out on an equaliser within the next four minutes. After 13 minutes, though, Hurricane Smith returned to blow us away. A one-two with Luke Boot was followed by an incisive finish past Kobe Nuyts, and we were facing the improbable task of trying to fight back from 2-0 down.

 

By the 20th minute, that task had become almost impossible. Although we were paying much more attention to Smith, he was still able to shrug off his markers and finish Ishmale Thurston's left-wing cross. Smith had wrapped up a hat-trick before the halfway point of the first half, and he was now on nine goals in five league matches for the season!

 

Thankfully for us, Ipswich's main man cooled down after clinching his treble. We started trying to repair the damage he had wreaked in the 23rd minute, when Barnes struck a fierce effort at goal. Tractor Boys keeper Jonathan Oakes pushed that behind for a corner, and he did likewise from another Barnes drive in the 30th minute. We couldn't turn either of those corners into chances, and Oakes would continue to frustrate us late in the half.

 

On 34 minutes, Oakes turned a long-distance strike from Mark West against the woodwork, and when the ball bounced back into play, we were left absolutely dumbfounded! The keeper also parried an injury-time shot from Max Hicks to leave us still trailing by three goals at the half-time interval. Our unbeaten start was surely over.

 

Wholesale tactical changes in the second half did nothing to turn our fortunes around. Indeed, we were fortunate not to go 4-0 down when Boot knocked a Fraser Tait cross against the post after 50 minutes. Tait then sent a shot wide in the 53rd minute, shortly after Benjamin Ashton had headed over for Dagenham. Tait's game would soon be ended by a twisted ankle sustained in a tackle by Hicks.

 

Ipswich still had nothing to worry about - certainly not if a dreadful strike from Barnes in the 71st minute was anything to go by. The final nail in our unbeaten record's coffin was hammered down eight minutes later. Right-back Dan Plummer came off worse in a collision with Thurston and appeared to have suffered a serious hamstring injury. Dan was stretchered off, and we had to finish a man light.

 

Despite that, Hicks threatened to get us a consolation goal against the odds after 86 minutes. It wasn't to be for Max, as a simple save from Oakes confirmed that we would leave Suffolk empty-handed.

 

Ipswich Town - 3 (Smith 5,13,20)

Dagenham & Redbridge - 0

League One, Attendance 17,426 - POSITIONS: Ipswich 9th, Dag & Red 4th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Nuyts, Plummer, Charles, Dalton, Warren (O'Reilly), Roche (Ashton), Fraser, Barnes, Green (Martin), West, Hicks. BOOKED: Dalton.

 

My worst fears about Dan Plummer were confirmed the following morning. A scan found that Dan had, as I had suspected, torn his hamstring. He would require surgery and a three-month absence from competition.

 

While I looked to sign a new right-back on loan, I gave reserve goalkeeper Tony Rattle permission to join Crawley Town for the rest of the season. The teenager had knocked on my door earlier this month asking for regular first-team football, and a loan spell in the Conference Premier will hopefully give him what he wants.

 

What I didn't want, as far as the Football League Trophy was concerned, was a potential banana-skin tie in Round 1. When we were drawn at home to Kingstonian, who beat us in pre-season, I was understandably worried.

 

My concerns weren't exactly allayed when the K's made a strong start to the League Two season, sitting top after their opening six matches. They were not a team to be taken lightly, so I fielded a strong starting XI against them, although captain Mark West was rested. Goalkeeper Daryl Ryan made his first competitive start of the season.

 

29 August 2028: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Kingstonian

We may have had home advantage here, but Kingstonian proved almost as difficult to break down at Victoria Road as they had been on their own turf. K's goalkeeper Robbie Ryder had a quiet return to his old haunt until the 20th minute, when he brilliantly turned behind a drive from Victor Dam. Ryder would deny Victor again four minutes later by palming away the Dane's next effort.

 

We were certainly enjoying a lot of possession and controlling proceedings; our main issue was our inability to create strong opportunities. After 31 minutes, one came almost out of nowhere. Daniel O'Reilly attempted to find Victor's head with a left-wing cross, but his delivery evaded both Dam and Ryder... and bounced into the net! Daniel was almost embarrassed that he had scored his first competitive goal in such a bizarre manner, but it definitely gave us a massive boost.

 

Five minutes later, we followed an almost ridiculous goal with one that was quite simply sublime. Dam nodded Gavin Dalton's long ball on to Matthew Fraser, who then played a first-time through-ball that Ollie Pert hammered in from 25 yards! We were now firmly on the road to victory, and only Ryder's injury-time catch from a Troy Hands header denied us a three-goal cushion.

 

Ryder thwarted his old mate Hands again in the 50th minute with a straightforward save. That early second-half effort from Troy was sandwiched by two from Kingstonian striker Stephen Hardwick. The first, after 47 minutes, was nodded safely into Daryl Ryan's grasp. The second, after 55, was fired past Ryan following a superb set-up by Robbie Tarr.

 

Hardwick had given the K's fresh hope, but our midfielders were determined not to let them back into the game. Geraint Harding missed a couple of speculative attempts before setting up a more hopeful chance for Fraser in the 72nd minute. Matthew struck from the edge of the 'D', and Ryder just about got his fingertips to the ball.

 

Two minutes later, Dam found substitute Roy Ganfield in a great position just outside Kingstonian's six-yard box. Alas, Roy made a complete hash of his shot, curling it miles wide. An extended spell of Daggers pressure ended when Victor was injured in a strong tackle from K's midfielder Matt Paterson in the 79th minute. Dam came off with a knock, and with all of our subs used up, we had to see the game out with just 10 men.

 

In spite of their advantage, Kingstonian were unable to get close to our goal again, let alone force a penalty shoot-out. Pert finally put the game to rest with three minutes to spare, as he beat the offside flag before scoring his second goal of the night. We'd made heavier weather of that match than we perhaps should've, but at least we were into the next round.

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 3 (O'Reilly 31, Pert 36,87)

Kingstonian - 1 (Hardwick 55)

Football League Trophy South Round 1, Attendance 1,466

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Ryan, Charles, Dalton, Ashton, O'Reilly (Warren), Barnes, Harding, Fraser (Martin), Dam, Pert, Hands (Ganfield).

 

The transfer window closed at the end of August, but not before I completed a loan deal for Notts County right-back Kye Maguire. The 26-year-old Yorkshireman will be with us for the next three months as we look to build on our strong start to the League One campaign.

[CFuller]

SEPTEMBER 2028

Before the Round 2 draw for the Football League Trophy took place on 2 September, I was hopeful that we could make a strong run in that competition. Then we got pitted against Ipswich Town away from home.

 

Although that tie wouldn't take place until October, I was still fearing another thrashing at the Tractor Boys' hands. Ipswich had found their feet back in League One, and they'd managed to hold onto their almost unstoppable striker Jonathan Smith. Indeed, Smith would score his 10th league goal of the campaign later that afternoon!

 

We weren't in action over that weekend - our home game with Rotherham United had been postponed because a number of Daggers were on international duty. Most significantly, Benjamin Ashton made his debut for England Under-19s, and Matthew Fraser scored his first goal for Scotland's Under-21s in Montenegro.

 

The following weekend saw us return to league action, as we hosted newly-promoted Tranmere Rovers. Mark West would miss that game and the next one with a strained wrist, but I felt confident that Ollie Pert could fill the big man's boots for the time being.

 

9 September 2028: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Tranmere Rovers

Tranmere had only won their first game of the season a week earlier, and they almost got off to a great start here. A well-worked free-kick routine in the third minute ended with on-loan Blackburn Rovers midfielder Kieran Harper firing just wide. Striker Graham Beech drove over another Tranmere chance in the 19th minute.

 

Though we were having more possession than our visitors, we were largely wasteful when it came to creating chances. Geraint Harding, Ollie Pert and Troy Hands all missed the target inside the opening 30 minutes. The closest we came to scoring was right at the end of that half-hour, when a dangerous floating cross from Gareth Flood was pushed behind by Rovers goalie Steven O'Brien.

 

In the 35th minute, a vicious strike from Hands flew deep into the stands. William Barnes wasn't quite so wayward with a free-kick four minutes later, but a straightforward catch from O'Brien kept the game goalless.

 

I gave my strikers a dressing-down before the second half, and their reaction was very positive. Pert couldn't strike a clean half-volley towards goal in the opening minute, but he was heavily involved in a greater chance shortly afterwards.

 

Harding intercepted O'Brien's goal kick and nodded it to Ollie, who then drove it upfield to Hands. Troy raced through the Rovers defence and slotted a cool finish into the corner, delighting the Victoria Road faithful! That was a landmark moment for Hands - his 50th league goal for Dagenham & Redbridge!

 

Troy couldn't quite add to his tally in the 59th minute, when he scooped the ball over the bar after a fine set-up from Flood. When Hands next threatened the Tranmere goal on 75 minutes, O'Brien came up with an excellent palmed save. Two minutes later, we needed strong goalkeeping from Daryl Ryan in his 100th league game for the Daggers. Beech played a one-two with fellow Rovers striker Shaun Wilkinson and then unleashed a shot that Daryl plucked out of the air.

 

The last few minutes were very nerve-wracking, and it didn't help that Pert curled wide an 84th-minute effort that could've put us 2-0 up. In the end, we would have to rely on some excellent defending from Josh Charles, and a last-minute save by Ryan from Wilkinson's crashing drive, to get the points won. Once again, we had just about done enough.

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 1 (Hands 47)

Tranmere Rovers - 0

League One, Attendance 5,926 - POSITIONS: Dag & Red 3rd, Tranmere 20th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Ryan, Maguire, Charles, Dalton, O'Reilly (Warren), Roche, Barnes (Fraser), Harding, Flood (Green), Pert, Hands. BOOKED: Dalton, Barnes, Hands.

 

Three days later, we travelled to the Kassam Stadium for a meeting with Oxford United. Although Oxford were going strong in the cups, they'd only won one league match thus far - against rock-bottom AFC Telford United.

 

12 September 2028: Oxford United vs Dagenham & Redbridge

Stand-in Dagenham captain Gavin Dalton enjoyed the perfect start to this match. After being obstructed by Oxford winger Ryan Hicks in the fourth minute, Max Hicks lifted a free-kick into the box, and Dalton deftly flicked it into the net!

 

Within seven minutes of falling behind, Oxford threatened to reply with a leveller. However, star striker Reis Collins' cross was nodded wide by on-loan Chelsea winger Sinclaire Lawson.

 

Four minutes later, U's midfielder Cledan Price was booked for tripping Hicks. That would be a sign of things to come for the hosts. We steadily built-up an attack from the resulting free-kick, only for Max to be tackled by Oxford defender Ken Brazil. Matt Warren quickly slid the ball back towards the United goal, and Hicks beat Brazil to it before goalie Lewis Moore parried his shot.

 

Collins then missed a couple of chances to draw the U's level midway through the half. On 32 minutes, his attempt to find team-mate Iain Grieves in the Dagenham penalty area was intercepted by a header from Kye Maguire. However, Grieves intercepted the interception, nodding forward a shot that was well caught by Daryl Ryan.

 

The momentum then shifted back and forth as the half drew towards a close. Hicks charged at the Oxford defence in the 33rd minute and was only kept off the scoresheet by a superb low save from Moore. We would have a major scare in stoppage time, as Grieves climbed above Ryan to head home a deep first-time cross from Andrew Burnett. Luckily for us, the linesman had flagged Grieves offside, so our lead just about remained intact.

 

A dirty start to the second half saw Oxford pick up two early yellow cards. Ryan Lynch was booked for tripping Gareth Flood seconds after the restart, while Grieves was cautioned for diving in the 51st minute. A minute after that, Daggers defender Benjamin Ashton slid in on Steve McCready and gave away a free-kick on the edge of our area. Collins took the set-play, unleashing an unstoppable free-kick that rocketed past Ryan!

 

Oxford had drawn level, and they would frustrate us further with some rather aggressive tackling. Two more of their players - captain Lewis Phillips and right-back Burnett - would receive yellow cards in the 64th and 72nd minutes respectively.

 

We were now playing at a higher tempo and running at the defence in a bid to draw even more fouls. The U's soon grew wise to this and became a bit more cautious with their tackling, but they still gave away enough space to allow us to create chances. Among them was a 77th-minute effort that Hicks drove straight at Moore.

 

Five minutes later, Dalton started a Daggers breakaway when he dispossessed McCready just outside our area. We worked the ball towards goal before Hicks spotted substitute Marvin Green making an unchallenged run down the left. Marvin hoovered up the pass, entered the area... and slipped in his first senior goal! Had the 18-year-old won the game for us?

 

Green almost made another great impact in the 88th minute, when he crossed to Troy Hands in a dangerous position. Troy couldn't quite seal the victory, with his header bouncing wide. Oxford's industrial tackling would soon bring Marvin's super-sub appearance to an end. Early in added-on time, a touchline tackle from right-back Danny Symes left the teenager with an ankle injury that forced him out.

 

Despite losing Green, we were still convinced that we would see out the win with 10 men. That confidence grew when Les Savage became the sixth Oxford player to be booked for shoving Matthew Fraser. However, as the minimum three minutes of injury time stretched into five, I started to fear a late heartbreaker.

 

My heart skipped a beat as Dale Bradburn flicked the ball on to McCready in our box. McCready just had to slot past Ryan to save his team a point... but Daryl made himself big and closed down the shot! Only when Maguire cleared the loose ball into touch did the referee blow for full-time. After a dramatic finish, we had taken the spoils and moved back into the top two!

 

Oxford United - 1 (Collins 52)

Dagenham & Redbridge - 2 (Dalton 4, Green 82)

League One, Attendance 6,278 - POSITIONS: Oxford 22nd, Dag & Red 2nd

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Ryan, Maguire, Dalton, Ashton, Warren, Roche, Fraser, Dam (Martin), Flood (Green), Pert (Hands), Hicks.

 

At full-time, I was quick to salute our last-minute hero Daryl Ryan, our man of the match Gavin Dalton, and our wounded warrior Marvin Green. It would be Marvin's last match for a while, as he was facing an absence of at least five weeks with a sprained ankle.

 

We then moved on to our next away game at Morecambe. Like us, the freshly-promoted Shrimps had only lost once in the league thus far, and they were sitting just outside the top six.

 

16 September 2028: Morecambe vs Dagenham & Redbridge

Morecambe midfielder Dominic Lampkin gave us a scare in the 9th minute, when his free-kick deflected off the Dagenham wall and went behind a corner. The subsequent delivery from Mark Jerome was headed over by Luke Walker. A couple of minutes later, Lampkin had a 25-yard drive saved by Daryl Ryan. That was followed by a very quick Daggers counter-attack, but it broke down when Shrimps goalkeeper Brian Kane gathered a tame shot from Max Hicks.

 

We would have better luck from another breakaway move in the 27th minute. Mark West controlled a long ball from Matt Warren and lofted it forward to Max, who surged through the Morecambe defence and sidefooted his shot past Kane!

 

That goal started a bright spell in the game for us. On 32 minutes, Kane pushed away a strike from Geraint Harding, and Shrimps captain Aswad Hammond had to clear the loose ball before Hicks could turn it in.

 

Max managed to beat Kane in the 33rd minute with a fabulous header from Warren's left-wing cross... but he also cleared the crossbar. Five minutes later, a fierce low drive from West was turned behind by a breathtaking save from Kane, who was keeping Morecambe in contention almost on his own!

 

When Matt was booked in the 48th minute for shoving Shrimps winger Lee Delve, I suspected that the momentum was about to shift. I was right. On 52 minutes, Ryan Starbuck created a half-chance for Walker that the striker could only fire straight at Daryl. Ten minutes later, though, Morecambe's Ryan got the better of ours. Starbuck met Jerome's left-wing delivery with a powerful header, and although Daryl got his palms to the ball, he couldn't prevent it from entering his net.

 

The match was now level, and the Shrimps were soon threatening to pull ahead. Walker almost did that for them in the 69th minute, with Gavin Dalton having to bravely block his shot and divert it behind the byline.

 

On 80 minutes, Wales international Delve caused Ryan a problem with a tricky cross from a tight angle. Daryl desperately pushed the cross away from his goal, and he was relieved to see Walker knock the ball behind as he tried to keep it in play. Ryan looked much more assured later on, saving a couple of Lampkin free-kicks to secure us an away point. In truth, we probably should have come away with all three.

 

Morecambe - 1 (Starbuck 62)

Dagenham & Redbridge - 1 (Hicks 27)

League One, Attendance 6,185 - POSITIONS: Morecambe 7th, Dag & Red 2nd

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Ryan, Maguire, Charles, Dalton (Busetto), Warren (O'Reilly), Martin, Barnes, Harding, Flood, West (Pert), Hicks. BOOKED: Warren.

 

Although we'd dropped points in a match that we were expected to win, we were still level on points with early league leaders Scunthorpe United. We also had a game in hand on the Iron.

 

That game was the rearranged home tie against Rotherham United, which took place in midweek. The Millers were in 16th position after an up-and-down start to the campaign. A word of warning, though - Rotherham beat us twice at Victoria Road last season, and once from a 2-0 half-time deficit.

[CFuller]

SEPTEMBER 2028 (continued)

20 September 2028: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Rotherham United

Mark West's first couple of efforts at goal didn't exactly fill me with hope. After three minutes, the captain's header from a Daniel O'Reilly cross bounced straight to Rotherham goalkeeper Sam Johnstone. West got his head to another O'Reilly delivery in the 7th minute, and he sent that one wide.

 

The Millers launched their first attack after 17 minutes, when right-winger Alan Shaw tried to square the ball to striker Brad Webster. Gavin Dalton intercepted the cross with a firm tackle that sent Webster to the ground, prompting the referee to award Rotherham a penalty! Webster didn't take long to set up the penalty and fire it beyond Daryl Ryan, leaving us 1-0 down.

 

West's attempt to volley in a quick equaliser on 19 minutes didn't test Johnstone. After 25 minutes, the veteran keeper made a simple save from a low drive by Geraint Harding.

 

Less than a minute later, another error from Dalton almost cost us very dear. Gavin failed to head away Rotherham captain Graham Kane's cross before it fell to Shaw, whose volley was superbly blocked by O'Reilly! We struggled to create any chances late in the first half, which quickly petered out.

 

A collective kick up the backside was in order for my team during the half-time break. As well as giving my team a dressing down, I replaced the ineffective Troy Hands with Max Hicks. That change almost paid off straight away.

 

Victor Dam sent Hicks through on goal in the opening minute of the second half, only for Johnstone to come forward and beat the ball away from Max's feet. Hicks got another chance soon afterwards, and he would not be denied again that time. The in-form hitman raced onto another excellent pass from Victor and drilled in his third goal in as many games!

 

Shaw almost scrubbed out our equaliser in the 54th minute, when his cross rattled Ryan's crossbar. Three minutes later, Dalton - unfazed by a shaky first-half display - intercepted a clearance from Millers defender Phillip Corrigan. Gavin moved the ball forward to Dam, who skirted a slide tackle from Paul Sherwood and played in West. Mark composed himself before smacking home the goal that moved us ahead!

 

Our captain took the plaudits from the Victoria Road faithful, but Dam also deserved credit for his brace of assists. Victor couldn't quite crown his display with a goal, though he did draw a save out of Johnstone after 67 minutes.

 

The Rotherham defence was now barely able to hold on, as centre-half Charlie MacGregor had twisted his knee and right-back Chris Ferguson was also suffering from a knock. Johnstone had to stay strong for his team by saving another effort from Harding in the 81st minute. We wasted a host of other chances to go 3-1 ahead in between. Matthew Fraser arguably went closest, striking the bar with an injury-time free-kick, but those two goals from Max and Mark would be enough for the win.

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 2 (Hicks 47, West 57)

Rotherham United - 1 (Webster pen17)

League One, Attendance 5,435 - POSITIONS: Dag & Red 1st, Rotherham 11th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Ryan, Maguire, Busetto, Dalton, O'Reilly (Warren), Barnes, Fraser, Harding, Dam (Martin), West, Hands (Hicks). BOOKED: O'Reilly.

 

We now had a clear lead at the top of League One for the first time this season. Of course, there was still a lot of football left to be played, but with just under a quarter of the campaign gone, we were looking good.

 

However, our next home match was a potentially sticky one against Notts County. The Magpies were only in 11th place after 11 games, but a team that had just been relegated from the Championship would not be easy pickings.

 

Right-back Kye Maguire was unable to play against his parent club for obvious reasons, so Tim Beech was brought back into the team after his injury lay-off. I also took the risky decision to give Mark West the day off after his tireless displays against Morecambe and Rotherham United.

 

23 September 2028: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Notts County

An early sign of promise from our perspective came in the fifth minute. Victor Dam had a free-kick just outside Notts County's area, but he could only fire it into the Magpies' wall. Another Daggers attack broke down a minute later after Max Hicks was flagged offside.

 

Hicks would have to wait until the 23rd minute for his next attempt, which came about after Dam knocked a lovely long ball from our half into the County area. Max eventually got to the ball and shot from a tight angle, but Notts County keeper Steve Dowsell made a parry before defender Liam Simpson scrambled it behind. That won us one of three corners we would earn midway through the half, but our attack was still unable to break down a stubborn County defence.

 

At the other end, the Magpies' lone striker Chris Parton found himself massively outnumbered by three Dagenham centre-backs. Parton was restricted to one speculative effort in the 43rd minute, which was driven high and a long way wide.

 

In order to give us more of an attacking threat in the second half, I ditched the 3-5-2 in favour of a 4-4-2 diamond. That made our defence a little less compact, but Parton's wayward header in the 53rd minute would be as close as Notts County came to breaching it.

 

Fraser drilled wide a decent effort for Dagenham after 55 minutes, and there was an incredible miss from Hicks six minutes later. Max was expected to clean up after a through-ball from Daniel O'Reilly sent him one-on-one with Doswell, but the striker shot far too early and couldn't hit the target.

 

Dean Martin came off injured midway through the half and was replaced by Matt Warren, whose wait for his first Daggers goal continued after a woeful effort in the 73rd minute. Matt did, though, create our last real opportunity on 84 minutes. Sadly, Victor could only curl his shot right at Doswell, and so the scoreline stayed at 0-0.

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 0

Notts County - 0

League One, Attendance 6,005 - POSITIONS: Dag & Red 1st, Notts County 12th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Ryan, Charles, Busetto, Ashton (Fraser), Beech, O'Reilly, Martin (Warren), Barnes, Dam, Pert, Hicks (Ganfield). BOOKED: Pert.

 

That draw kept us top, although Scunthorpe United reduced our three-point lead to just one by defeating Rotherham United 2-1.

 

The last of our three consecutive home matches to finish September was against Chesterfield, who had finally made it back to League One after 16 seasons in the basement division. Johnnie Jackson's men weren't exactly loving it, mind. They were down in 20th, having failed to win any of their previous five matches this month.

 

30 September 2028: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Chesterfield

On five minutes, Matt Warren dinked an excellent pass to Mark West in the Chesterfield 'D'. West chested it and volleyed at goal, but Drey Blackburn turned it behind superbly for the Spireites. Two minutes later, Victor Dam drove another promising Daggers effort just the wrong side of the post.

 

Chesterfield's first scoring chance came in the 15th minute from a Mike Donovan corner, which Adrian Paris headed wide. That was followed by further Dagenham misses from Dam and Geraint Harding before West had our best opportunity yet in the 29th minute. Max Hicks knocked the ball past Chesterfield captain Ryan O'Reilly to find Mark just outside the six-yard box, and only a superb block from Blackburn denied our skipper his goal.

 

That could've been a costly miss had Spireites striker Harold Grimshaw not wasted a couple of great opportunities in the 35th and 36th minutes. As it was, Chesterfield would be punished for their failure to make hay. Three minutes from half-time, Hicks set up a shot for West, who skilfully swerved the ball past Blackburn's outstretched dive and sent us in front!

 

The second half was just four minutes young when Donovan swung a Chesterfield free-kick into our box. His team-mates did not read it well at all as Matthew Fraser effortlessly headed clear. West ran onto the loose ball and sent us forward on the break. As Chesterfield struggled to get back, Mark knocked the ball through to Max, who smashed in his fourth goal of the season!

 

At 2-0 Dagenham, things looked grim for the struggling Spireites. Grimshaw almost raised the visiting fans' spirits on 52 minutes with a free-kick that was superbly held by Daryl Ryan. Six minutes later, a brilliant save at the other end from Blackburn kept out Dean Martin's volley and denied us a three-goal cushion. Fraser drifted in the corner that followed to Gavin Dalton, who agonisingly headed against the crossbar!

 

The visitors' hopes then took another blow, as midfielder Glenn Cowling came off injured, having hurt himself in a slide tackle on Dam. The Spireites could well have fallen apart completely after 67 minutes. West's vicious strike from the edge of the area was desperately pushed away by Blackburn, who kept the Chesterfield faithful hoping for a comeback.

 

The Spireites' return to Derbyshire would still be a long and gloomy one, however, as they failed to claw even one goal back, let alone two. Grimshaw's fierce strike in the 77th minute, which Ryan punched clear, was their best chance. We periodically threatened to add to our visitors' pain in the closing stages before settling for a 2-0 win.

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 2 (West 42, Hicks 49)

Chesterfield - 0

League One, Attendance 5,929 - POSITIONS: Dag & Red 1st, Chesterfield 20th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Ryan, Beech, Charles (Busetto), Dalton, Warren, Barnes, Fraser, Harding (Martin), Dam, West, Hicks (Ganfield).

 

Although our attack hasn't quite caught fire yet, it's not hard to work out why we're still top of League One after 13 games. Our defence has unquestionably played a key part - we've only let in eight league goals (the fewest in the division), and we've still only been beaten once (by Jonathan Smith and Ipswich Town).

 

To paraphrase Hard-Fi, one of my favourite bands from the 2000s, we're so hard to beat!

[CFuller]

League One Table (End of September 2028)

                                   P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS
1.          Dag & Red              13    8     4     1     19    8     +11   28
2.          Scunthorpe             13    8     3     2     24    12    +12   27
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.          Luton                  13    7     4     2     20    10    +10   25
4.          Ipswich                13    7     2     4     24    19    +5    23
5.          Charlton               13    7     2     4     20    15    +5    23
6.          Colchester             13    6     4     3     23    13    +10   22
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7.          Portsmouth             13    6     4     3     22    16    +6    22
8.          Sheff Wed              13    5     6     2     18    12    +6    21
9.          Barnsley               13    6     3     4     23    20    +3    21
10.         Oldham                 13    6     1     6     14    16    -2    19
11.         Morecambe              13    4     6     3     17    13    +4    18
12.         Fleetwood              13    5     3     5     20    18    +2    18
13.         Bradford               13    6     0     7     23    24    -1    18
14.         Northampton            13    5     3     5     15    17    -2    18
15.         Notts County           13    5     3     5     12    15    -3    18
16.         Tranmere               13    4     5     4     20    19    +1    17
17.         Rochdale               13    3     6     4     20    20    0     15
18.         Rotherham              13    4     1     8     15    19    -4    13
19.         Dartford               13    4     1     8     12    26    -14   13
20.         Chesterfield           13    3     3     7     17    24    -7    12
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
21.         Shrewsbury             13    3     3     7     9     16    -7    12
22.         Oxford                 13    2     5     6     10    16    -6    11
23.         Gillingham             13    2     3     8     11    20    -9    9
24.         AFC Telford            13    2     1     10    12    32    -20   7

[CFuller]

OCTOBER 2028

After going unbeaten throughout September, there was a double dose of awards glory for Dagenham & Redbridge. Firstly, I was named as League One's Manager of the Month. I've now won five monthly awards in six years at Dagenham, one more than I racked up across nearly a decade at Romford.

 

Max Hicks, who scored four goals for the Daggers last month, also had good reason to celebrate. His strike against Morecambe was voted as the League One Goal of the Month.

 

The last team to inflict defeat on us were Ipswich Town at Portman Road on 26 August. About five-and-a-half weeks later, they aimed for a repeat performance in the Football League Trophy.

 

Jonathan Smith scored a 20-minute hat-trick on our last visit to Ipswich. The south Londoner hadn't been in the best of form since then, but his strike partner - Essex native Luke Boot - had scored seven goals in his last four games. Would HE be tearing us apart this time, or could we exact sweet revenge on the Tractor Boys?

 

3 October 2028: Ipswich Town vs Dagenham & Redbridge

Ipswich may have made a lightning-quick start last time, but we were threatening to open the scoring early in the rematch. In the fourth minute, Ollie Pert had a shot blocked by Tractor Boys centre-back Patrick O'Keefe. Our other striker made a run for goal five minutes later, but Troy Hands pulled his effort wide.

 

After 14 minutes, Luke Boot started his bid to continue his excellent form for Ipswich. The Thurrock-born striker had a pop from 30 yards, and Kobe Nuyts made a solid catch. Moments later, Matthew Fraser came within inches of giving us the lead from a free-kick. Kobe's Ipswich counterpart Michael Hewson also showed safe hands in the 18th minute by holding onto a strike from Hands.

 

The home team then wasted a host of chances, while Geraint Harding pulled wide a couple for Dagenham shortly after the half-hour mark. On 36 minutes, Daggers centre-back Gavin Dalton was booked for impeding Tractor Boys forward Iain Partner, who was starting in place of the benched Jonathan Smith. Partner had scored 102 league goals during his time at Portman Road, but a long-ranger after 37 minutes didn't get close to making it 103.

 

The deadlock would eventually be broken three minutes before half-time... by Dagenham! Troy left Town defender Myles Mullery in a muddle with his fancy footwork and then slipped a low shot beyond Hewson for an unlikely Daggers lead!

 

We only remained ahead for less than two minutes. Dirk Mustafi - one of Ipswich's two loanees from Eintracht Frankfurt - headed the ball into our six-yard box, and Boot outjumped Nuyts to nod in a leveller. That was not the finest moment of Kobe's career.

 

After drawing level, the Tractor Boys steered towards taking the lead in the second half. Teenage left-back Tommy Watters fired wide on his senior debut in the 48th minute, while the more experienced Partner headed over in the 53rd. Two minutes after Partner's miss, Boot skirted past Dalton and blazed a great chance over the bar.

 

We then began slowing the game down to try and stop Ipswich from building up a head of steam. After 70 minutes, with the score still 1-1, I withdrew Dalton and gave a competitive debut to a young centre-back who was effectively serving as Gavin's apprentice. Shaun Johnson was just 16 years old, and he hadn't yet been born when I started my managerial career! Less than a minute after Shaun came on, we survived a misdirected effort from Patty Mwanga - Portman Road's other German loanee.

 

Tractor Boys boss Graham Alexander later unleashed his weapon of mass destruction, as Smith replaced Partner. Smith would wreak more havoc on us in the 82nd minute, when he latched onto an Ishmale Thurston cross and dribbled it across the goal line!

 

That was a real blow, and he almost dealt another within two minutes. Nuyts just about kept us in the tie by punching his shot clear. We then went hell for leather as we looked to grab a late equaliser and bring about a penalty shoot-out. Our moment came after 86 minutes, when Gareth Flood crossed towards Hands in the Ipswich area. Troy swung at the ball with his left foot... and his volley rocketed into the net! 2-2!

 

The Tractor Boys were incensed at having lost the lead so quickly, so they made one last push in the final minute of normal time. Boot's attempt to find Smith in the Daggers area was knocked away by Johnson, but Boot powered the rebound towards goal... and over. The tie would be decided on penalties.

 

Neither team had any problem with their first three spot-kicks, so the pressure mounted on the next two takers. Watters handled the situation impeccably for a 16-year-old, blasting an emphatic penalty past Nuyts to make it 4-3 Ipswich. Stepping forward next for us was Hands - our two-goal hero, and the man of the match. He galloped confidently towards the penalty spot... and smashed the ball against the goalkeeper's left-hand post. Troy winced in agony as he realised how costly that could be.

 

Mullery now only had to score from Ipswich's fifth penalty to send the Tractor Boys through to the South Quarter Finals. The 20-year-old, on loan from West Ham United, powered his kick to Kobe's left. Nuyts dove the other way, and our Football League Trophy dream was over.

 

Ipswich Town - 2 (Boot 44, Smith 82)

Dagenham & Redbridge - 2 (Hands 43,86)

[Ipswich Town win 5-3 on penalties]

Football League Trophy South Round 2, Attendance 4,113

PENALTY SHOOT-OUT: Smith 1-0, Ganfield 1-1, Boot 2-1, Barnes 2-2, Mwanga 3-2, Harding 3-3, Watters 4-3, Hands missed, Mullery 5-3.

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Nuyts, Beech, Dalton (S Johnson), Busetto, O'Reilly, Roche, Fraser (Barnes), Harding, Flood, Pert (Ganfield), Hands. BOOKED: Dalton, Beech.

 

"Chins up, lads," I told the boys as they trudged desolately into the away dressing room. Yes, it was gutting to go out on penalties, but I was no less proud of how we had performed against a very strong Ipswich side.

 

Four days later, we put our FLT disappointment to the back of our minds and looked to bounce back in the league. We were strong favourites to win at Gillingham, who were second-from-bottom after an appalling start.

 

7 October 2028: Gillingham vs Dagenham & Redbridge

Gillingham's early hopes weren't helped by a 5th-minute yellow card to winger Simon Spelman, who'd tripped up Alex Busetto. Three minutes later, Alex set up a rare chance for right-back Kye Maguire, who dragged wide a shot from distance.

 

In the 14th minute, our captain Mark West was felled by Gills centre-half Martin Murray. Although the free-kick was 40 yards from goal, Victor Dam felt that it was worth trying his luck. The Dane's effort rocketed towards goal, struck the bar, and was half-volleyed into the net by Troy Hands! However, Troy was offside when Victor powered in his free-kick, so the goal didn't count.

 

Hands had another half-volley at goal in the 30th minute, and Gillingham goalie Jonathan Flatt awkwardly pushed that one away. West and Hands went wide with their next chances before linking up for a deadly counter-attack in the 41st minute. Mark ran onto an incisive pass from Troy and smashed in a thunderbolt that left Priestfield stunned. We had finally moved ahead!

 

Gillingham were unable to get anywhere near our goal in the first half, as Daggers midfielders Busetto and Geraint Harding kept breaking up their attacks with some strong tackling. The Gills would only test us once in the second half, and their chance only came about when William Barnes barged into Lewis Hayes in the 60th minute. Barnes was booked, and Toby Cook was unable to keep the resulting Gillingham free-kick on target.

 

When Spelman tore his hamstring in a tackle from Busetto two minutes later, the hosts were deprived of arguably their biggest creative outlet. We also lost a key man to injury after 69 minutes, but it turned out that Josh Charles had only picked up a knock.

 

We pressed forward again in the 73rd and 76th minutes, with both Dalton and West forcing Flatt into making saves. Then, with just four minutes remaining, we put the seal on another fairly easy victory. Harding intercepted a clearance from Flatt and lifted the ball forward to substitute Max Hicks, who nodded it across the Gills' area. On the receiving end was his fellow sub Dean Martin, who rounded off the win with a poacher's finish!

 

Gillingham - 0

Dagenham & Redbridge - 2 (West 41, Martin 87)

League One, Attendance 3,836 - POSITIONS: Gillingham 23rd, Dag & Red 1st

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Ryan, Maguire, Charles (Ashton), Dalton, Warren, Barnes, Busetto, Harding, Dam (Martin), West, Hands (Hicks). BOOKED: Barnes.

 

We were now well into the campaign and already on target to win promotion. However, just a few days after our latest victory, we suffered a significant injury setback.

[CFuller]

OCTOBER 2028 (continued)

Captain Mark West had started the campaign in typically impressive fashion, scoring seven goals in his first 11 matches. It came as a major blow, then, when he twisted his ankle on the eve of our next away fixture. 'The Beast', who'd celebrated his 31st birthday the previous day, would be on the sidelines for roughly four weeks.

 

We therefore travelled to Portsmouth without our attacking talisman. Pompey had recovered from losing last year's Play-Off Final and were just outside the top six. They also put four goals past us without reply on our last visit to Fratton Park, so I was only too aware of the threat they would pose.

 

14 October 2028: Portsmouth vs Dagenham & Redbridge

Unlike us, Portsmouth had their skipper fit and raring to go. Stevie Finnie first tested us in the second minute, when we made heavy work of trying to clear his free-kick from harm's way. Finnie's next attempt was a shot from around 35 yards in the 14th minute, and it drifted helplessly wide.

 

Pompey midfielder Tom Mowthorpe blasted another effort off target moments later before Michael Wright sent a drive towards goal. Daryl Ryan produced a stunning fingertip save in the Daggers goal, and when Josh Charles intercepted Finnie's corner, we went on the counter. Sadly, the best Troy Hands could do from his shot was to fire it straight at goalkeeper Fabian Spiess.

 

After 16 minutes, Troy's strike partner Ollie Pert cost us dear at the other end. His clumsy sliding tackle on Mowthorpe gave away a free-kick, which Finnie powered into Daryl's top-right corner. 1-0 to the hosts.

 

Things didn't get any better for Ollie in the 19th minute, when his header from Gavin Dalton's long ball into the Portsmouth box was flicked wide. As the half wore on, we continued to give away far too many fouls for my liking. One of them resulted in a yellow card after Victor Dam pushed Wright in the 23rd minute.

 

Another foul, from Hands in the 38th minute, gave Finnie the opportunity to fire another free-kick at goal. This time, we were relieved to see the Pompey captain narrowly miss the target. Wright got a shot on target four minutes later, and Ryan had to dive quickly to push it away and keep our half-time deficit down to 1-0.

 

I was far from pleased with our first-half display, but our early second-half showing gave me reason to be hopeful. After 52 minutes, a left-wing cross from Matt Warren led to a mini-scramble in Pompey's area. Dam almost turned the ball across the goal line, but Spiess caught it just in time for Portsmouth.

 

Four minutes later, another Dagger got carried away with his tackling. William Barnes mowed down Mowthorpe, and he joined Victor in having his name etched into the ref's notepad. At that point, I called captain Tim Beech over to the touchline and told him, "We really need to calm down. The lads need to stay on their feet when tackling, otherwise someone's gonna get sent off." Tim took my instructions on board and relayed them to his team-mates. We were much calmer in the tackle thereafter... and we also began to trouble Portsmouth's defence a bit more.

 

Over the next ten minutes, Speiss had to keep out a trio of shots from Ollie, Troy, and substitute Max Hicks. While we were becoming more composed, Pompey were quickly losing their heads. A couple of trips on Barnes in the 73rd and 74th minutes resulted in Mowthorpe and Michael Pearce both going into the book for the home side.

 

The game was still very much alive... until five minutes from time. Pearce tackled Dalton off the ball deep in our half, and although his subsequent shot was saved by Ryan, we had been badly shaken. Within less than a minute, Pearce had scored Pompey's second goal, volleying home from Warren Daniels' diving header.

 

Our seven-game unbeaten run in the league was over, and after 87 minutes, Portsmouth rubbed even more salt into our wounds. Welshman Wright completed an easy 3-0 win for the Hampshire side when he headed Finnie's corner in at the near post.

 

Portsmouth - 3 (Finnie 17, Pearce 86, Wright 88)

Dagenham & Redbridge - 0

League One, Attendance 9,030 - POSITIONS: Portsmouth 7th, Dag & Red 1st

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Ryan, Beech, Charles, Dalton, Warren, Roche (Harding), Barnes, Dam (Martin), Flood (Hicks), Pert, Hands. BOOKED: Dam, Barnes.

 

We were still top of League One after only our second defeat of the campaign, but some Daggers were now fearing that we would soon start tumbling down.

 

Our next game, at Victoria Road, was a real test of character, as it pitted 1st against 2nd. Scunthorpe United were the division's leading scorers, and they boasted the best away record. They were also just a single point behind us heading into this massive encounter.

 

17 October 2028: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Scunthorpe United

In the fourth minute, Ollie Pert sent a deep cross to his Dagenham strike partner Max Hicks, who attempted a header from just inside Scunthorpe's area. The header took a deflection off 18-year-old Scunny centre-back Matthew Jones' shoulder and bounced safely towards goalkeeper Angus Gunn.

 

Hicks would get another chance on 17 minutes. Alex Busetto intercepted a clearance from Jones and nodded it on to Dean Martin, who found Hicks in loads of space. Max also had plenty of time, but he still drove his shot high over the crossbar.

 

In the 25th minute, Scunthorpe's first real chance - from Steve Anderson - sailed wide. Three minutes later, Gunn kept out a Hicks half-volley with an impressive one-handed save. The Iron goalie's relief was short-lived, as Tim Beech got to the loose ball and put in a cross that Max thrashed home!

 

Our experienced poacher would show his killer instinct again three more minutes later. Hicks had a shot blocked by Jones, and Pert's follow-up was parried by Gunn, before Max made it third time lucky!

 

Hicks' quickfire brace gave us a 2-0 lead that Martin was rather unfortunate not to increase after 38 minutes. Scunthorpe attempted to pull a goal back four minutes before half-time, but Daryll Westhead's first-time strike from just outside our area drifted off target.

 

The second half had only been going for seven minutes when the scoreline changed to Max Hicks 3 Scunthorpe United 0! The hotshot continued to cause young Iron defender Jones nightmares, as he surged past the Swansea City loanee and tucked away the goal that sealed his first Daggers hat-trick. Ollie also deserved some recognition for making his second assist of the evening.

 

Scunthorpe already looked beaten, although they battled desperately to get back in the running. They won a couple of corners just after the hour mark, and the second of them was headed into Daryl Ryan's safe hands by Robin Gould.

 

In the 65th minute, a Daggers corner almost resulted in our fourth goal. Jones could only clear Dean's delivery as far as Daniel O'Reilly, whose fierce low drive was kept out by a superb reflex save from Gunn. The 32-year-old would also keep Matthew Fraser and Pert off the scoresheet before the final whistle blew, ending a surprisingly one-sided contest. We were now four points clear of our nearest rivals!

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 3 (Hicks 28,31,52)

Scunthorpe United - 0

League One, Attendance 5,438 - POSITIONS: Dag & Red 1st, Scunthorpe 2nd

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Ryan, Dalton, Busetto, Ashton (S Johnson), Beech, O'Reilly, Harding (Barnes), Fraser, Martin, Pert, Hicks (Hands).

 

Max Hicks had now scored eight goals and made six assists in his first 13 league appearances for Dagenham & Redbridge. You could say that Max had settled in rather quickly!

[CFuller]

OCTOBER 2028 (continued)

We went into our home clash with Bradford City full of beans. In contrast, Bradford were in 15th place and struggling to put together a consistent run of form.

 

21 October 2028: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Bradford City

Although they weren't faring too well, Bradford weren't afraid to get stuck in when it came to tackling. After just two minutes, Daggers right-back Kye Maguire was on the wrong end of a rough sliding challenge from City winger Daniel Poulsen - a 17-year-old Dane on loan from Newcastle United. Kye was in quite some pain afterwards, and he had to come off briefly for treatment.

 

A couple of our players responded with some tough tackles of their own. Dean Martin and Daniel O'Reilly both incurred the referee's wrath as a result, picking up yellow cards in the 9th and 23rd minutes. Both sides missed chances in between those bookings, with Dagenham's Ollie Pert miscuing a shot after 16 minutes and Bradford's Jamie Graham clearing the bar after 21.

 

The shooting did improve somewhat later on. In the 34th minute, Max Hicks played a Daggers free-kick short to Dean Martin, whose vicious drive was caught by Bantams goalkeeper Matty Miller. Our goalie Daryl Ryan made his first save three minutes from half-time, catching Bradford captain Gareth Lloyd's header from a Michael Wallace free-kick.

 

Another Dagger entered the book four minutes into the second half. Bradford's leading scorer Robbie Cummins was tripped off the ball by Josh Charles, who got a yellow card for his troubles. Josh did redeem himself somewhat when he headed away the subsequent free-kick from Graham Andrews.

 

However, in the 57th minute, Matthew Fraser made a potentially costly mistake by giving the ball away to Wallace. The ball was then passed to Jamie Graham via Gareth Hyland, and 22-year-old Graham drilled forward a shot that Ryan tipped away. Bradford's big opportunity to inflict our first home league defeat of the season, just like they did last term, had gone.

 

We couldn't break through either, as a resilient Bantams backline limited us to just a couple of long-range misses from Victor Dam and William Barnes. A major factor behind City's clean sheet was their Welsh skipper Lloyd, who made a number of vital tackles. One of them, in the 78th minute, knocked Hicks to the ground and left our main goal threat with a dislocated shoulder.

 

When Fraser also came off injured five minutes from the end, we had to play out the closing stages with only 10 men. We were able to hold on for a point, but I was not at all pleased after a miserable no-score draw.

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 0

Bradford City - 0

League One, Attendance 6,077 - POSITIONS: Dag & Red 1st, Bradford 16th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Ryan, Charles, Dalton, Ashton, Maguire (Beech), O'Reilly, Barnes, Fraser, Martin (Dam), Pert, Hicks (Hands). BOOKED: Martin, O'Reilly, Charles.

 

Although Matthew Fraser's injury was no more than a strain, Max Hicks' was much more serious. Having dislocated his shoulder, it was now unlikely that we would see Max in first-team action again before the New Year.

 

In spite of only getting a draw against Bradford City, we still had a four-point lead at the top of League One. League matters would be put to one side a week later, as we began what we hoped would be another long FA Cup run.

 

The good news was that the Round 1 draw pitted us against Tiverton Town from the Southern League Premier Division - four tiers below us. The not-so-good news was that we had to get up early and make a four-hour journey to Devon, for a 12:30pm kick-off in a match where we had plenty to lose.

 

This was the first time Tiverton had reached the proper stages of the FA Cup for 24 years. With former Football League hotshot Robbie Blake in the manager's hot-seat, there was substantial media interest in Tivvy's cup progress.

 

The Sky Sports cameras were broadcasting live from Ladysmead as thousands of TV viewers joined the 800-or-so Devonians at the ground in praying for a giant-killing.

 

28 October 2028: Tiverton Town vs Dagenham & Redbridge

I was very concerned when Kye Maguire gave away a corner to Tiverton after just 20 seconds. Although we cleared the corner, Ollie Pert promptly pushed Tivvy captain Paul Coyle to concede a free-kick in a dangerous position. The Yellows then worked the ball into our box, where Coyle had a shot blocked by Dean Martin.

 

Our first shot at goal was a speculative 30-yarder from Geraint Harding in the 7th minute that didn't seriously trouble goalkeeper Paddy McFadden. Moments later, Gareth Flood's run down the left flank was halted by a crunching tackle from Tiverton centre-back Louis Ganfield. Gareth landed hard on his wrist, breaking it. Needless to say, the Irishman had to come off, and he wouldn't be returning to action for at least six weeks.

 

Full Daggers debutant Shaun Johnson also suffered an injury after colliding with Tivvy striker Christopher Schofield in the 13th minute. Despite that, the 16-year-old defender bravely played on until half-time. By then, Ollie Pert had wasted a number of chances to give us the lead.

 

In the 37th minute, a missed interception from Ganfield allowed Troy Hands to run onto Ollie's flick-on and charge towards goal. Troy was brought down by Coyle as he entered the penalty area, and although Hands appeared to fall quite heavily, the referee awarded a free-kick the other way. Hands writhed on the pitch in agony for about a minute before the ref gave him a yellow card for 'play-acting'.

 

Meanwhile, Tiverton threatened to take a shock lead in the final minute of first-half regulation time. Thankfully, Cameron Pickup's downward header was, er, picked up by Dagenham goalkeeper Kobe Nuyts, and the score remained goalless.

 

Five minutes into the second half, Hands fired a Daniel O'Reilly centre into the side netting. When Troy missed the target again two minutes later after Ollie had played him clean through, I considered subbing the misfiring hitman. I gave him one last opportunity to convince me to keep him on... and he took it.

 

After 57 minutes, Hands surged past Coyle and took another weighted pass from Pert into the Tivvy area. Once there, he unleashed a lethal shot that beat McFadden and finally sent us in front!

 

A minute after that, O'Reilly curled a superb cross into the hosts' six-yard box. Ollie should have made it 2-0 from there... but he headed over, so we still had some work to do. We also had to keep calm and stay strong at the back.

 

After 73 minutes, young former Plymouth Argyle winger Connor Shepherd came within inches of restoring parity for the Yellows. We survived another scare in the 84th minute, when Kobe punched away a first-time cross from Pickup before Schofield could turn it in.

 

By that point, Hands had been taken off, with Roy Ganfield given time to show what he could do for the Daggers. What he did do, after 86 minutes, was book our place in the next round with his first competitive goal. Roy beat his Tivvy namesake Louis to tuck a right-wing cross from Ollie into the net. With that, plucky Tiverton's dreams were over.

 

Tiverton Town - 0

Dagenham & Redbridge - 2 (Hands 57, Ganfield 86)

FA Cup Round 1, Attendance 869

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Nuyts, Maguire, S Johnson (Busetto), Ashton, O'Reilly, Roche, Harding, Martin, Flood (Green), Pert, Hands (Ganfield). BOOKED: Hands.

 

We made hard work of that, but at least we were safely into the draw for Round 2. The following day, we were drawn at home to League Two side Forest Green Rovers.

 

Before the month was out, I brought in 26-year-old striker Kenny Rydeheard on a three-month loan from Leeds United. The former Stevenage and Oxford United forward is very quick and a cool finisher, so I'm confident that he'll provide adequate cover while Max Hicks is on the sidelines.

[CFuller]

NOVEMBER 2028

For us, November began with a couple of tough away games in the space of just four days. First up was a trip to 7th-placed Luton Town, who had hit a rough patch after making a very strong start.

 

1 November 2028: Luton Town vs Dagenham & Redbridge

Our defence panicked a bit in the fourth minute, as captain Gavin Dalton struggled to take the ball off Luton striker Ashley Douglas. The ball was knocked on to 18-year-old Wales international Darcy Newman, whose shot was parried by Daryl Ryan. Douglas half-volleyed the rebound against the post, but only after he'd already been flagged offside.

 

We gifted Luton another chance a minute later, when Victor Dam's short pass to Matt Warren was cut out by Marcus Shephard. The Hatters winger crossed to Douglas, whose volley into the net sent the Kenilworth Road faithful mad with delight.

 

When on-loan Manchester City prospect Newman fired over the bar in the 13th minute after a mazy run from his own half, Daggers fans might've been fearing another heavy away defeat. Things did get slightly better for us over the next ten minutes. Troy Hands and Dalton each headed efforts over the Luton crossbar before Matthew Fraser curled a free-kick just wide in the 22nd minute.

 

After 33 minutes, a crunching tackle from Dalton left Newman with a broken wrist and ended the teenager's game early. The Hatters sent on ex-Liverpool trainee Lee Stewart as a replacement. Stewart tried to give his team a second goal before the interval, forcing Ryan into a couple of difficult late saves. With the half-time score still 1-0 Luton, it looked like we were in a spot of bother.

 

We showed a bit more attacking intent early in the second period. Hatters goalkeeper Brandon Turner - on loan from Arsenal - had to catch a couple of Ollie Pert headers in the first two minutes, as well as a piledriver from substitute Dean Martin. After precisely five second-half minutes, our quick start produced a reward. Luton right-back Justin Carter's tackle on Daggers winger Marvin Green knocked the ball to Pert, whose through-ball was slotted into the corner by Hands!

 

That equaliser should've given us bags of confidence, but we actually lost momentum after that. On 65 minutes, Stewart lobbed the ball through our defence and found Hatters left-back Calvin Knott, whose diving header fell safely towards Ryan. Another scare came when Shephard swung a free-kick wide three minutes later.

 

A 71st-minute Dagenham free-kick gave Pert one last chance to put us in the lead. Ollie was the first man to meet Matthew's delivery into the Luton box, but his header drifted off target. Pert would later be replaced by Kenny Rydeheard, but the debutant couldn't get us going again. The Hatters finished the match strongly, and it was only thanks to their inaccuracy in front of goal that we came away with a point.

 

Luton Town - 1 (Douglas 5)

Dagenham & Redbridge - 1 (Hands 51)

League One, Attendance 8,358 - POSITIONS: Luton 7th, Dag & Red 1st

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Ryan, Maguire, Charles, Dalton, Warren, Roche, Fraser (Barnes), Dam (Martin), Green, Pert (Rydeheard), Hands.

 

We were now only two points clear of Colchester United, who had moved up to 2nd place after a run of six victories in seven league matches.

 

Fleetwood Town were a bit further off the pace in 12th, and they'd not yet found any consistency under new manager Robbie Muirhead. I had no idea what to expect when I took my Dagenham boys to the Lancashire coast.

 

4 November 2028: Fleetwood Town vs Dagenham & Redbridge

Just seconds after the kick-off, Fleetwood winger Alvin Shekoni dribbled towards our goal and fired in a warning shot that was well held by Daryl Ryan. Our first couple of efforts didn't particularly disturb the hosts, with Dean Martin and Ollie Pert both going wide in the opening eight minutes. William Barnes went slightly closer to scoring from a free-kick in the 18th minute, although he was still off target.

 

We were definitely having more chances than the Cod Army in the first half, but we just weren't taking them. Ollie was particularly luckless in the 25th minute, when his header from Geraint Harding's corner bounced back off the bar. Nine minutes later, a long punt from Benjamin Ashton cleared the Fleetwood defence and found Pert in space. Alas, Ollie could only head the ball into Simon Moore's hands. Moore would thwart our Geordie target man again just before the half-time whistle blew.

 

If the first half was characterised by a host of missed Dagenham chances, the second would be defined by a couple of clangers from Harding. Firstly, in the 47th minute, Geraint drove a fierce shot into the stands when it looked like he would at least force Moore into a save. The Welshman's second error, seven minutes later, was much costlier.

 

When Yavuz Serifoglu floated a Fleetwood corner into our area, Harding lost track of Shekoni, who reached the ball first and squirmed it over the goal line. The Cod Army were now singing loud and proud as their team went 1-0 up.

 

Harding would be sacrificed in favour of Victor Dam shortly before the hour, with Troy Hands also making way for Kenny Rydeheard. Those two subs linked up well in the 63rd minute, when Victor spotted Kenny making a run towards goal. Rydeheard's shot was kept out by a strong save from Moore, and Pert couldn't quite keep the loose ball in play.

 

Ollie's misfortune continued with another header striking the woodwork in the 69th minute before Billy Tagg cleared for Fleetwood. Town striker Jeff Holloway also made a vital clearance for his team after 80 minutes, when William Barnes' corner was deflected towards goal. After Dam cracked our final attempt wide on 89 minutes, we ran out of steam and succumbed to a disappointing defeat.

 

Fleetwood Town - 1 (Shekoni 54)

Dagenham & Redbridge - 0

League One, Attendance 10,445 - POSITIONS: Fleetwood 11th, Dag & Red 2nd

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Ryan, Beech, Ashton, Dalton, O'Reilly, Barnes, Busetto, Harding (Dam), Martin (Fraser), Pert, Hands (Rydeheard). BOOKED: Dalton, O'Reilly.

 

For the first time this season, I was genuinely concerned, and not just because we'd ceded top spot to our county rivals Colchester United. We were now in the bottom half of League One in terms of goals scored. For a team so used to outscoring their divisional rivals, that was incredibly alarming.

 

Over the next week, we trained extra-hard on sharpening our attacking skills. It certainly helped that the expansion to our club's training ground had recently been completed, finally giving us facilities that were adequate for a club of our stature.

 

We were also glad to welcome back Mark West after a four-week lay-off... but that spot of positive news was tempered by a couple of fresh injuries. Victor Dam bruised his head and would miss the next two games, while Tim Beech faced a five-week absence after straining his back.

 

Away from training, William Barnes signed a new and improved contract until 2032. Will is already an established first-team regular at just 19, and I'm delighted that he'll be staying with us for the long-term.

[CFuller]

NOVEMBER 2028 (continued)

We would now be playing at home for five weekends on the trot - a sequence that began with Northampton Town's visit to Victoria Road. The Cobblers were in 13th place, but they had won their last three league encounters.

 

11 November 2028: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Northampton Town

We were determined to banish our shooting blues by going on the attack early. Matthew Fraser flighted over a free-kick in the sixth minute after the returning Mark West had been impeded by Northampton's Mike Spiller. Two minutes later, another Daggers midfielder - William Barnes - had a bending shot turned behind by Cobblers keeper Gareth O'Connell. The Republic of Ireland international also saved a 15th-minute strike from West.

 

After 16 minutes, Northampton winger Sol Mackey slid in recklessly on Daniel O'Reilly in the visitors' penalty area. We strongly protested for a penalty, but referee Bradley Fidyk did nothing. Our sense of injustice only grew six minutes later.

 

With the jeers of the Victoria Road crowd ringing in his ears, Mackey received a pass from Paul Lawlor on the right flank, surged past O'Reilly, and cut into our area. Our fans could only look on in horror as Mackey slipped the ball into the far end of Daryl Ryan's net, giving Northampton a 1-0 lead they didn't really deserve.

 

There would be more pain to come two minutes later. Mr Fidyk incensed us further when he cautioned Barnes for clattering into Spiller. That booking was Will's fifth of the season, and he would be suspended from our next game as a result.

 

The referee kept on blowing for Dagenham fouls, and after 28 minutes, Dean Martin's holding foul on Steven Bowditch almost cost us very dear. Wayne Bruce pumped Northampton's free-kick into the box, but Ryan punched the ball behind just before Henri Beckham could nod it into the net. The Cobblers spurned more chances later in the half, while O'Connell's easy save from Troy Hands in the 43rd minute kept us on the back foot.

 

We experimented with a more patient approach for the second half. That seemed to work after just two minutes, when West found Matt Warren in space, and the full-back drilled in what he thought was his long-awaited first Daggers goal. That was until he spotted the offside flag.

 

At that point, I was rather tempted to ask the officials if they had money on a Northampton win. I quickly realised that the offside decision was probably correct, so I decided to bite my tongue rather than risk being shown the way to the stands. I again struggled to control my emotions in the 53rd minute, when Ryan made an awkward save to deny Mackey his second goal.

 

Another moment of high drama came on 66 minutes. West drew the Cobblers' centre-backs out of position and then played the ball through the gap towards Hands. Troy slipped a shot beyond O'Connell... but he slipped it past the post as well.

 

Barnes came even closer to scoring in the 78th minute. Will tried to bend the ball home from a tricky angle 30 yards from goal, and he was very unlucky to strike the crossbar. Four minutes after that, Troy drove another promising effort inches over.

 

With the clock ticking, we upped the tempo for one final assault in the 87th minute. The move really got going when Dean Martin evaded Bowditch's tackle and drove the ball forward to Troy. Hands then supplied a weighted pass of his own to West, who broke away from Spiller and smashed in an equaliser that sent Victoria Road rocking! Not only had Mark preserved our unbeaten home record, but he had also kept us in the top two!

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 1 (West 87)

Northampton Town - 1 (Mackey 22)

League One, Attendance 6,017 - POSITIONS: Dag & Red 2nd, Northampton 14th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Ryan, Charles (Rydeheard), Dalton, Ashton, Maguire, O'Reilly (Warren), Barnes, Fraser (Busetto), Martin, West, Hands. BOOKED: Barnes.

 

Amidst the mixture of delight and relief at salvaging a draw, there was a smaller, less positive side note to the game's conclusion. Kye Maguire damaged his elbow in the closing stages, and although he played on until the final whistle, he would have to sit on the sidelines for the next fortnight. He was unlikely to play for us again during his loan spell from Notts County.

 

We had gone four league matches without a victory - our worst such run of the season so far. With a mounting injury list, and William Barnes serving a one-match ban, it was becoming more difficult to imagine us hitting top gear again anytime soon.

 

Meanwhile, in Kent, Dartford were enjoying an eight-match unbeaten run in all competitions. The newly-promoted Darts were still only 16th, but they were slight favourites with the bookies when we arrived at Princes Park.

 

14 November 2028: Dartford vs Dagenham & Redbridge

I told my out-of-form squad to "try and have some fun" before kick-off. However, the first ten minutes would not be much fun for me. The match had barely started when Dartford striker Alun Harding had a pop at goal, firing over the crossbar.

 

We then had to defend against a corner in the second minute before goalkeeper Daryl Ryan got his fingers to a shot from Elliott O'Hara in the eighth. Joel Cousins' follow-up was knocked behind by right-back Josh Charles for a corner. Dartford vice-captain Corey Archibald curled the corner to our near post, where Cousins headed it narrowly over. The Darts' bright start culminated in a piledriver from O'Hara after 11 minutes. Ryan was relieved to see the former England Under-19s striker smash it against his bar.

 

We couldn't afford to let Dartford run all over us, so we pushed further up and looked to take the initiative. Our first real shot at goal didn't actually come until the 28th minute, when Mark West pulled a weak effort into the hoardings. In fact, that would be our only shot at goal in the first half.

 

Dartford pushed us back towards goal with some excellent possession football, and in the 31st minute, they came within inches of moving in front. Harding jumped above Benjamin Ashton and flicked a right-wing cross from Archibald just off target. Although the half-time score was still 0-0, this did not look like a two-horse race.

 

While Alun Harding was looking dangerous for Dartford, Geraint Harding resembled a bag of nerves in the Daggers midfield. I took Geraint off at half-time, with Dean Martin replacing him. Our homegrown hero almost made an impact just two minutes into the second half, but Dean couldn't quite find the target after receiving an excellent swerving pass from Daniel O'Reilly.

 

Dartford boss Carl MacAuley had already replaced O'Hara with his captain Kieran McCall, and he would soon have to make another change. On 50 minutes, left-back Mark Gibson collapsed in the Dartford technical area after a collision with Jonathan Roche. Gibson injured his hip in the impact, and so MacAuley sent on Andrew Burke as a replacement.

 

Our aggressive start to the half continued when Charles pushed Harding after 52 minutes, conceding a free-kick to the Darts. Archibald elected to swing in the set-piece, which whistled past Ryan and almost ripped the net open! Dartford had finally scored, and I couldn't say I hadn't seen it coming.

 

Changes were now in order, so I brought on Matt Warren for Jonathan Roche as part of a narrow four-man midfield. A rejigged Daggers team threatened to equalise after 55 minutes... until Darts defender Tom Jarman muscled Troy Hands off the ball and played it back to David Page. The goalkeeper hoofed it long to Harding, who aimed a flick-on for McCall. The Scottish forward turned past our centre-backs Ashton and Gavin Dalton, and then hammered home a stunner. We were 2-0 down, and I was contemplating a fifth league match in a row without winning.

 

Martin went close to pulling us a goal back shortly after Dartford's second, as did Marvin Green, who was now playing in the hole behind our strikers rather than on the wing. Dean made another bid for goal in the 60th minute. After playing the ball off Darts right-back Miles Wardell, he drove the rebound past Page and halved our deficit!

 

That was encouraging, but I wasn't entirely satisfied. Captain West hadn't got into the game at all, so for my final substitution, he made way for Ollie Pert. Ollie's first scoring chance came through a real stroke of luck after 69 minutes. Peter Docherty's attempted clearance from a Warren corner struck Dalton and deflected back to goal. Pert then outjumped players from both sides to meet the ball with a header that unfortunately rattled the bar.

 

Dartford won another corner a minute later, but when Josh cleared Archibald's delivery, Gavin went on a counter-attacking run up the right flank. As Daggers players flooded into the Dartford box, Dalton picked out Warren, who slotted in an equalising goal that meant so much to us - and to him personally! This was Matt's 128th match for Dagenham, and he had finally scored his maiden goal for the club!

 

With their lead gone, Dartford went into panic mode. A vicious strike from McCall in the 76th minute almost flew out of Princes Park and into the carpark! Two minutes after that, another home substitute messed up big-time. Burke was dawdling on the ball when Charles caught him out with a strong challenge. Josh then curled the ball from the touchline to the penalty box, where Marvin stretched ahead of Doherty to divert it over the goal line! We'd gone from 2-0 behind to 3-2 ahead... but there was still work to do.

 

Throughout the final minutes, I frantically told my defence to stay calm, even though I was anything but! When McCall laid the ball to Darts midfielder James Lynch in the Dagenham area on 79 minutes, I expected our lead to be quickly snuffed out. Fortunately, Lynch's strike swerved wide, as did a similar attempt from Archibald in the 85th minute.

 

After those narrow escapes, Troy and Marvin each had opportunities to give us some breathing space in the form of a fourth goal. Page saved both of their efforts, and we faced an anxious wait before the final whistle gave us a dramatic win - our first in the league for four weeks!

 

Dartford - 2 (Archibald 53, McCall 56)

Dagenham & Redbridge - 3 (Martin 60, Warren 70, Green 78)

League One, Attendance 5,868 - POSITIONS: Dartford 17th, Dag & Red 2nd

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Ryan, Charles, Ashton, Dalton, O'Reilly, Roche (Warren), Busetto, Harding (Martin), Green, West (Pert), Hands.

 

How on Earth did that happen?

 

That incredible fightback moved us onto 40 points for the season and kept us just behind Colchester United, who were still leading the way on goal difference. With the halfway point looming, would the League One title race come down to a bitter duel between two Essex rivals?

[CFuller]

NOVEMBER 2028 (continued)

Charlton Athletic were the next team to be given the increasingly difficult task of trying to beat us at Victoria Road. Paul Dickov's men arrived in Dagenham on a four-match winless run that had seen them slip into the bottom half of League One.

 

18 November 2028: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Charlton Athletic

There was another capacity crowd at Victoria Road, and they witnessed some calamitous home defending after just six minutes! Gavin Dalton completely underhit a long back-pass to Benjamin Ashton, who waited for Daryl Ryan to come out of his goal and clean it up. However, Charlton striker Kyle Bowker got to the ball before Ryan and raced past the keeper, leaving himself with an empty goal to aim at! Bowker took too much time over his final shot, though, allowing Ashton to race back and deflect the ball behind for a corner.

 

Benji's last-gasp intervention would be crucial. In the 8th minute, William Barnes threatened to give us the opening goal with a thunderbolt that was tipped behind by Charlton goalie George Long. We would take the lead two minutes later via loanee Kenny Rydeheard, who opened his Daggers account with a tidy finish after racing past Addicks centre-back Ben Barber.

 

We were soon looking to follow that goal up with another. Another Barnes piledriver flew wide in the 12th minute, while Geraint Harding's long-range effort in the 14th was kept out by Long. The second goal did come four minutes later... at our end. Charlton captain Jonathan Soar soared over our defence to head a Marcos Lopes free-kick into the net and make it 1-1.

 

We tried to restore our lead in the next minute, but Rydeheard's diving header was too tame to trouble Long. Strangely, things then went fairly quiet on the attacking front until four minutes before half-time. Matthew Fraser drove a fierce effort at goal, and Long just about managed to push it aside.

 

Charlton went on the attack a minute later, but Ashton's fine interception from a cross by Athletic full-back Shakir Famous allowed us to hit them on the counter. Mark West picked out Rydeheard's run towards goal, and the speedster raced through for his second strike of the afternoon! Kenny's first Dagenham start was going reasonably well!

 

Rydeheard had his sights on a hat-trick early in the second half. The 26-year-old had another pop at goal in the 57th minute after being played through by Dean Martin, but Barber made a vital block for the visitors. Martin himself had a chance in the 67th minute, but he couldn't quite direct his shot towards goal. Three minutes later, Long produced a comfortable save from another long hit-and-hoper by Harding.

 

The 73rd minute saw a couple of Daggers bookings, with West and Barnes both receiving cautions for foul play. We were now struggling to stay composed and seal the win, which Rydeheard could've done with a 77th-minute header that was powered well wide.

 

Charlton made the much stronger finish and had a number of chances to take home a draw. Some of them missed the target, but as the match entered injury time, the Addicks closed in on a breakthrough. Lopes sliced the ball through our defence to pick out Bowker in the penalty area. Bowker steadied himself, and then fired the shot as powerfully as he could. It took a strong punch from Ryan to knock it away and keep all three points in our possession.

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 2 (Rydeheard 10,42)

Charlton Athletic - 1 (Soar 18)

League One, Attendance 6,077 - POSITIONS: Dag & Red 2nd, Charlton 15th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Ryan, Charles (Plummer), Dalton, Ashton, Warren, Barnes (Green), Fraser (Busetto), Harding, Martin, West, Rydeheard. BOOKED: West, Barnes.

 

We were now three points clear of 3rd place, as were Colchester United, who continued their excellent run of form by beating Portsmouth 2-1.

 

Forest Green Rovers were also flying high - in the automatic promotion places in League Two. We had to be on our toes when the Gloucestershire side travelled to Essex for Round 2 of the FA Cup. If we showed any complacency against Nigel Reo-Coker and his eco-warriors (that makes a rather good title for a kids' TV programme, by the way), our cup hopes would be going into the compost bin.

 

25 November 2028: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Forest Green Rovers

A fast-paced first half started with a golden opportunity for Kenny Rydeheard to give us the advantage after only three minutes. Forest Green right-back Marvin Walker's tackle on Dagenham winger Marvin Green diverted the ball square into Rydeheard's path. Kenny was odds-on to open the scoring... but a lightning-quick save from Rovers keeper Paul Boyham left him wondering how he hadn't done so!

 

Our frontman would be ruing his misfortune again in the appropriately unlucky 13th minute. Mark West lobbed a stunning pass into the box and Rydeheard met it with a powerful half-volley. Had Boyham not come forward to block the shot, it surely would've been 1-0 Dagenham.

 

West blasted wide his first chance in the 22nd minute, four minutes before Rydeheard's third attempt - a header - was tipped over by Boyham. It seemed that it would take a world-class strike to beat a goalkeeper in such inspired form. Mark tried his best from the edge of the area in the 33rd minute, half-volleying inches over the target. West had a couple more opportunities over the next six minutes, the second of which was headed into Boyham's heads.

 

I should stress that it wasn't all one-way traffic as far as attacks went. Forest Green missed a couple of mini-chances, and a strong effort from Stuart Cheek in the 38th minute forced Kobe Nuyts into his first save. Two minutes after that, though, Kobe wasn't quite able to get his fingers to a low drive from Zak Ballard. Rovers went ahead against the run of play, and our proud home record - along with our FA Cup status - was in serious jeopardy!

 

A furious half-time team talk on my part inspired my players to up their game for the second half. Green swerved an effort agonisingly over the crossbar on 48 minutes. Shortly after that, Marvin charged through to connect with Matthew Fraser's through-ball and have another go. When Boyham parried it away, I wondered what we would have to do to beat him.

 

Five minutes later, Rydeheard showed us exactly what we had to do. Full-back Matt Warren took the ball past Walker and into the FGR area, where his pass to Kenny was powered home by the in-form loanee!

 

The home fans grew louder after the equaliser, spurring us on to try and take control of the match. Martin was unlucky not to put us ahead with a 56th-minute header that narrowly missed the post.

 

In the 61st minute, a rare lapse in concentration from Boyham saw his long clearance to Rovers left-back Rhys Ings intercepted by West. Mark had a clear run at goal and plenty of time to tee himself up... but Boyham redeemed himself with another superb save. Boyham then caught a header from West in the 74th minute, shortly after Nuyts had saved a similar effort from Rovers striker Adam Lyons.

 

Both goalkeepers kept their sides in contention with crucial saves later on. Boyham was especially busy, making his ninth and final save from a Victor Dam drive in added-on time. Thanks largely to him, this tie would be going into 'extra-time', with a 1-1 draw bringing about the need for a replay.

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 1 (Rydeheard 53)

Forest Green Rovers - 1 (Ballard 40)

FA Cup Round 2, Attendance 4,587

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Nuyts, Plummer, Busetto, Ashton, Warren, Roche (Barnes), Fraser, Martin, Green (Dam), West (Hands), Rydeheard. BOOKED: Martin, Plummer.

 

We had 17 shots at goal in that game, and 10 were on target. That we only scored once was perhaps down to a mixture of bad luck, excellent goalkeeping, and maybe even a lack of composure. Whatever the main reason was, I was still very disappointed that we'd failed to kill off a lower-league side in the FA Cup.

 

We now have to play Forest Green again, at The New Lawn in Nailsworth, on 6 December. The winner will be rewarded, if you could say that, with a trip to Championship giants Brighton & Hove Albion in Round 3.

 

Before then, we have to say goodbye to right-back Kye Maguire, who returns to Notts County after putting in some consistent performances during his three-month loan with us.

[CFuller]

League One Table (End of November 2028)

                                   P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS
1.          Colchester             22    13    4     5     42    21    +21   43
2.          Dag & Red              22    12    7     3     31    17    +14   43
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.          Scunthorpe             22    12    4     6     39    30    +9    40
4.          Portsmouth             22    10    7     5     34    22    +12   37
5.          Sheff Wed              22    10    6     6     38    22    +16   36
6.          Barnsley               22    11    3     8     40    31    +9    36
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7.          Ipswich                22    11    3     8     34    29    +5    36
8.          Rotherham              22    10    3     9     34    27    +7    33
9.          Morecambe              22    7     11    4     27    20    +7    32
10.         Fleetwood              22    9     5     8     30    27    +3    32
11.         Rochdale               22    8     7     7     30    26    +4    31
12.         Tranmere               22    8     7     7     29    27    +2    31
13.         Luton                  22    8     7     7     27    25    +2    31
14.         Charlton               22    8     6     8     30    29    +1    30
15.         Bradford               22    9     3     10    34    34    0     30
16.         Northampton            22    8     6     8     24    26    -2    30
17.         Oldham                 22    7     5     10    20    25    -5    26
18.         Dartford               22    7     5     10    23    35    -12   26
19.         Oxford                 22    6     7     9     23    27    -4    25
20.         Notts County           22    6     5     11    17    30    -13   23
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
21.         Chesterfield           22    6     4     12    28    42    -14   22
22.         Shrewsbury             22    4     8     10    20    31    -11   20
23.         Gillingham             22    4     5     13    24    42    -18   17
24.         AFC Telford            22    4     4     14    20    53    -33   16

[CFuller]

DECEMBER 2028

Going into our home game against Barnsley, we had played eleven league matches at Victoria Road this season. We had won seven, drawn four, lost none... and we had only conceded three goals.

 

Barnsley also had a pretty good home record, for that matter. Like us, they'd accumulated 25 points in home games, although they did suffer a couple of defeats at Oakwell. The Tykes' away record was not so impressive, and that was perhaps the main reason why they were only just inside the play-off places.

 

Nevertheless, Barnsley did boast one of the strongest attacks in League One, with striker Sacha Lester and winger Simon Hazel having scored 22 goals between them in all competitions. Could they bring an end to our unbeaten run at home?

 

2 December 2028: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Barnsley

Barnsley's first attempt on goal was a wayward one from midfielder Andry Mellor in the 7th minute. Sacha Lester cleared the crossbar in the 11th minute before nodding a John Goodwin cross off target moments later. We first tested the Tykes on 13 minutes, when Matthew Fraser swung in a corner. Benjamin Ashton flicked it to Josh Charles at the far post, but Josh's header went straight at goalkeeper Kevin Swayne. Shortly after that, Dean Martin failed to keep a half-volley on target.

 

Our attack perhaps needed some help, and in the 19th minute, Swayne gifted us a glorious chance. Swayne came out of his area to try and clear a loose ball, but his clearance bounced towards William Barnes. Will fired at a clear target from 50 yards out... and Swayne got back just in time to make a catch.

 

After Troy Hands narrowly missed the target in the 23rd minute, we failed to get close to scoring again in the first half. The Tykes did have an opportunity in the last minute of normal time, but Daryl Ryan made a straightforward catch from left-winger Bobby Griffiths' header.

 

After early misses from Martin and Hands in the second half, we came under increasing pressure from Barnsley. Tykes captain Brandon Ormonde-Ottewill miscued an attempt from the edge of the area after 58 minutes. After 66, a right-wing cross from Simon Hazel clipped the outside of Daryl's left-hand post. Hazel was far from his clinical best, and his partner-in-crime Lester wouldn't register another shot at goal after those two earlier attempts.

 

With the Tykes failing to take off, we made a late bid to steal all three points. Dean showed promise in the 74th minute with a strong effort that was well saved by Swayne. The Barnsley keeper was beaten two minutes later by Mark West's header from a Fraser free-kick, but West was flagged offside.

 

Apart from that, Mark's best effort was a header that looped just over the bar in the 89th minute. Our attackers had flattered to deceive yet again, but a rare off-day from Barnsley's strike force stretched our undefeated record at Victoria Road into a 12th game.

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 0

Barnsley - 0

League One, Attendance 6,077 - POSITIONS: Dag & Red 2nd, Barnsley 7th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Ryan, Charles, Dalton, Ashton, Plummer, O'Reilly (Warren), Barnes, Fraser, Martin (Dam), West, Hands (Rydeheard). BOOKED: Barnes.

 

Our next home match would be another tricky one against opponents from South Yorkshire. I wanted my best players fit and ready for the visit of Sheffield Wednesday, so I selected a largely second-string team for our FA Cup Round 2 Replay at Forest Green Rovers.

 

Forest Green were much more resilient than I'd anticipated in the original tie at Victoria Road, so fielding a weakened side was very risky, and perhaps a little disrespectful. Despite that, I was still hopeful that our greater class would eventually win the day against the League Two side.

 

6 December 2028: Forest Green Rovers vs Dagenham & Redbridge

Forest Green took the initiative straight away, as we shot ourselves in the foot after three minutes. Dan Plummer tried to head Rovers winger Marvin Walker's cross clear, but his work was unravelled when Dean Martin nodded the ball back towards our goal! Goalkeeper Kobe Nuyts came out of his area to try and collect the ball, but Forest Green striker Adam Lyons got to it first and fired into an empty net! An incensed Kobe screamed expletives at Dean - much like I did, in fact!

 

The visitors' strong start continued when Zak Ballard's free-kick was deflected behind for a corner. Ballard's corner was intercepted by Geraint Harding, although the Rovers skipper did fire a shot fairly close to goal soon afterwards. In the 17th minute, another free-kick from Ballard clipped the post and went behind. Four minutes later, Victor Dam's free-kick for Dagenham was held by home keeper Paul Boyham.

 

Then, in the 25th minute, FGR made our fans go, "WTF?" A well-worked free-kick routine ended with Ballard slicing our defence with a cross that was finished by midfielder Jake Gibb. At 2-0 down, our situation already looked FUBAR.

 

I resorted to desperate measures, substituting centre-back Benjamin Ashton and replacing him with 16-year-old Shaun Johnson. Shaun did settle our defence down, but now it was our attack that was underperforming. Kenny Rydeheard's skyward half-volley in the 29th minute told you all you needed to know about our first-half display in that respect.

 

If I had any experienced outfielders on the bench, I might've been able to turn things around at half-time. Instead, I had somewhat stupidly left myself with a bunch of youngsters. One of them, Lloyd Bailey, replaced dreadful Dean for the second half, but I was merely clutching at straws.

 

A tame 55th-minute header from Ollie Pert, which Boyham had no problem catching, was our best chance to get back in the game. Two minutes later, Forest Green cut us down for good. Ballard was once again the inspiration, with his free-kick being met by a Stuart Cheek header that looped over Nuyts and found the net. 3-0 to Rovers.

 

That was all she wrote as far as our FA Cup campaign was concerned. Dam and substitute Roy Ganfield did get a couple of late shots on target and make Boyham work for his clean sheet, but it was too little far too late.

 

To compound our misery, when the final whistle blew at The New Lawn, the tannoy blasted out Black Lace's utterly dreadful 1980s hit "Do The Conga". The home fans chanted "Doo, doo, doo, Nigel Reo-Coker!" in tribute to their managerial mastermind, who'd sent Rovers into Round 3 - and a tie at Brighton & Hove Albion. I felt like cutting my ears off, along with some of my players', erm, body parts.

 

Forest Green Rovers - 3 (Lyons 3, Gibb 25, Cheek 57)

Dagenham & Redbridge - 0

FA Cup Round 2 Replay, Attendance 5,018

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Nuyts, Plummer, Busetto, Ashton (S Johnson), Warren, Harding, Fraser, Martin (Bailey), Dam, Pert, Rydeheard (Ganfield). BOOKED: Warren.

 

Weakened side or not, we really shouldn't have made it that easy for Rovers. I was raging after by far our worst performance of the season to date.

 

Just three of the Daggers who started the Forest Green farce - Benjamin Ashton, Geraint Harding, and Matt Warren - kept their places for the meeting with Sheffield Wednesday. Before the Owls' trip to Victoria Road, there was a five-point gap between us and 4th-placed Wednesday.

 

9 December 2028: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Sheffield Wednesday

Roy Ganfield was one of those who benefitted from my wholesale changes, as he made his first league start for Dagenham. Ganfield made his mark within a couple of minutes, delicately slipping Troy Hands' pass into the Sheffield Wednesday net for a quickfire opener!

 

Owls full-back Shahed Hector was guilty of letting Roy get away from him for that goal, but he looked to make amends in the 10th minute. Hector's cross into the Dagenham box led to a mini-scramble, at the end of which Themis Norman fizzed a shot inches wide.

 

After that, we had the lion's share of scoring chances. Captain Mark West missed the target with a couple of long-rangers in the 17th and 26th minutes, while Hands went close to getting his name on the scoresheet in between. Troy might not have been the main focus of our attacks, but he was still an inspirational force from midfield.

 

After 30 minutes, Hands drove a perfect long ball ahead of Ganfield, who raced past Owls centre-back George Dean and goalkeeper Yanko Cheshmedzhiev. Once Ray had a clear goal to aim at, he cheekily dinked in his and our second goal! The 18-year-old was loving his full league debut!

 

Wednesday's key men definitely weren't loving life, as winger Neil Briers was struggling with a knock, and midfielders Pirmin Tache and Cameron Wannell were effectively being marked out of the game. Wannell did get an opening in the 45th minute, when a slip from Daggers right-back Josh Charles allowed him free rein on the flank. Wannell crossed to Norman in the six-yard box... but goalkeeper Daryl Ryan clawed the ball away before his left-back Matt Warren booted it into touch! As important as Roy's double was, had Daryl and Matt won us the game?

 

Ganfield went for a hat-trick very early in the second half, but his crashing drive was from too far out to get near Cheshmedzhiev's goal. In the 58th minute, West came within inches of clinching our third goal of the afternoon. Six minutes later came another big moment. Sheffield Wednesday captain Evgeni Ivanov swung in a cross to Norman, who got ahead of Gavin Dalton to nod it into the net. Norman appeared to have halved our lead... but the offside flag redeemed us.

 

By the 72nd minute, the Owls' fleeting hopes had been extinguished for good. West drove a lob forward to Hands, who drew three of the away defenders towards him as he went wide. Troy then sidefooted a centre into space, and Roy's simple tap-in led to more cheers from the Dagenham faithful! Ganfield had got himself a hat-trick of goals, and Hands a trio of assists!

 

Both our heroes were now ready to come off to standing ovations... but not before Ganfield twisted his knee in a tackle from a frustrated Tache. Roy was in quite some pain, although he was still able to raise a smile as he hobbled off to a round of applause.

 

16-year-old youth players Tom Virgo and Steve Hughes made their league debuts for the Daggers during the closing stages of a contest that was already effectively over. The Daggers fans were particularly buoyant when the final whistle blew, as a late Colchester United defeat at Fleetwood Town saw us go top of League One by three points!

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 3 (Ganfield 3,30,72)

Sheffield Wednesday - 0

League One, Attendance 5,956 - POSITIONS: Dag & Red 1st, Sheff Wed 6th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Ryan, Charles, Dalton, Ashton, Warren, Harding, Barnes, Hands (Hughes), Dam (Virgo), West, Ganfield (Green).

 

It didn't take us long to forget about the FA Cup, did it?

 

Roy Ganfield's knee injury would sadly rule him out for the next three weeks, but his treble had set us back on the right track. Could we now go full steam ahead towards promotion?

[CFuller]

DECEMBER 2028 (continued)

Our last two games before Christmas were against Shropshire's big two, who were both struggling at the wrong end of the table. This felt like a great opportunity to claim six more points - or, at the very least, four.

 

Shrewsbury Town had been inside the relegation zone for virtually the whole season, ever since we beat them 2-0 at Victoria Road way back in July. The Shrews had since replaced manager Shane Griffin with Brian Deane, but they were still short on form ahead of our visit to Greenhous Meadow.

 

16 December 2028: Shrewsbury Town vs Dagenham & Redbridge

Shrewsbury winger Joe Geer was wide of the mark with his team's first effort after eight minutes. Four minutes later, Geer was given another opportunity to put the Shrews in front. An off-the-ball incident between Dagenham defender Gavin Dalton and Shrewsbury striker Moses Duiker ended with the latter going to ground in our area. The referee pointed to the penalty spot, from which Geer drove in the opener as I vented my fury at Dalton from the touchline. 1-0 to the Shrews.

 

Dean Martin couldn't find the target with our first attempt to draw level in the 18th minute. Troy Hands and Benjamin Ashton each went much closer in the next three minutes, forcing Town goalie Ben Dolby into a couple of saves. Our best chance yet came the 25th minute, when Matthew Fraser's free-kick rattled the bar. Troy tried to convert the rebound, but the referee blew for offside before he could strike.

 

We were really getting into full swing now, as Martin showed when his 30th-minute shot was awkwardly parried by Dolby. Nine minutes later, William Barnes started a Dagenham counter-attack with an excellent long ball to Hands. Troy attempted to play a one-two with Mark West, although Ashley Cousins' interception knocked the ball back into his path anyway. Hands then darted past Shrews center-back Ally Stevenson before striking the ball beyond Dolby!

 

Troy's latest strike had put us back on level terms. Indeed, had Dolby not made a crucial save in the Shrewsbury goal from Fraser, we could well have gone into the break with a 2-1 advantage!

 

Shrewsbury should've known by now that we were particularly strong on the counter, but they were almost undone by another breakaway after 57 minutes. On that occasion, Hands found the run of Martin, who couldn't quite keep his shot on target. Six minutes later, Troy tried to meet West's flick-on with a diving header, but he was sadly unable to make a clean connection.

 

We were absolutely dominating in midfield, and young William Barnes was making an especially strong impact with his pinpoint passing and strong tackling. We were still conceding quite a lot of fouls, though, and Ashton's clumsy 70th-minute challenge on Kenny McCarthy gifted Shrewsbury a chance to restore their advantage. Benji was booked, but he avoided further punishment when Geer's free-kick flew over the bar.

 

The Shrews would not go close again, and that was largely down to their own high foul count. A scrappy meeting would see 34 fouls, though only four yellow cards, before finishing with the spoils shared.

 

Shrewsbury Town - 1 (Geer pen12)

Dagenham & Redbridge - 1 (Hands 39)

League One, Attendance 6,309 - POSITIONS: Shrewsbury 22nd, Dag & Red 1st

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Ryan, Beech, Dalton, Ashton (Charles), Warren, Harding, Barnes, Fraser (Dam), Martin, West (Rydeheard), Hands. BOOKED: West, Ashton.

 

Our lead was cut to two points by Scunthorpe United, whose 3-1 win over Morecambe took them up to 2nd place.

 

Colchester United slipped to 3rd after a shock home defeat at the hands of Dartford. They would actually suffer another in midweek, with Shrewsbury putting four unanswered goals past our county foes to give our promotion hopes a massive shot in the arm!

 

We returned to action the following weekend with what looked on paper to be an easy home tie against AFC Telford United.

 

After an incredible late-season slump took them out of the promotion picture last season, the Bucks had completely buckled this term. Telford had been rooted to bottom spot since the first weekend of the season, and with just five wins and a pitiful -34 goal difference to their name, relegation already looked unavoidable.

 

23 December 2028: Dagenham & Redbridge vs AFC Telford United

After telling the Dagenham players that I was expecting a comfortable win, my boys responded by making a strong start. They won a couple of corners inside the first two minutes, while midfielder William Barnes troubled Telford goalie Dominic Obodo with a fierce shot in the 11th minute. Victor Dam provided rather less of a threat to the visitors. The Dane was far from great when he missed the target twice during the 14th and 19th minutes.

 

Telford first created something that resembled an attack after 25 minutes, but Matty Keeley merely dragged the ball straight at Daggers keeper Daryl Ryan. Daryl was much more severely tested four minutes later, when he scrambled behind a half-volley from fellow Irishman James Walsh. Shortly after that, Graham Fitzpatrick nodded a Keeley cross past Ryan's left-hand post.

 

The Bucks would have one more chance - a wayward Walsh header in the 39th minute - before the first half petered out. With the scores still goalless, we were looking anything but firm favourites.

 

Dagenham strikers Troy Hands and Mark West seemed very nervous in the first period, having just one shot at goal apiece. Eight minutes into the second half, Troy had his second opportunity. Hands broke away from Bucks defender Kelly Phillip to take on Dam's through-ball and go one-on-one with Obodo. The forward pulled the trigger... and pulled his shot off target.

 

I doubted that Troy could recover from such a horrible miss, so I took him out of the firing line straight away. Taking his place up front was Max Hicks, who made his Daggers comeback after two months out with a shoulder injury. I also kept faith in West, even though he was some way off target with an effort after 61 minutes.

 

Mark's frustration continued in the 77th minute, when Phillip intercepted a Daniel O'Reilly cross that looked bound to reach our captain. Hicks then cut out the interception and nodded the ball towards goal... but Obodo caught the ball just before it crossed his goal line. Less than a minute later, O'Reilly tried to find West again with a right-footed cross from the left flank. This time, the delivery evaded Telford's defenders, and Mark tucked it away!

 

The deadlock had been broken, and so had the Bucks' spirit. After 87 minutes, their 17th league defeat of a dreadful season was rubber-stamped. Matt Warren chipped the ball ahead of Hicks, who deftly controlled the ball with his head and lobbed Obodo from 20 yards! A 2-0 win, coupled with Colchester United's heavy 4-1 loss at Barnsley, confirmed that we would go into the New Year still top of League One... and still unbeaten on home soil!

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 2 (West 78, Hicks 87)

AFC Telford United - 0

League One, Attendance 6,017 - POSITIONS: Dag & Red 1st, AFC Telford 24th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Ryan, Beech, Charles, Dalton, O'Reilly, Harding, Barnes (Warren), Fraser, Dam (Martin), West, Hands (Hicks). BOOKED: Barnes.

 

We had to work harder than expected for that win, so I gave my players Christmas Eve off and let them have only a short training session on Christmas Day. The extra rest would be needed, as we faced a long journey to Greater Manchester on Boxing Day.

 

Although we'd won our last three meetings with Oldham Athletic, another victory against the Latics was certainly not a given. The Boundary Park outfit had won five matches on the trot before slipping up at Shrewsbury in their most recent game.

 

26 December 2028: Oldham Athletic vs Dagenham & Redbridge

Oldham's new-found confidence showed in the early stages of this game. In the sixth minute, striker James Galloway thundered an opening shot over the crossbar. The Latics' main goal-getter had another opportunity to strike in the 12th minute. Midfielder Aaron Bradley played in Galloway, whose drive was deflected into the net, despite Daryl Ryan's best efforts to keep it out.

 

Two minutes later, a poor start from us became a terrible one. Bradley went from provider to scorer when he dragged an angled shot into the far end of Ryan's net. Oldham were already leading 2-0, and they were soon threatening to move three goals clear.

 

An uncharacteristically sloppy pass from William Barnes in the 16th minute led to a great chance for Latics forward Ross Stone. After exchanging passes with his colleague Galloway, Stone blasted the ball inches over our goal. When Barnes gave the ball away again a minute later, Oldham launched a counter-attack that ended with a Galloway strike sailing off course.

 

The hosts were looking very strong, but in the 24th minute, it was their turn to make a potentially costly mistake. Full-back Roberto Harrop's headed back-pass to goalkeeper Ivaylo Vladimirov was intercepted in the Athletic box by Mark West. Our skipper looked certain to score... but his volley struck the bar, bounced wide, and then deflected behind off the corner flag!

 

There would be even worse to come six minutes later. Galloway broke free from Gavin Dalton to take Latics winger Darren McQueen's pass into our area and smash in his second goal of the afternoon. We were 3-0 down... but we weren't out of the game just yet.

 

After 34 minutes, Max Hicks won us a corner when his shot was parried by Vladimirov and slid behind by Tom Dakin. Daggers winger Marvin Green unsuccessfully claimed that Dakin had fouled him in the process of conceding the corner, but he wasn't complaining after the set-piece had been taken. West nodded in Matt Warren's delivery for his 10th goal of the season - and a much-needed Daggers lifeline!

 

Dagenham right-back Tim Beech had a nightmare first half as he struggled to keep tabs on Oldham's speedy left-winger Chris Cruse. Three minutes into the second half, though, Tim saved us from going 4-1 behind. Galloway was all set to celebrate his hat-trick until Beech nodded his header off the line!

 

After 50 minutes, Victor Dam missed the target with a shot that could've reduced our deficit to just one goal. It didn't really matter that much, because West would do that anyway a couple of minutes later. Mark met Matt's half-volley into the Oldham area with a deadly header, and Vladimirov was left powerless.

 

The skipper was soon aiming to complete his almost single-handed comeback. As the game entered the 55th minute, Barnes pumped a long ball to West, who made a run into the area and took aim. Sadly, Mark would not be claiming a heroic hat-trick, as Vladimirov pushed his strike away. With that save, we lost our impetus and failed to threaten the Latics again.

 

Oldham tightened up their defence in the final half-hour and ground out another big win on the road to preserving their League One status. After seven league matches without defeat, we'd been tripped up by a side we hadn't been expected to lose to.

 

Oldham Athletic - 3 (Galloway 12,30, Bradley 14)

Dagenham & Redbridge - 2 (West 35,52)

League One, Attendance 4,893 - POSITIONS: Oldham 13th, Dag & Red 1st

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Ryan, Beech, Charles, Dalton, Warren, Roche (Harding), Barnes, Busetto, Green (Dam), West, Hicks (Rydeheard).

 

That was only our seventh competitive defeat of the season, and we'd conceded three goals in four of them. We generally don't let in many goals, but when we are poor, we can be VERY poor.

 

I hope that last defeat is just another occasional blip, rather than the start of a mid-season slump. We've got quite a few tricky fixtures in a busy January schedule that will seriously test our mettle.

[CFuller]

League One Table (End of December 2028)

                                   P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS
1.          Dag & Red              27    14    9     4     39    21    +18   51
2.          Scunthorpe             27    14    5     8     48    38    +10   47
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.          Ipswich                27    13    6     8     41    32    +9    45
4.          Barnsley               27    13    5     9     49    36    +13   44
5.          Colchester             27    13    5     9     46    35    +11   44
6.          Portsmouth             27    11    9     7     39    28    +11   42
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7.          Rotherham              27    12    6     9     43    33    +10   42
8.          Rochdale               28    11    9     8     39    32    +7    42
9.          Fleetwood              28    12    5     11    38    35    +3    41
10.         Northampton            27    11    8     8     29    28    +1    41
11.         Sheff Wed              27    11    6     10    44    29    +15   39
12.         Tranmere               27    10    8     9     35    33    +2    38
13.         Oldham                 27    11    5     11    30    30    0     38
14.         Charlton               27    10    7     10    37    39    -2    37
15.         Bradford               27    10    6     11    40    38    +2    36
16.         Luton                  27    9     9     9     35    33    +2    36
17.         Notts County           27    10    6     11    25    33    -8    36
18.         Morecambe              27    8     11    8     30    29    +1    35
19.         Dartford               27    9     6     12    28    43    -15   33
20.         Oxford                 28    7     9     12    28    37    -9    30
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
21.         Shrewsbury             27    6     9     12    27    36    -9    27
22.         Chesterfield           28    7     5     16    31    50    -19   26
23.         Gillingham             27    6     7     14    29    46    -17   25
24.         AFC Telford            27    5     5     17    24    60    -36   20

[CFuller]

JANUARY 2029

The transfer window swung open again in the New Year, and that meant I could now fine-tune my team by signing some fresh talent... and discarding some dead wood. The first player to be placed on my transfer list was Irish winger Jonathan Roche. After nearly six up-and-down years at Victoria Road, I felt that Jonny's time as a Dagenham & Redbridge regular was up.

 

Oldham Athletic were quick to make a bid for Roche - and I was even quicker to turn it down. The Latics' offer was only worth around £30,000 in total, whereas I was looking for at least double that.

 

Left-back Matt Warren was definitely not for sale. The in-form 31-year-old had just signed a new contract that would extend his stay at Dagenham into a fifth season.

 

I was looking for Matt to shine again when we travelled to Colchester United for our first match of the New Year. United were top of League One at the start of December, but they finished it in 6th after picking up just one point from five matches! No wonder that manager David Holdsworth was glad to see the back of 2028!

 

6 January 2029: Colchester United vs Dagenham & Redbridge

This Essex derby got off to a sluggish start before the action livened up in the 15th minute. Colchester winger Joel Ashley's cross deflected off Gavin Dalton and fell to U's striker Regan Stroud, who could only shin it straight at our keeper Daryl Ryan.

 

Two minutes later, Daggers left-back Matt Warren showed exactly why he deserved his new contract. After playing a quick one-two with Troy Hands, Matt crossed to Mark West, who looped a header into the Colchester net! 1-0 to the Daggers!

 

We continued to dominate the aerial battles throughout the match, and in the 27th minute, Josh Charles almost nodded in our second goal. David Croft made a safe catch for United on that occasion, and he produced another fine save three minutes later from Hands' low drive.

 

Ryan didn't look too shabby in our goal, either, as he made light work of a Stroud header after 37 minutes. Stroud wasn't firing on all cylinders for Colchester, and neither was fellow striker Matt Peters, whose 42nd-minute strike sailed wide of the mark.

 

Colchester were understandably uptight after a bad run of form. A couple of yellow cards for Ashley and left-back Michael Bridges early in the second half didn't exactly calm their nerves. Captain Casey Phillips was also looking far from secure at centre-half. His 58th-minute tackle on Dean Martin only stopped the Dagenham sub briefly, as Dean retook the ball and unleashed a shot that was well saved by Croft.

 

The U's remained under pressure for pretty much the rest of the half, and some more needless fouling kept them on the back foot. Phillips would be in the book by the 75th minute, as would midfielder Elliott Whitehouse. Colchester did launch a rare attack after 77 minutes, but Stroud fired the ball safely into Ryan's grasp.

 

Then, seven minutes from time, Croft threw away any hope United had of saving a point. His attempted pass to centre-back Dale Miller went long and was cut out by Dagenham substitute Ollie Pert, who squared the ball to Martin. Dean then raced forward and thundered in our second goal to clinch the points! Colchester were left pointless for the fifth league game in a row, while we got our year off to a great start!

 

Colchester United - 0

Dagenham & Redbridge - 2 (West 17, Martin 83)

League One, Attendance 3,884 - POSITIONS: Colchester 6th, Dag & Red 1st

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Ryan, Beech, Charles, Dalton, Warren, Harding, Fraser, Busetto (Barnes), Dam (Martin), West (Pert), Hands.

 

Dean Martin's reward for his super-sub appearance was a new deal, running until the summer of 2032. Dean is one of the few local boys in our first-team squad, and he remains a big hope for our long-term future.

 

Two other talented young midfielders were sent out on loan until the end of the season. Dennis McCann joined our feeder club Dulwich Hamlet in the Isthmian Premier, and Mitchell Paratusic was farmed out to cash-strapped Conference South outfit Torquay United. Mitch hasn't had much luck with injuries this season, and I really hope that he can get his career back on track with a strong stint at Torquay.

 

There was some bad injury news concerning Ollie Pert, who picked up a groin strain in a reserve match against Chelmsford City. Ollie would be out for three weeks as a consequence.

 

We played our first home match of the New Year against 9th-placed Rochdale, who had gone five games without losing. Would they be the team to inflict our first competitive defeat at Victoria Road this season?

 

10 January 2029: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Rochdale

Both sides went close to taking the early initiative. For Rochdale, Scott McPherson found the side netting after three minutes, and Joseph Lowe headed wide after 11. Over the next two minutes or so, Matthew Fraser and Max Hicks each came within inches of giving us the lead.

 

We would continue to put Rochdale under pressure throughout the first half. Unfortunately, Dale centre-backs Andy Laing and Ablade Mensah kept making brilliant interceptions and heading away our wing-backs' crosses.

 

The visitors' aerial prowess also showed at our end, where Garry Swan threatened to head them in front in the 27th minute. Daryl Ryan made a fine save on that occasion, and also in the 42nd minute, when he gathered a shot from Ally MacKenzie. Our best chance to score before half-time had come after 34 minutes, but Dean Martin was unlucky to swerve his shot against the post.

 

The opening stages of the second half saw each side lose a midfielder to injury. Rochdale's Josh Todd hobbled off with a knock after being tackled by William Barnes in the 49th minute. Four minutes later, our own Fraser was forced out with a suspected dislocated shoulder. Rochdale also had some concerns over Lowe when he picked up a niggle, but the teenage defensive midfielder was able to play on.

 

Those injuries disrupted the flow of the match until the 68th minute, when Dale goalie Euan Duncan made a superb fingertip save from Josh Charles' header. Hicks then snatched at another decent Daggers chance five minutes later. Rochdale's defence kept on withstanding our attacks as time passed by, with Laing in particular making an insane amount of interceptions!

 

With four minutes to go, though, Laing proved that he wasn't unbeatable. His attempt to cut out Matt Warren's cross to Victor Dam in the Dale area only knocked the ball on to West, who applied a straightforward tap-in! Our joy at scoring a late winner was sadly cut short when the referee disallowed the goal, ruling that Dam had pulled down Lowe in the goalmouth melee. We would have to settle for a single point from another 0-0 draw - our fifth of the campaign.

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 0

Rochdale - 0

League One, Attendance 5,391 - POSITIONS: Dag & Red 1st, Rochdale 9th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Ryan, Beech, Charles, Ashton, Warren, Harding, Fraser (Dam), Busetto (Barnes), Martin, West, Hicks (Ganfield). BOOKED: Hicks, Barnes.

 

Unfortunately, it turned out that Matthew Fraser had indeed dislocated his shoulder. The Scottish midfielder would have to see a specialist and sit out the next two months at least.

 

Three days after drawing with Rochdale, we travelled to Yorkshire for a meeting with mid-table Rotherham United. The Millers had their manager Daniel Philliskirk poached by Millwall at the start of the year. His successor at the New York Stadium, Michael Bostwick, began his reign with a draw and a defeat.

 

13 January 2029: Rotherham United vs Dagenham & Redbridge

Our defence faced a stern test in the 12th minute, when Rotherham left-back Tyrone Lawford floated the ball to striker Brad Webster in a dangerous position. Benjamin Ashton dispossessed Webster with an excellent slide tackle, but Millers captain Graham Kane responded by sending a cross to Alan Shaw at the far post. Shaw headed the ball back across goal to Kane, whose diving header looped onto the roof of the net.

 

Our experienced front two punished that early missed opportunity a couple of minutes later. Max Hicks' weighted ball into the Rotherham box was drilled home by his strike partner Mark West for our opener!

 

Hicks was unlucky not to get us another goal shortly afterwards, as was Victor Dam. Rotherham then had a bright spell that saw midfielder Ross Bryant strike the woodwork on 22 minutes. After 32 minutes, on-loan Reading teenager Paul Sherwood swerved wide an effort from outside the area. A little over two minutes later, we heaped more misery on new Rotherham boss Michael Bostwick. Mark outmuscled United defender Phillip Corrigan to take Josh Charles' first-time clearance and power it into the net!

 

We had scored with each of our only two shots on target in the first half... but it would be a case of third time unlucky after the restart. Two minutes into the second half, an excellent Dam through-ball found Troy Hands, who was thwarted by Rotherham goalkeeper Sam Johnstone.

 

We would next threaten the Millers in the 62nd minute. Geraint Harding's corner was floated wonderfully to William Barnes, whose header whistled past Johnstone for what was surely his first senior goal! Alas, Will's landmark moment would have to wait for another day. The linesman flagged for an apparent offside flag against Mark, and although I couldn't see anything untoward, the scoreline remained at 2-0.

 

West and Barnes each collected bookings midway through the half. Will's was his 10th of the campaign, and so the tough-tackling midfield dynamo would be banned from our next two matches. Barnes would be a big loss for us, but not as big a loss as Reiss Woodley to Rotherham. After 73 minutes, Woodley - a half-time substitute for Bryant - tore his hamstring in a full-blooded tackle on Barnes, and the Millers would be deprived of their leading scorer for at least three months.

 

The hosts never really recovered after losing Woodley, although his replacement Alex Hill did force Daryl Ryan into a couple of late saves. Daryl stayed on track for his 12th clean sheet of the season, and captain Mark's first-half double took us another step closer to promotion.

 

Rotherham United - 0

Dagenham & Redbridge - 2 (West 14,35)

League One, Attendance 6,946 - POSITIONS: Rotherham 11th, Dag & Red 1st

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Ryan, Charles, Dalton, Ashton, O'Reilly, Harding, Barnes (Warren), Hands, Dam (Martin), West, Hicks. BOOKED: West, Barnes.

 

The gap between us and 3rd place now stood at a whopping ten points! Daggers fans were really getting excited, although there was still a third of the season left to play. We just had to keep going.

[CFuller]

JANUARY 2029 (continued)

If our proud record of not losing a home game all season was going to end at some point, it was most likely to end here - in the latter part of January. We had three consecutive matches at Victoria Road... and the first of them was against none other than Ipswich Town.

 

Ipswich had been on quite a roll since manager Graham Alexander was replaced by Graham Dorrans in November. The Tractor Boys had lost just two league matches thus far under the former Scotland midfielder's guidance, and they would move into the play-off spots if they could beat us.

 

17 January 2029: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Ipswich Town

Before the game, I told my holding midfielders to keep close tabs on Ipswich's main men Luke Boot and Jonathan Smith. However, it was centre-back James Torpey who would put the Tractor Boys in front after six minutes. It was a moment to forget for Alex Busetto, as Torpey beat the Italian to Colin Joyce's corner and headed it home.

 

Ipswich almost increased their lead to 2-0 just three minutes later. Winger Ishmale Thurstan followed a mazy run with a fierce shot that Daryl Ryan did well to push away. Smith pulled his first attempt wide of goal after 15 minutes, while Boot's opening shot - a header - led to another Ryan save after 18.

 

In the 20th minute, we launched our first major bid for goal. Busetto made up for failing to prevent Ipswich's goal by helping to level the scores, as his flick-on was powered into the net by Victor Dam!

 

We grew more confident after that and launched another assault in the 30th minute. A long ball from Geraint Harding found the run of Matt Warren, who crossed for Max Hicks. Max's header was palmed away by Ipswich keeper Jonathan Oakes, and Patrick O'Keefe's tackle prevented our striker from converting the follow-up.

 

The visitors held firm, and a little over a minute before half-time, they ominously regained control. Joyce defied a thigh strain to float in a cross to the far post. Thurstan's diving header struck the upright, but the speedy winger quickly got up and finished at the second time of asking.

 

Ipswich could have made matters worse for us by taking a 3-1 lead on the stroke of half-time. Fortunately, Ryan denied Thurstan a quickfire second goal, and we still had a glimmer of hope going into the second period.

 

Five minutes after the restart, Dam drove a 25-yarder wide in a desperate attempt to draw us level again. Ipswich would soon pull clear by scoring their third goal about four minutes later. Young right-back Alphonsus Amao's cross was volleyed in by Bosnia & Herzegovina international midfielder Fadil Basic, and we were trailing by two. That deficit could've been increased to three in the 57th minute, but substitute midfielder Michael Jordan couldn't quite slam-dunk the ball into the net.

 

I abandoned the narrow diamond and threw on a couple of wingers to try and exploit a potential Ipswich weakness down the flanks. That didn't make much difference to our attacking prospects, with Hicks dragging wide a woeful effort on 66 minutes. Reverting to a basic 4-4-2 didn't do us much good at the back either. Basic drove wide a couple of decent efforts for Ipswich midway through the half, and his fellow midfielder Alan Byrne fired just over in the 72nd minute.

 

Four minutes later, the Tractor Boys completed their third victory over us this season, with a goal from the main architect of their previous two. Smith finally roared into life when he hammered in Basic's through-ball for 4-1. Our streak of 17 home matches unbeaten this season was now in pieces, and it came as no surprise that Ipswich had carried out its destruction.

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 1 (Dam 20)

Ipswich Town - 4 (Torpey 6, Thurstan 44, Basic 54, Smith 76)

League One, Attendance 5,667 - POSITIONS: Dag & Red 1st, Ipswich 5th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Ryan, Beech, Charles, Dalton, Warren (Flood), Harding, Busetto (O'Reilly), Hands (Roche), Dam, West, Hicks.

 

Elsewhere, 2nd-placed Scunthorpe United drew 0-0 at Shrewsbury Town to leave them just one point behind us, although they had played a game more.

 

Ipswich were now emerging as a major title rival to us and Scunny. Even though they were still nine points off the pace, the Tractor Boys were gaining traction - and they had a game in hand on us!

 

Our title credentials were put to the test again three days later, with a visit from an Oxford United side battling to avoid relegation. At the same time, Ipswich travelled up to Morecambe, while Scunthorpe had the weekend off.

 

20 January 2029: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Oxford United

Oxford enjoyed more possession in the opening stages, although we started to control the game once we began pressing the visitors a bit more. In the 13th minute, Troy Hands attempted a 25-yard drive, only to see Oxford goalkeeper Lewis Moore push it away. Another Hands effort four minutes later was blocked by centre-back Ken Brazil. Daggers captain Mark West's first attempt came in the 23rd minute, and Moore dove across his goal to catch Mark's header.

 

At the other end, United's chances were limited to a couple of blocked shots, and a hopeless long drive from striker Reis Collins in the 31st minute. Troy then clipped the outside of Moore's left-hand post on 35 minutes. After 44 minutes, U's left-back Andrew Burnett's back-pass to his captain Lewis Phillips was closed down superbly by West. Mark ran through on goal, but he could only pull wide our final chance to score before half-time.

 

Hands made an excellent run towards Oxford's goal in the 48th minute, but visiting right-back Danny Symes slid the ball off Troy's feet before our man could strike. A minute later, U's substitute Stevie McMullan thumped home a shot in our penalty area. The offside flag saved us on that occasion, and when Alex Busetto gave away possession in the 52nd minute, we were again lucky not to pay a heavy price. Cledan Price's thunderous low drive for Oxford was turned away by Daryl Ryan, and the score remained 0-0.

 

It was still goalless after an hour, at which point I made my first two subs. Underperforming left flankers Matt Warren and Marvin Green were replaced by Marc Hopkins and Gareth Flood, one of whom would make an instant impact. After Dean Martin's run towards the Oxford box was halted by Symes' tackle, Flood took the ball on and cracked in a sublime finish! 1-0 to Dagenham after 63 minutes!

 

The U's couldn't muster a quick riposte, as McMullan and Price each missed the target from decent openings. Oxford would soon be opened up again - by our other Irish wingman. Jonathan Roche knocked a weighted ball past Brazil and found Hands, who tucked in our second goal of the afternoon!

 

A third goal would be asking too much of my team, though. The closest we got to number 3 was in the 76th minute, when West's header from a Flood cross flew straight into Moore's hands. Still, we did keep a clean sheet and strengthen our lead over Scunthorpe United to four points. As for Ipswich Town, they moved up to 3rd place, courtesy of a single-goal win at Morecambe.

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 2 (Flood 63, Hands 73)

Oxford United - 0

League One, Attendance 6,077 - POSITIONS: Dag & Red 1st, Oxford 20th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Ryan, Beech, Dalton, Ashton, Warren (Hopkins), Roche, Busetto (Bailey), Martin, Green (Flood), West, Hands. BOOKED: Warren, Roche, Ashton.

 

Before our next match, midfielders Paul Parkinson and Tommy Scott returned from their respective loans at Milton Keynes Dons and Southend United.

 

That next game was against Morecambe, who came to Victoria Road plumb in the middle of the table. William Barnes was back in the Daggers' starting XI, having missed our previous two matches through suspension.

 

27 January 2029: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Morecambe

Dagenham captain Mark West attempted to drive the ball home from 25 yards out in just the second minute. Brian Kane made an awkward parry for Morecambe, who advanced towards our goal a couple of minutes later. After Shrimps winger Mark Jerome's shot was saved by Daryl Ryan, we launched a rapid counter-attack. A pinpoint pass from West found Max Hicks, who bore down on goal and was all set to score when Morecambe captain Aswad Hammond made a last-ditch clearance!

 

Mark also burst through on goal in the 10th minute, but a fantastic save from Kane kept us waiting for the opening goal. Five minutes later, Daggers midfielder William Barnes marked his return from suspension by picking up yet another yellow card - for a rash sliding tackle on Ryan Starbuck.

 

In the 17th minute, some shocking Shrimps defending allowed us to finally open the scoring. Geraint Harding pumped the ball to West, who drew both of the visitors' centre-backs towards him and set up an easy finish for an unmarked Hicks.

 

It wouldn't be long before Max went looking for a second goal. He headed narrowly wide on 23 minutes and had his next effort stopped by Kane a minute later. Then, in the 31st minute, he broke through the Morecambe defence again. Max ran onto a short weighted pass from Mark, brushed off centre-half Ethan Davis, and slipped his shot underneath Kane! 2-0 to Hicks! Morecambe couldn't get back into the game before half-time, with Luke Walker's wide header in the 44th minute their only chance to do so.

 

We became even more dominant in the second half. Kane was called upon to catch a Hicks header just moments after the restart, and then tip over Victor Dam's drive in the 54th minute. Four minutes after that, another rough tackle on Starbuck resulted in a yellow card for Dagenham midfielder Troy Hands. Troy then made amends by heading away the subsequent free-kick from Jerome.

 

That was about as close as Morecambe would get to our goal in the half. By the 68th minute, we were miles clear of our Lancastrian opponents. Davis' interception from a Tim Beech cross was not an effective one, as Victor headed the ball back towards goal. On the receiving end was Hicks, who turned past Shrimps full-back Billy Grant and bent home a shot from a difficult angle. That made it three goals for Max, and three easy points for the Daggers!

 

Hicks immediately came off to a rapturous reception after sealing his hat-trick. On 72 minutes, his replacement Roy Ganfield came within inches of adding our fourth goal to our haul. Three minutes later, Dean Martin was kept off the scoresheet by another fine fingertip save from Kane, who was arguably the main reason why the final score was only 3-0. On another day, there could well have been a bloodbath.

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 3 (Hicks 17,31,68)

Morecambe - 0

League One, Attendance 5,872 - POSITIONS: Dag & Red 1st, Morecambe 15th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Ryan, Beech, Dalton, Ashton, O'Reilly (Hopkins), Harding, Barnes, Hands (Martin), Dam, West, Hicks (Ganfield). BOOKED: Barnes, Hands.

 

Thanks to Scunthorpe United's 3-1 loss at Colchester United, we now have a seven-point lead at the top! We are also 11 points clear of both Colchester and Ipswich Town, who drew with Portsmouth after suffering a shock defeat in midweek to AFC Telford United. All in all, we were looking well placed for promotion!

 

The month ended on more highs, as defenders Gavin Dalton and Daniel O'Reilly each committed their long-term futures to Dagenham by signing new contracts until 2032. I was particularly delighted to keep hold of Dalton, as he had just five months left on his previous deal and was attracting strong interest from Plymouth Argyle.

 

As Kenny Rydeheard's three-month loan from Leeds United came to an end, we welcomed back three Daggers who had spent the last six months playing in the Conference Premier. Gianluca Cecere and Zac Johnson really struggled on loan at Crawley Town and Farnborough respectively, but Joel Honeyball scored an impressive 13 goals in just 26 matches for Burton Albion.

 

There were no more incomings and outgoings before the transfer window slammed shut for the season. Jonathan Roche was the subject of loan offers from a couple of League Two clubs, but after failing to find a permanent buyer, I decided that Jonny could stay put - for now, at least.

[CFuller]

League One Table (End of January 2029)

                                   P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS
1.          Dag & Red              33    18    10    5     49    25    +24   64
2.          Scunthorpe             33    17    6     10    57    45    +12   57
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.          Colchester             33    16    5     12    55    42    +13   53
4.          Ipswich                33    15    8     10    48    38    +10   53
5.          Barnsley               33    15    7     11    59    43    +16   52
6.          Notts County           33    15    7     11    38    39    -1    52
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7.          Northampton            33    14    8     11    35    34    +1    50
8.          Portsmouth             33    12    12    9     45    36    +9    48
9.          Rochdale               32    12    12    8     41    33    +8    48
10.         Tranmere               33    12    11    10    45    41    +4    47
11.         Bradford               33    12    9     12    47    44    +3    45
12.         Fleetwood              33    13    6     14    42    40    +2    45
13.         Luton                  32    12    9     11    41    40    +1    45
14.         Oldham                 33    13    6     14    33    36    -3    45
15.         Morecambe              33    11    11    11    41    35    +6    44
16.         Charlton               33    12    8     13    43    46    -3    44
17.         Sheff Wed              33    12    7     14    50    40    +10   43
18.         Rotherham              33    12    7     14    45    46    -1    43
19.         Dartford               33    11    7     15    36    54    -18   40
20.         Oxford                 33    10    9     14    33    42    -9    39
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
21.         Shrewsbury             33    8     11    14    32    40    -8    35
22.         Chesterfield           33    10    5     18    39    57    -18   35
23.         Gillingham             33    8     9     16    36    53    -17   33
24.         AFC Telford            33    7     6     20    29    70    -41   27

[CFuller]

FEBRUARY 2029

I was surprised to be named as League One's Manager of the Month for January, not least because we'd dropped points at home against Rochdale and Ipswich Town. That being said, it's always nice to receive an award, and it filled me with more confidence going into February.

 

We looked to continue our strong start to the calendar year at Prenton Park against Tranmere Rovers. The Merseyside club were challenging for a play-off place in their first season back in League One.

 

3 February 2029: Tranmere Rovers vs Dagenham & Redbridge

Mark West had a couple of chances to strike first blood in the opening minutes. Our captain blazed a long-ranger wide in the second minute, and then burst through in the sixth after a mistake from Tranmere skipper Conor Ogilivie. Unfortunately, Mark's drive was kept out by a fine low save from Steven O'Brien.

 

After those early scares, Tranmere upped the tempo and began to take the game to us. The wonderfully-named West Bromwich Albion loanee Simba McCormack snatched at a decent opening on 17 minutes. Rovers also won a number of corners, such as in the 21st minute, when Sam Brookbanks' strike was deflected behind off Gavin Dalton. Tranmere couldn't score from that, although Shaun Creaney did put a shot into the side netting a minute later.

 

We launched a quick attack from Daryl Ryan's subsequent goal kick, and when Dean Martin found Max Hicks' run into the area, the away fans held their breaths. O'Brien charged off his line, but it was in vain, as Max powered home the opening goal for Dagenham!

 

We then drastically slowed down the tempo to disrupt Tranmere's flow further and waited for an opportunity to hit them on the break. Our moment would come after 33 minutes, when West dispossessed McCormack and pumped a long ball ahead of Hicks. Max dribbled towards the right flank and then suddenly jinked inside before firing another bullet past O'Brien!

 

We now led 2-0... but there was still more to come! Three minutes from half-time, Benjamin Ashton cleared a McCormack cross to Hicks, who cushioned a header to Martin. Dean played the ball through to West, who took it up the flank as Hicks made his way into the penalty area. When Max was ready, Mark cut the ball towards his strike partner... and you can figure out the rest. Hicks had scored three goals from three shots, and he'd wrapped up his second hat-trick in a row! Talk about being clinical!

 

Tranmere were determined to reduce their 3-0 deficit early in the second half, and striker Graham Beech almost did that moments after the resumption. Ryan pushed his shot away superbly, and he then caught a couple of headers from Rovers defender John De Waele in the 49th and 50th minutes. An increasingly frustrated Tranmere side failed to get close again until the 67th minute, when Nicky Thompson's free-kick was flicked wide by De Waele.

 

On 70 minutes, West was unlucky to head Daniel O'Reilly's cross inches over the bar. Mark's inability to kill the game off could have been more significant had Ryan not made a tremendous save from Beech two minutes later. Not long after that, I subbed both Mark and Max to give Roy Ganfield and the returning Joel Honeyball some game time.

 

In the closing stages, Daryl secured his third clean sheet on the trot by saving late shots from De Waele and veteran midfielder Joe Ralls. It had been a fabulous afternoon all round for us, and it would end on another high after 88 minutes. Daggers vice-captain Tim Beech ran onto a sublime aerial ball from Ganfield and whipped it across to Martin, whose volley completed a resounding 4-0 win - our joint-biggest victory of the season!

 

Tranmere Rovers - 0

Dagenham & Redbridge - 4 (Hicks 23,33,42, Martin 88)

League One, Attendance 6,250 - POSITIONS: Tranmere 12th, Dag & Red 1st

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Ryan, Beech, Dalton, Ashton, Warren (O'Reilly), Harding, Busetto, Hands, Martin, West (Ganfield), Hicks (Honeyball). BOOKED: Dalton.

 

We had a break of just over two weeks before our next match, so that allowed us to do some more intensive training in the meantime.

 

It was almost inevitable that at least one player would get injured during that fortnight of extra training. That player was captain Mark West, who suffered a back strain in weight training. Mark would be out until mid-March, but it wasn't the end of his season.

 

Sadly, it was the end of Roy Ganfield's season when our teenage striker tore his hamstring during a reserve match at Canvey Island. Roy had shown promise in his first campaign with us, scoring four times for the senior side.

 

Scout Chris Lewington gave me some more bad news when he told me that he was accepting an offer to join Swansea City's recruitment team. The £7,000 compensation we got from Swansea was scant consolation. Chris had been a Victoria Road icon during his 13-year goalkeeping career with us, and I expected him to show more loyalty.

 

In other news, Zac Johnson was loaned out to our Isthmian Premier feeder club Dulwich Hamlet until the end of the campaign.

 

After our break, we returned to league action at Meadow Lane against Notts County, who were 14 points behind us in 6th. Significantly, though, the Magpies had gone unbeaten in twelve matches since the start of December.

 

20 February 2029: Notts County vs Dagenham & Redbridge

After exactly a minute's play, in-form Daggers striker Max Hicks fired a free-kick against the Notts County wall. Moments later, Dean Martin drove a long-distance shot into the stands. When Hicks lost the ball with a sloppy pass after seven minutes, Notts County steadily built up their first assault on our goal. The move ended with Magpies captain Gerald Watkins crossing to Tony Nelson, who headed just over.

 

Martin then picked up a groin strain in the 12th minute, though he played on through the rest of the half. Seven minutes after that, an excellent through-ball from Max found Troy Hands, who tried to chip Magpies keeper Steve Doswell from the edge of the area. Unluckily, Troy's effort struck the crossbar, and Liam Simpson scrambled away the danger for County.

 

The hosts would later win four corners midway through the half... and they scored from the last of them. In the 27th minute, Warren Hilton nodded Vojislav Damjanovic's delivery forward to Simpson, who scuffed it over the goal line.

 

Daryl Ryan was kicking himself after failing to prevent Notts County from moving in front. He was fortunate not to concede again after 35 minutes, when striker Keith Bell knocked Craig Seeley's cross against the post. Bell had another attempt in the 44th minute, and Ryan was much more assured when it came to catching his header.

 

Notts County's inability to move two goals clear would come back to haunt them in added-on time. Martin battled through the pain to pass to Hicks, who turned past Watkins and drove home his seventh goal in two-and-a-half matches!

 

The second half began quietly, with Notts County having the first chance to score their second goal in the 57th minute. Scotland international Seeley's attempt sailed over the bar. Hicks was also off the mark with our first effort in the 63rd minute, although Hands did trouble Doswell from 20 yards about a minute later.

 

Aside from a free-kick that substitute William Barnes floated narrowly over after 80 minutes, we would not again get close to taking all three points home. With County's midfielders - the sublime Damjanovic in particular - dominating the show with pinpoint passes, it would have taken a really special performance to upset the Magpies. The home side couldn't quite get the win, though, as Nelson and then Sam Morley fired shots off target late on.

 

Despite the draw, our lead at the top actually increased to eight points after Scunthorpe United were beaten at home by Rotherham. That said, we were now only nine points ahead of Colchester United and Ipswich Town, who each won their games to move closer to the automatic promotion places.

 

Notts County - 1 (Simpson 27)

Dagenham & Redbridge - 1 (Hicks 45)

League One, Attendance 5,691 - POSITIONS: Notts County 7th, Dag & Red 1st

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Ryan, Beech, Charles, Dalton, O'Reilly (Hopkins), Harding, Warren, Hands (Barnes), Martin (Honeyball), Pert, Hicks.

 

Dean Martin's groin strain would rule him out of contention for around three weeks.

 

We were back at home four days later for a match that we really had to win. Gillingham were second-from-bottom and winless in five games, so failure to beat them would be embarrassing, not to mention potentially damaging.

 

24 February 2029: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Gillingham

The last thing we wanted was for Gillingham to get their tails up early. That was precisely what happened after four minutes, when ex-Portsmouth striker Lewis Hayes drove home his 17th goal of the season for the Gills.

 

Even so, it wasn't a disaster, and we responded brightly to adversity. Two minutes after we fell behind, Ollie Pert's attempt to draw us level was parried by goalkeeper Jonathan Flatt. A 15th-minute effort from Joel Honeyball was well blocked by Gills right-back Jamie Baker.

 

On 19 minutes, Joel decided to take matters firmly into his own hands. Honeyball received a pass from Daniel O'Reilly just inside the Gillingham half, and after initially cutting inside, he moved into a clear channel and advanced towards goal. Once Joel had only Flatt left to beat, he slipped a left-footer past the veteran goalie and scored his first goal for Dagenham this term!

 

Honeyball had put us level at 1-1, and Daryl Ryan kept it that way in the 22nd minute with a comfortable save from Hayes. On 30 minutes, Flatt produced some fine goalkeeping of his own to parry a volley from O'Reilly. Honeyball reached the loose ball and outwitted a couple of Gills to deliver a cross to Tim Beech, who headed inches wide.

 

Although we were seemingly in control and favourites to score the next goal, some nervous tackling just before half-time resulted in yellow cards for William Barnes and Troy Hands. Barnes was looking particularly anxious, so at the break, I brought on Matt Warren to take his place in midfield.

 

The second half also saw an early goal, and not surprisingly, it was us who scored it after 53 minutes. Gillingham captain Ellis Chant may have knocked Honeyball's centre away from O'Reilly, but he was powerless to stop Hands from floating a follow-up cross towards the six-yard box. Pert rose strongly to power in a header that the diving Flatt couldn't quite get to in time. As well as giving us a 2-1 lead, Ollie had broken his goalscoring duck for the Daggers' senior side this season.

 

Pert couldn't find the target again with his next three attempts - all from outside the area - but it looked for all the world that we would ultimately cruise to victory. After 72 minutes, I threw on Max Hicks in an attempt to keep his scoring run going and kill the game off. He wouldn't be on the pitch for long.

 

Four minutes after Max's introduction, fellow substitute Warren hacked down Chant with a late challenge in the middle of the park. Matt knew almost straight away that he was going to be sent off, and sure enough, the referee's red card confirmed that we were down to 10 men. Warren trudged off in disgrace, and Hicks came off as well, with Victor Dam sent on to fill the gap left in midfield.

 

Against a side that wasn't floundering at the wrong end of the table, going a man down might've been fatal, but even having an extra player couldn't get the Gills going. Gillingham would only have one shot at goal after the dismissal - an awful 77th-minute strike from Hayes that swerved so ridiculously wide, it went out of play for a throw-in! Warren could thank his lucky stars at the final whistle that his moment of madness hadn't cost us two points, let alone all three.

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 2 (Honeyball 19, Pert 53)

Gillingham - 1 (Hayes 4)

League One, Attendance 5,798 - POSITIONS: Dag & Red 1st, Gillingham 23rd

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Ryan, Charles, Dalton, Ashton, Beech, O'Reilly, Harding, Barnes (Warren), Honeyball, Pert, Hands (Hicks (Dam)). BOOKED: Barnes, Hands. SENT OFF: Warren.

 

Incredibly, Matt Warren's red card was the first we had received in any match since September 2024. Matt was very apologetic at full-time, and he accepted a three-match ban from the Football League as well as a fine of one week's wages from me.

 

As things stand, with ten games to play, we are eight points clear of Scunthorpe United, and nine clear of both Colchester United and Ipswich Town. The title will be in our hands if we can stay strong and keep pushing on.

[CFuller]

MARCH 2029

March began with the appointment of a new scout at Dagenham & Redbridge. 40-year-old Tomi Ameobi is one of the younger brothers of former Newcastle United cult icon Shola Ameobi. Tomi spent most of his playing career as a striker in Iceland, and his knowledge of Nordic football might help us to unearth some Scandinavian talents in the future.

 

Our first match of the month was at the Proact Stadium against Chesterfield, who were struggling in 22nd place. We went into this game without Tim Beech after our vice-captain damaged his heel in training.

 

3 March 2029: Chesterfield vs Dagenham & Redbridge

The pressure of battling relegation was clearly affecting Chesterfield. Barely two minutes into the match, defender Glenn Pigden made a right pig's ear of a back-pass. His sloppy pass was gobbled up by Joel Honeyball, who raced past the onrushing keeper Drey Blackburn and fired into a clear goal!

 

I didn't expect that... and I also didn't expect the Spireites to respond so quickly. They'd only been behind from two minutes when a powerful strike from Northern Ireland midfielder Eamon McGimpsey levelled the scores.

 

The game almost saw yet another early goal when, after nine minutes, Dagenham midfielder Victor Dam's free-kick was tipped over the bar by Blackburn. That won us the first of several corners over the next ten minutes. Chesterfield also got themselves a few corners. One such set-piece from Felix Tetteh in the 16th minute found Spireites defender Alex Coleman, whose header was dramatically turned over by Daryl Ryan.

 

This was such an open game that a third goal was to be expected, and I was delighted when we scored it after 26 minutes. Ollie Pert ran onto Honeyball's flick-on and restored our advantage with a tidy finish.

 

Three minutes later, right-back Dan Plummer was unlucky not to send us further in front. Two more minutes passed, and then we did move 3-1 ahead through a typical Daggers counter-attack. A killer lob from Victor found Ollie, who dribbled past another desperate charge from Blackburn and gave us clear daylight!

 

Blackburn made amends somewhat by catching a free-kick from William Barnes on the stroke of half-time. However, some chaotic Chesterfield defending seemed to have sent the Spireites spiralling out of control.

 

Although Honeyball and Pert were way off target with their first attempts of the second half, it wouldn't be too long before one of them found their shooting boots again. Daggers left-back Marc Hopkins marked his first league start of the season with a sublime weighted ball across the Chesterfield goalmouth to Ollie, who volleyed it home! Pert had netted a hat-trick, and at 4-1 up, we were surely going to win comfortably.

 

Less than a minute later, Spireites skipper Nathan Ricketts-Hopkinson threw a spanner in the works with a lightning-quick riposte. That made it 4-2, and when Tetteh made a run for goal in the 61st minute, our fans must've feared that we'd lose another chunk of our lead. They were very much relieved, then, to see the winger's shot go wayward.

 

Tetteh would soon be replaced by Max Pritchard, who was on the pitch for barely a minute when he was cut down by a strong tackle from Benjamin Ashton. It was clear almost straight away from Pritchard's piercing scream that he was very badly injured. There was a lengthy delay as Pritchard was carefully placed onto a stretcher and taken off with what sadly would later be confirmed as a broken leg.

 

Chesterfield's players were visibly shaken by what had happened to their colleague, and they seemed unable to regain their composure for the final 20 minutes. Inevitably, they conceded yet again in the 78th minute. Joel tackled Coleman near the byline and crossed to Victor, whose half-volley secured the win for Dagenham. After missing several chances to add a sixth goal, we settled for a 5-2 scoreline.

 

Chesterfield - 2 (McGimpsey 5, Ricketts-Hopkinson 59)

Dagenham & Redbridge - 5 (Honeyball 3, Pert 26,31,58, Dam 78)

League One, Attendance 6,807 - POSITIONS: Chesterfield 23rd, Dag & Red 1st

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Ryan, Plummer (Charles), Dalton, Ashton, Hopkins, Barnes, Busetto, Hands (Harding), Dam, Pert, Honeyball (Flood).

 

A high-scoring victory meant that our confidence remained high going into what was possibly the toughest home game we had still to play this season. We hadn't even scored in our previous three meetings with Portsmouth, let alone beaten them. Would the play-off chasers shut us out again?

 

6 March 2029: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Portsmouth

We knew from previous encounters just how dangerous Portsmouth's captain Stevie Finnie could be on the right wing. It came as a massive relief, then, to see Finnie limp off just 12 minutes into this game. The Scot gashed his leg in a clash with Daggers left-back Daniel O'Reilly in our area and couldn't continue. Another injury concern for Pompey emerged six minutes later, when their midfielder Tom Mowthorpe was hurt in a tackle from our own Geraint Harding. Unlike Finnie, Mowthorpe was able to carry on.

 

With Pompey struggling a little bit, we tried to take control with a couple of attempts on goal. Ollie Pert headed Dan Plummer's cross into the hands of goalkeeper Fabian Spiess after 22 minutes. On 30 minutes, Victor Dam drove wide an effort from just outside the area. Four minutes after that, Pert went from potential hero to zero. The big Geordie barged into the back of Pompey's Nigel Leary in our area, gifting the visitors a penalty. Michael Wright made no mistake from the spot, and we were 1-0 down.

 

Some more rough play from Dagenham before half-time resulted in a 13th booking of the season for William Barnes. If we didn't improve our discipline after the restart, we would surely lose - and perhaps by a bigger margin.

 

Early in the second half, it became clear that our discipline wasn't the only thing we were failing to control. Pert and Dam both went wide with a couple of poor shots before the hour mark. Dam did make a more positive impact in the 63rd minute by blocking a strike from Pompey's Welsh midfielder Wright.

 

That was a rare attacking foray from a Portsmouth side who seemed content to grind out a 1-0 win. After 74 minutes, though, they paid the price for sitting too deep and being too conservative. Daggers substitute Alex Busetto played a fabulous long ball from the halfway line to Pert in the penalty area. Ollie's header looped over Pompey defender Rob Cox and Spiess and bounced in off the bar!

 

At 1-1, the game was surely ours to win... but four minutes later, we lost our composure again. Gareth Flood committed a clumsy foul on Mowthorpe after the 21-year-old tried to turn past him. Mowthorpe appeared to be in more distress, but he quickly lofted the free-kick forward to Cox, who fired a close-range effort over a flailing Daryl Ryan. 2-1 to Portsmouth.

 

We would only have one opportunity to get back on level terms after that, and Joel Honeyball volleyed it skyward in the 89th minute. Our six-game unbeaten sequence was over, but not before a stunning injury-time save by Ryan prevented Pompey's Michael Pearce from inflicting more pain.

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 1 (Pert 74)

Portsmouth - 2 (Wright pen34, Cox 78)

League One, Attendance 5,439 - POSITIONS: Dag & Red 1st, Portsmouth 6th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Ryan, Plummer, Charles, Dalton (Roche), O'Reilly, Harding, Barnes (Busetto), Hands (Flood), Dam, Pert, Honeyball. BOOKED: Barnes.

 

We'd suffered only our second defeat at home this season, and Colchester United had taken advantage, moving to within six points of the lead. Was this the beginning of 'the choke'?

[CFuller]

MARCH 2029 (continued)

We welcomed back one key player for our trip to Scunthorpe United, only to quickly lose another. Captain Mark West had just returned from a back strain when centre-back Josh Charles picked up a sports hernia, putting him on the sidelines for three weeks.

 

The match at Glanford Park was potentially a very important one. Scunthorpe were 10 points behind us in 4th place, so a victory for us would all but put the title out of Scunny's reach. At this stage of the season, it would certainly help if we had as few close rivals as possible.

 

10 March 2029: Scunthorpe United vs Dagenham & Redbridge

We made an encouraging start, with Max Hicks nodding a Dan Plummer cross into Scunthorpe keeper Angus Gunn's hands after four minutes. Gunn also kept out a Victor Dam strike in the 15th minute, shortly after Daggers goalie Daryl Ryan produced a save of his own from Robin Gould.

 

Scunthorpe's next few efforts did not give Daryl too much grief. Captain Steve Anderson and striker Danny Higgins each missed a couple of long shots before the hour mark. While the Iron weren't getting an awful lot of shots on target, they were keeping the ball very well and forcing us to close them down more.

 

Our defence started to strain after 43 minutes, when Ryan made heavy work of a swerver from Gould. Plummer cleared the ball into touch, but the threat was still there. As quickly as Stuart Kerr threw the ball back into play, Geraint Harding headed it behind the byline for a Scunthorpe corner. It was from there that Scunny finally broke through, with Higgins half-volleying in Anderson's delivery to the near post. That was Higgins' 21st league goal of the season, though his first in nearly two months, and it put the Iron 1-0 up at half-time.

 

If I thought an angry half-time talk would get us fired up for the second period, I would prove to be very wrong. Scunthorpe flew out of the traps, scoring a second goal inside the first minute. Tommy Ellis' left-wing cross was perfect for Higgins, whose header Daryl could only palm into the net.

 

Ryan was not having a good game, but his Iron counterpart certainly was. On 52 minutes, Gunn produced a superb fingertip save to divert returning Dagenham skipper Mark West's piledriver over the bar.

 

As Gunn continued to keep us at bay, his team-mates looked to fire more holes into our Josh Charles-less defence. Although we largely restricted Scunthorpe to shooting from distance, they did occasionally break into our penalty box. After 73 minutes, an incisive first-time pass from Mike Smith found Anderson, whose wicked low bender was turned away by Ryan. Daryl showed more of what he could do in the 78th minute, when his acrobatic save prevented Higgins from heading in a hat-trick goal.

 

There would, though, be an inevitable third goal for Scunny. As our defence pushed further up in the 82nd minute, Higgins rounded off a virtuoso display with a fantastic weighted pass to Anderson. The midfielder struck the post, but Smith finished off the rebound to complete a 3-0 home win.

 

As if suffering back-to-back defeats for the first time this season didn't anger me enough, other results went very much against us. Colchester United drew and Ipswich Town won, meaning that they both moved five points behind us. Forget the title - now our automatic promotion place was under serious threat!

 

Scunthorpe United - 3 (Higgins 44,46, Smith 82)

Dagenham & Redbridge - 0

League One, Attendance 8,854 - POSITIONS: Scunthorpe 4th, Dag & Red 1st

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Ryan, Ashton, Dalton, Busetto, Plummer, O'Reilly, Harding, Barnes (Scott), Dam (Green), Pert (West), Hicks. BOOKED: Scott.

 

There was even more misery to come from that particular tale of woe. Geraint Harding was forced off seven minutes from full-time with a recurrence of his groin strain, and he would not play again this month. Neither would Matt Warren, who injured his thigh in training, just as he was about to return from suspension.

 

Some of my optimism returned when I assessed this year's youth intake. After a trial match, I signed up goalkeeper Colin Glasgow, centre-back George Darvill, left wing-back Jonathan Butterfield, right-winger Nigel Atta and striker Derek Wright to youth contracts. I was particularly excited about 15-year-old local boy George's potential.

 

Could the senior side get me feeling more hopeful about our promotion chances after the next game? We were hosting 8th-placed Luton Town, who were steadily creeping up towards the play-off spots.

 

17 March 2029: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Luton Town

After three minutes, Mark West got his head to a long ball from Jonathan Roche and fired a volley at goal. Unluckily, captain Mark sent it just wide. Roche was involved in creating another chance in the fifth minute. Jonny's corner found the head of Alex Busetto, whose effort was caught by Luton goalie Brandon Turner.

 

Ashley Douglas miscued the Hatters' first attempt at goal in the 9th minute, and the shooting at both ends continued to worsen. West in particular was a long way off his best. Of Mark's five attempts on goal in the first half, only one was on target. That was a header from just inside the Luton area in the 42nd minute, and Turner didn't have to do much to catch it.

 

The Hatters threatened to hit us on the break two minutes from time, when Ashley Douglas crossed towards Tom McInnes in our box. Left-back Marc Hopkins saved the day for us by hacking the ball behind before McInnes could reach it. Marc was one of three Daggers to be booked in a very tense first half that also saw goalkeeper Kobe Nuyts save a couple of shots from Douglas.

 

I made two substitutions at the break, and one of the players I brought on set up a decent opportunity for West in the 58th minute. Dean Martin laid the ball forward to Mark on the edge of the 'D', but our skipper was still unsuccessful in his attempts to break the deadlock. Dean went closer in the 63rd minute, as Turner had to block the young midfielder's low drive with his left leg. That was followed by another Luton breakaway, from which Douglas forced Nuyts into a third save.

 

This may have been Kobe's first league game since August, but he certainly vindicated my decision to pick him ahead of the out-of-form Daryl Ryan. The Belgian wouldn't let any Hatters shots pass through, and Turner was just as determined to keep his sheet clean. Roche's 75th-minute bullet was arguably our best chance to take the points, but Turner's fingertips shut him - and us - out. Another lacklustre 0-0 draw was on the menu.

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 0

Luton Town - 0

League One, Attendance 5,782 - POSITIONS: Dag & Red 1st, Luton 7th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Nuyts, Beech, Busetto, Ashton (S Johnson), Hopkins, Roche, Barnes, Hands, Flood, West (Pert), Honeyball (Martin). BOOKED: Ashton, Barnes, Hopkins, Flood.

 

Colchester's recent spurt continued with a 3-0 win at Rochdale that saw them close to within three points of us. Another victory for Scunthorpe United left them just five adrift, although Ipswich fell another point behind after a surprise defeat at Oldham Athletic.

 

With six rounds to go, we now had three teams ready and waiting to knock us off top spot:

 

                                   P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS
1.          Dag & Red              40    21    12    7     62    34    +28   75
2.          Colchester             40    22    6     12    72    46    +26   72
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.          Scunthorpe             40    21    7     12    67    52    +15   70
4.          Ipswich                40    20    9     11    63    41    +22   69

 

Squeaky-bum time.

[CFuller]

MARCH 2029 (continued)

We went into our penultimate home game of the league season firmly under pressure. Just a few weeks earlier, we had been as many as 11 points clear of 3rd place. That gap was now down to five, and with our closest rivals fast catching up, there was a real chance that we'd miss out on automatic promotion again.

 

Looking to strike another blow to our title ambitions at Victoria Road were Fleetwood Town. Some shaky post-Christmas form had seen Fleetwood drop to 15th, and they were now battling to avoid being dragged into a relegation scrap.

 

24 March 2029: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Fleetwood Town

Having won just one point from our last three games, it wasn't surprising that we made an anxious start to this match. Gavin Dalton and Victor Dam both blasted shots off target in the first four minutes. Fleetwood's own lack of confidence was also evident as they took a while to get going. After 22 minutes, winger Thomas Summerfield drilled a cross back to midfielder Augustine Agu, who hammered a shot at goal. Dagenham goalie Kobe Nuyts did brilliantly to push it away.

 

Another Fleetwood midfielder - Billy Tagg - collided with Victor Dam mid-air in the 30th minute and was badly hurt. Play carried on, though, and we launched a counter-attack that resulted in Mark West's low strike being saved by Town keeper Stuart Moore. Tagg had to come off as a result of his injury, but that didn't affect the Cod Army too much - at first.

 

In the 35th minute, right-winger Yavuz Serifoglu floated an excellent cross to striker Jeff Holloway, whose volley struck Kobe's right-hand post! Holloway would come to rue that miss three minutes later. West played a one-two with Dam and then dinked a delicate shot over Moore to bag his long-awaited 15th goal of the season! Had that opening goal brought our mojo back?

 

Although centre-back Benjamin Ashton was booked early in the second period for barging into Holloway, we started that period much brighter than we'd started the first. West was very unlucky not to score again in the 48th minute, striking the post from a deflected Matthew Fraser cross.

 

It had been a relatively quiet afternoon for Mark's strike partner Max Hicks, who finally came alive after 58 minutes. His slide-rule pass to Victor was powered home by the great Dane, and we had ourselves a two-goal cushion!

 

From that point onwards, we looked very comfortable. Moore had to limit the Fleetwood damage by pushing away a couple of vicious strikes from Gavin and Max in the 61st and 65th minutes. In between those saves came a rare half-chance for Benji, who flicked Fraser's corner inches wide.

 

Matthew ran the show from midfield, completing an incredible 107 passes, and he also had our last chance to increase our winning margin. That was a free-kick in the 83rd minute, which flew safely into Moore's grasp. Nuyts had a fairly quiet half in our goal, and the Belgian secured a second straight clean sheet without needing to do a great deal of work.

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 2 (West 38, Dam 58)

Fleetwood Town - 0

League One, Attendance 6,077 - POSITIONS: Dag & Red 1st, Fleetwood 16th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Nuyts, Beech, Busetto, Ashton, O'Reilly (Hopkins), Dalton, Fraser, Martin (Honeyball), Dam, West (Pert), Hicks. BOOKED: Ashton.

 

I was certainly pleased that we'd returned to winning days... but I wasn't exactly delighted when I looked up the other results. Colchester United scored a 91st-minute winner against Oxford United, while Scunthorpe United and Ipswich Town both came from behind to win their games. Those results meant that, although we were now certain to finish in the top six, we were actually no better off than we had been at the start of play.

 

Colchester were also in action in midweek, because of their involvement in the Football League Trophy Final the following weekend. Some better news came out of that, as our Essex foes lost 2-1 at Morecambe, thus giving us a little more leeway.

 

The loan window closed shortly after that... but I was able to get one final deal through before the end of business. Thanasis Iordanidis - a 29-year-old Greek defensive midfielder - arrived on loan from Derby County for what was left of this campaign.

 

Incidentally, I should add that Max Hicks will definitely be staying with us for at least another season. After making his 25th league appearance of the season against Fleetwood, Max was entitled to an automatic renewal of his initial 12-month contract.

 

Max didn't play in our next match at Bradford City. Instead, I chose to rest him - and several other players - for the Easter Monday trip to Northampton Town. Those who did come into our starting XI included new loanee Thanasis and teenage centre-back Shaun Johnson, who made his full league debut.

 

31 March 2029: Bradford City vs Dagenham & Redbridge

A quickfire start saw plenty of chances for Dagenham captain Mark West to strike. He had one shot blocked by Bradford midfielder Michael Wallace in the 6th minute, and another saved by goalkeeper Matty Miller in the 7th. Mark did beat Miller with a fierce 20-yarder a minute later, but he unfortunately struck the underside of the bar. More disappointment was to come West's way after 11 minutes, when Miller saved his banana shot.

 

Bradford finally got a chance to attack us on 13 minutes, but Gareth Hyland cleared the bar. Five minutes after that, the Bantams' defence finally gave way. Daniel O'Reilly drilled a cross to Joel Honeyball, who struck an incisive finish from a difficult angle.

 

A 1-0 Daggers lead almost became 2-0 after 20 minutes. Joel followed up a promising solo dribble with a disappointing shot, although he would soon get another chance to double his tally. In the 27th minute, an excellent block tackle from debutant Thanasis Iordanidis on Bradford striker Robbie Cummins set the wheels in motions for another trademark Dagenham counter-attack. Matthew Fraser and then West quickly moved the ball forward before Honeyball raced clear and tucked in his second goal!

 

The Bantams really needed a quick response. On 30 minutes, Wallace's hanging-ball corner found Hyland, whose header was tipped behind by Kobe Nuyts! That proved to be City's best chance in a half that we almost completely dominated.

 

We nearly claimed a third goal in the 36th minute, as Joel repaid Mark for his earlier assist with a defence-splitting pass to the skipper, who pulled it just past the post. We still led 2-0 at half-time, but that lead could have been a bit more emphatic.

 

Bradford finally made us sweat nine minutes into the second period. Hyland's cross deflected off Fraser and looped to Jamie Graham, who beat a bunch of Daggers players to head it home. However, the referee refused to allow the goal, saying that Graham had fouled one of our defenders in the process.

 

The ref made another big call against the Bantams two minutes later. Dagenham centre-back Benjamin Ashton slid the ball off Graham and clipped the striker's ankle just as he was about to tap in Hyland's left-wing delivery. Bradford cried for a penalty against Ashton, but the officials allowed play to continue.

 

The hosts' frustration kept on growing, with Daggers vice-captain Tim Beech nodding Daniel Jepson's cross away from goal after 72 minutes. Shortly before that point, Ollie Pert - a half-time substitute for West - had been denied our third goal by a brilliant save from Miller.

 

Ollie made another run for goal in the 77th minute after collecting a long ball from Shaun Johnson, who excelled in his first full league game. Pert cut inside and entered the area, where City left-back Jon Tolley hacked him down. The ref awarded us a penalty, and one young man was especially keen to take it. Joel stepped up and confidently slotted home the spot-kick, thus clinching his hat-trick!

 

Bradford did pull a goal back almost straight away through Hyland's volley from a deep Lloyd Beasley cross. By then, though, the game was already out of their reach. We were another three points closer to promotion!

 

Bradford City - 1 (Hyland 79)

Dagenham & Redbridge - 3 (Honeyball 18,27,pen77)

League One, Attendance 12,516 - POSITIONS: Bradford 14th, Dag & Red 1st

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Nuyts, S Johnson, Dalton, Ashton, Beech (Plummer), O'Reilly, Iordanidis, Fraser (Bailey), Dam, West (Pert), Honeyball.

 

Despite battling back from 2-0 behind, 3rd-placed Scunthorpe United could only draw 2-2 at Northampton Town. The upshot of that is that we are now seven points clear of Scunthorpe, and six ahead of Colchester United, with just four matches to play.

 

Dare we dream of the Championship now?

[CFuller]

League One Table (End of March 2029)

                                   P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS
1.    Pl    Dag & Red              42    23    12    7     67    35    +32   81
2.          Colchester             42    23    6     13    75    49    +26   75
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.          Scunthorpe             42    22    8     12    72    56    +16   74
4.          Ipswich                41    21    9     11    65    42    +23   72
5.          Notts County           42    19    9     14    52    52    0     66
6.          Barnsley               42    18    9     15    69    57    +12   63
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7.          Tranmere               42    17    12    13    60    53    +7    63
8.          Oldham                 42    18    9     15    49    46    +3    63
9.          Luton                  42    16    14    12    57    51    +6    62
10.         Portsmouth             42    15    16    11    54    46    +8    61
11.         Northampton            42    17    10    15    53    50    +3    61
12.         Rochdale               42    15    15    12    50    44    +6    60
13.         Rotherham              42    16    9     17    58    55    +3    57
14.         Bradford               42    15    9     18    63    63    0     54
15.         Sheff Wed              42    14    11    17    66    56    +10   53
16.         Dartford               42    14    11    17    45    65    -20   53
17.         Fleetwood              41    14    10    17    48    51    -3    52
18.         Morecambe              42    12    15    15    49    48    +1    51
19.         Charlton               42    14    9     19    52    60    -8    51
20.         Oxford                 42    12    11    19    47    61    -14   47
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
21.         Chesterfield           42    13    7     22    56    80    -24   46
22.         Gillingham             42    10    12    20    45    65    -20   42
23.         Shrewsbury             42    9     14    19    43    59    -16   41
24.   R     AFC Telford            42    9     7     26    38    89    -51   34

[CFuller]

APRIL 2029

Four teams remained in the hunt for the League One title as the season reached its climax. While we led the other contenders by at least six points, we didn't have the easiest run-in. Then again, neither did our rivals.

 

Dagenham & Redbridge's run-in

2 April: vs Northampton Town (A), 7 April: vs Dartford (H),

14 April: vs Barnsley (A), 21 April: vs Charlton Athletic (A)

 

Colchester United's run-in

7 April: vs Gillingham (H), 11 April: vs Ipswich Town (A),

14 April: vs Luton Town (H), 21 April: vs Portsmouth (A)

 

Scunthorpe United's run-in

2 April: vs Sheffield Wednesday (A), 7 April: vs AFC Telford United (H),

14 April: vs Ipswich Town (H), 21 April: vs Rochdale (A)

 

Ipswich Town's run-in

2 April: vs Tranmere Rovers (H), 7 April: vs Notts County (A), 11 April: vs Colchester United (H),

14 April: vs Scunthorpe United (A), 21 April: vs Chesterfield (H)

 

This was potentially the most important month in the club's history, and it began with an away game at Northampton Town. The Cobblers were among several teams scrapping for a place in the play-offs.

 

2 April 2029: Northampton Town vs Dagenham & Redbridge

Neither team went particularly close to breaking the deadlock in a tense opening 25 minutes. There were, however, quite a few fouls committed by both sides. One such foul from Dagenham's William Barnes after almost exactly 25 minutes resulted in the game's first shot at goal. Oscar Brown's free-kick for Northampton was turned behind by Daggers goalkeeper Daryl Ryan, who conceded a corner.

 

A string of Daggers interceptions dispelled the Cobblers, and we looked to hit them on the break. That move broke down prematurely when Northampton right-back Paul Lawlor headed away Dan Plummer's cross. Geraint Harding tried to get us going again, but when his pass to Marc Hopkins was cut out by Cobblers winger Sol Mackey, the hosts countered our counter-attack. Mackey played a long ball through space to Billy Quinn, whose cross deflected off Daggers defender Gavin Dalton before being volleyed in by Wayne Bruce. After 27 minutes, it was 1-0 to Northampton.

 

Quinn could've followed up his assist with another goal a minute later, but his diving header went wide. Max Hicks also failed to keep his header on target for Dagenham in the 42nd minute, and so we remained behind at the break. Had our promotion jitters returned?

 

Quinn fired high and wide a chance to give the Cobblers a 2-0 lead after 52 minutes. After 58, Hicks spurned an opportunity to level at 1-1, as he met right wing-back Plummer's deep cross with a poor headed connection. Two minutes later, our other wing-back Hopkins chipped a ball to the six-yard box. Ollie Pert tried to slide it home... but Gareth O'Connell's quick reflexes kept the ball out of his net.

 

The pressure was steadily increasing on Northampton, who had both Mackey and Quinn booked within minutes. On 66 minutes, though, an awful pass from our young midfielder Dean Martin led to another Cobblers counterstrike. Wingers Mackey and Quinn were once again at the forefront, with the latter's low drive from the former's incisive pass being turned away by Ryan.

 

We then had a couple of poor misses from Victor Dam, who'd replaced the ineffective Martin, and Pert, who was subsequently benched in favour of Mark West. I'd already made all three of my substitutions, so I was a little concerned when defender Alex Busetto sustained a knock in the 79th minute. Thankfully, Alex was able to play on.

 

Two minutes after that, Northampton midfielder Mark Goodacre was on the wrong end of a strong tackle from William Barnes. Goodacre couldn't continue, and as the Cobblers had also used all their subs, they would have to finish a man light.

 

We pushed further up the pitch to try and force an equaliser, but Geraint Harding's 86th-minute drive, which flew straight at O'Connell, seemed to be the best we could hope for. Then we won a corner in the final minute of normal time.

 

After seeing Harry Maguire intercept his initial delivery, Geraint swung a follow-up cross into the box. Town sub James Betts tried to nod the ball behind, but Hicks was in place to flick it goalwards again. O'Connell fumbled Max's header against his right-hand post and then looked on in horror as the ball bounced across the goal line! We'd been very disappointing and hardly deserved a point, but that last-gasp equaliser was all that mattered to us!

 

Northampton Town - 1 (Bruce 27)

Dagenham & Redbridge - 1 (Hicks 90)

League One, Attendance 7,661 - POSITIONS: Northampton 10th, Dag & Red 1st

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Ryan, Plummer, Busetto, Dalton, Hopkins, Harding, Barnes, Hands (Iordanidis), Martin (Dam), Pert (West), Hicks. BOOKED: Pert.

 

Ipswich Town won 3-0 at home to Tranmere Rovers, while Scunthorpe United lost by the same scoreline against Sheffield Wednesday. Scunny's defeat was significant, because it meant any more slip-ups from them would end their title hopes.

 

It also meant that we could conceivably secure promotion with a win in our final home game against Dartford, who were now guaranteed to avoid relegation. A Daggers victory would send the champagne corks popping at Victoria Road if either Colchester United or Ipswich dropped points in their next games. A draw would also be enough for us if Scunthorpe failed to overcome already-relegated AFC Telford United.

 

We went into the Dartford match without playmaker Matthew Fraser, who had strained his wrist in training. Would his absence prove significant?

 

7 April 2029: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Dartford

Unsurprisingly, Victoria Road was packed to the rafters for a potentially historic match. Mind you, we didn't exactly start off like champions-in-waiting. Captain Mark West sent a poor effort past the post in the second minute, not long after Alun Harding had fired over the bar for Dartford.

 

Both goalkeepers would soon face their first real tests. After a tad over 10 minutes, Dagenham's Daryl Ryan made light work of a drive from Dartford midfielder Zach Goulding. David Page also showed his goalkeeping credential for the Darts by saving efforts from Daniel O'Reilly and Victor Dam in the 14th and 17th minutes respectively. Joel Honeyball was also denied by the Scouse shotstopper after 29 minutes.

 

Another chance came our way in the 35th minute, after Darts midfielder Conor McDonald conceded a free-kick - and a yellow card - for barging into Dam. From said free-kick, we steadily knocked the ball around the visitors' half before Harding found O'Reilly in space. The Irish full-back sidestepped Dartford centre-half Donervon Daniels and thrashed in a goal that sent our fans jumping for joy! Would it be enough, though?

 

A quick look at the half-time scores got me feeling even more excited. Although Colchester United and Scunthorpe United were comfortably winning their home games, Ipswich Town trailed 2-0 at Notts County and had work to do. If the Tractor Boys couldn't fight back, and we held on in our match, promotion would be ours!

 

The natural thing for us to do would've been to sit back and defend our lead for our lives. However, I really didn't want Dartford to get back into the game, so I just told my players to keep on playing the direct attacking game that had served them so well this season.

 

In the 53rd minute, West evaded a clumsy tackle from desperate Daniels and fired an effort that Page had to push away just in time. On 65 minutes, Honeyball cleared the bar with a piledriver that was a little too powerful. Joel was subbed straight after that, with Max Hicks given some time to add to his 17-goal haul. Mark's lobbed through-ball presented Max with an opening in the 71st minute, but the speedy striker couldn't get near the target.

 

Hicks was handed another chance when West effectively sent him one-on-one with Page after 80 minutes. Unfortunately for Max, the goalkeeper won that particular head-to-head.

 

As the clock ticked towards 90 minutes, we finally abandoned our attacking strategy and sat back a bit more. We now needed to keep calm and keep the ball... but Tim Beech didn't really do either after 89 minutes. A poor throw-in from Tim was cut out by McDonald, who moment had a last-ditch pop at goal for Dartford. The Irishman attempted to curl the ball home from 20 yards... and his strike drifted out of play.

 

The sense of relief among the Daggers fans was palpable, as was their excitement when the final whistle blew! They streamed onto the pitch and celebrated what they believed was a momentous promotion... but they couldn't be certain until the full-time whistles blew elsewhere.

 

The final scores trickled through to us over the next couple of minutes. Colchester had beaten Gillingham 3-0, Scunthorpe survived a fightback from AFC Telford United to win 3-2... and Ipswich suffered a 2-0 defeat against Notts County! To paraphrase Pink, “WE'RE GOING UP, SO YOU'D BETTER GET THIS PARTY STARTED!”

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 1 (O'Reilly 36)

Dartford - 0

League One, Attendance 6,077 - POSITIONS: Dag & Red 1st, Dartford 16th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Ryan, S Johnson, Dalton, Ashton, Beech, O'Reilly, Harding (Scott), Iordanidis, Dam (Martin), West, Honeyball (Hicks). BOOKED: Dam.

 

Dagenham & Redbridge will be in the Championship next season. That sounds marvellous, does it not?

 

With our primary objective met, we could now take things easy - well, almost. There was still a chance that Colchester United could overtake us and grab the League One title at the chequered flag.

 

In order to stay in contention, Colchester needed to avoid defeat in their game in hand against Ipswich Town on 11 April. I spent the evening of my 44th birthday hoping that Ipswich would give me a present in the form of a home win at Portman Road.

 

Sadly, Colchester played the role of party-poopers, winning 3-0 with two goals from Gary Hill and one from Matt Peters. An all-Essex title race would be going to the penultimate weekend at least.

[mark wilson27]

Congratulations on the promotion CFuller. It's going to be hard work but I'm sure a manager of your quality should easily manage, or will their be temptation on the horizon.

Anyway as always mate and excellent story

[JayR2003]

I'll echo Mark's congrats.  You've turned down bigger clubs in the past, but with an uphill battle in the Championship, do you take the money and run?

[EvilDave]

Great work Mr Fuller, a fine season and a fine tale. I was expecting the end-of-season slump to drop you into the play-offs again, so I'm glad you finally dodged that bullet!

[CFuller]

22 hours ago, mark wilson27 said:

Congratulations on the promotion CFuller. It's going to be hard work but I'm sure a manager of your quality should easily manage, or will their be temptation on the horizon.

Anyway as always mate and excellent story

Thanks, Mark. It will be a big step up, but with a few additions over the summer, I'm confident that we'll stay up comfortably and establish ourselves in the Championship. Speaking of additions, I can tell you that there is one particularly interesting signing - I'll reveal all on Friday.

15 hours ago, JayR2003 said:

I'll echo Mark's congrats.  You've turned down bigger clubs in the past, but with an uphill battle in the Championship, do you take the money and run?

Nice to hear from you again. I have had plenty of tempting offers in the past, but having now won promotion to the Championship, my aim now is to take Dagenham into the Premier League. It'll take something incredible that sweeps me off my feet to persuade me to move on before then. In other words, unless the call comes from Arsenal's chairman, I'm not interested.

40 minutes ago, EvilDave said:

Great work Mr Fuller, a fine season and a fine tale. I was expecting the end-of-season slump to drop you into the play-offs again, so I'm glad you finally dodged that bullet!

We always seem to suffer from end-of-season nerves, but to be fair, we've shown great resolve all year. I can't remember another season where we haven't had a serious slump in form.

And yes, I'm glad - not to mention relieved - that we don't have to go into the play-offs again!

[CFuller]

APRIL 2029 (continued)

The season was nearly over, and the League One title was almost ours. We held a four-point lead over Colchester United with only two games left to play. All we had to do was win one of our final two matches, or hope United lose one of theirs, and we would be going up into the Championship as champions of our division.

 

That may have sounded easy, but I can assure you that it wasn't. Our remaining fixtures were both away from home, and Colchester were on a fantastic run that had seen them win 10 of their last 12 league games. If I was a neutral gambling man, there would be more value in betting on the U's than on Dagenham.

 

Of course, we could put any title doubts to bed with a victory at Oakwell against Barnsley, who had to win to keep alive their slim play-off hopes. I took a big risk by resting most of my regular starters and fielding younger players such as Shaun Johnson and Tommy Scott.

 

14 April 2029: Barnsley vs Dagenham & Redbridge

Barnsley needed the win much more than we did, so I was not surprised to see them attack from the off. Alan Wakefield floated wide a free-kick in the first minute, and Sacha Lester's low drive a minute later was parried by Daggers goalie Daryl Ryan. Lester and his strike partner Simon Hazel missed the Tykes' next chances before we began to threaten the hosts.

 

Barnsley defenders John Goodwin and Brandon Ormonde-Ottewill were both booked before goalkeeper Greg Henderson saved an effort from Dagenham's Ollie Pert in the 23rd minute. A minute later, 17-year-old Henderson - making his first-team debut for the Tykes - caught a long-ranger from Dean Martin. Our purple patch came and went without any goals. To make matters worse, news emerged that Colchester United had gone 2-0 up at home to Luton Town.

 

As the away fans grew quieter and more anxious, Barnsley's became much noisier in the 29th minute. Wales international Lester turned past our rookie centre-back Shaun Johnson and unleashed a fierce shot at goal. Ryan could only push the ball back to Lester, who volleyed in the follow-up.

 

Five minutes later, the Tykes spiked us again. After coming under pressure from our other centre-half Alex Busetto, Hazel knocked the ball into space and allowed 18-year-old Max Russell to swerve in his first senior goal.

 

Barnsley found the net yet again in the 39th minute, when Wakefield slotted Joachim Meldgaard's pass into the corner of the net. The 'goal' was disallowed for offside, but our respite was only temporary. Lester made it 3-0 after 42 minutes, knocking in a rebound after Daryl had parried Wakefield's sliding connection to a Russell cross. With Colchester still leading in their game, it looked very likely that our lead would be cut down to just one point.

 

“This can't go on, guys,” I told my team at half-time. “It seems to me that you're either not concentrating enough, or you're worried about what Colchester are doing. Whatever the answer is, that has got to stop. I don't care if you've already won promotion; we mustn't stop working until the title is won.”

 

That team talk, plus a formation switch from 4-4-2 to 3-5-2, finally got us moving forward again. The second half had barely even started when Daniel O'Reilly attempted a long-range effort that didn't sail too far wide. It was still off target, mind you, as were a couple of attempts that Pert put over the bar in the 50th and 64th minutes.

 

I contemplated bringing Ollie off... and then, on 68 minutes, he finally found his scoring boots. Joel Honeyball, who was captaining Dagenham for the first time in the league, ran onto a 50-yard drive from Johnson and entered the area. As Ollie approached the six-yard box, Joel squared the ball to the big Geordie, who hit an impeccable finish.

 

That was the first goal we needed in a three-part comeback. The second would come in the 75th minute. Daggers left-back O'Reilly intercepted an awful clearance from his Tykes counterpart Ormonde-Ottewill and played it forward to Honeyball. The young skipper put a tidy shot past Henderson, and all of a sudden, we were believing again.

 

Just seconds after play resumed, Dean Martin had the audacity to shoot from 30 yards... and he missed the top of the crossbar by no more than a few inches. Shortly after that, Pert's tiring legs were replaced with those of Max Hicks. Max wouldn't get a shot at goal, although Joel did get another in the 80th minute, when Henderson made a fairly routine save.

 

Eight minutes later, with only two remaining in normal time, Andry Mellor's holding foul on Martin handed us a free-kick. Hicks swung it into the box from 40 yards out, and his fellow substitute Gavin Dalton met it with a firm diving header. Henderson stretched out his right arm, but too late. Our defensive saviour on many occasions this season, Gavin had made a vital contribution at the attacking end to complete a stunning three-goal fightback!

 

A magical fourth Daggers goal would have clinched the title, but there was never really much chance of that happening. Nevertheless, this was another performance that made me proud to be Dagenham manager.

 

Barnsley - 3 (Lester 29,43, Russell 34)

Dagenham & Redbridge - 3 (Pert 68, Honeyball 75, Dalton 88)

League One, Attendance 9,203 - POSITIONS: Barnsley 10th, Dag & Red 1st

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Ryan, Plummer, S Johnson, Busetto, O'Reilly, Roche (Dalton), Scott, Martin, Flood (Iordanidis), Pert (Hicks), Honeyball. BOOKED: Martin.

 

Colchester were never likely to throw away a 2-0 half-time lead against Luton, and sure enough, they ultimately extended it to 4-1. The U's were only two points behind us as the race for League One glory came down to the final straight.

 

On 21 April, we travelled to The Valley for a clash with 19th-placed Charlton Athletic. At the same time, Colchester visited Fratton Park to lock horns with Portsmouth, who were now out of play-off contention.

 

We went into the final afternoon knowing that we would be champions if we beat Charlton or Colchester failed to win their match. United's goal difference was two better than ours, so they would snatch the title if they won and we didn't.

 

21 April 2029: Charlton Athletic vs Dagenham & Redbridge

We were rather unfortunate not to take the lead during the first minute. An excellent cross from Tim Beech was headed on by Max Hicks to Mark West, whose volley sailed just past the far post. In the 7th minute, Daggers defender Josh Charles lost the ball softly to Charlton skipper Jonathan Soar. The striker advanced towards the edge of our area, where he pulled his shot off target.

 

Charles breathed a sigh of relief, but when Addicks midfielder Joe McLaughlin had a pass intercepted a minute later, he did not get away with it. Troy Hands knocked the loose ball out wide to Marvin Green, who half-volleyed it ahead of Hicks. Max surged clear and fired past George Long at the Charlton keeper's near post! As things stood, the title was heading our way!

 

Daryl Ryan kept our early 1-0 lead intact in the 13th minute, when he caught a free-kick from Soar. Things went a little quiet at The Valley for a while after that, but things were just heating up at Fratton Park. Halfway through the first period, we heard that Portsmouth had gone 1-0 up, thus strengthening our position even further!

 

Pompey's lead didn't last, though, as news of a Colchester equaliser spread in the 33rd minute. At around the same time, Long fisted away a Matthew Fraser corner before West could head it home for 2-0. By the 37th minute, both of the decisive matches were level. The Addicks' young defensive midfielder Seb Brennan played a fabulous long ball through our defence to Soar, who chipped it over Ryan from the corner of our penalty area!

 

Another goal for either Charlton or Colchester would now see the advantage switch to the U's. In the last minute of normal time, we looked to put matters back into our own hands. A promising strike from Hicks was turned away by Long, and Charlton's German right-back Sezai Cakir knocked the ball behind to concede a corner. Matt Warren floated in the corner as added-on time began, and Charles rose above Cakir to flick it home! We were leading again - by 2 goals to 1!

 

Charlton boss Joe Mattock used two of his substitutions at the break, and he had to bring on his last one just two minutes after the restart. Midfielder Vinny Ashdjian twisted his knee in a risky tackle from Hands, who'd already been booked in the first half. Ashdjian had to come off, but Troy stayed on. West had also been cautioned earlier on, and in the 49th minute, he threatened to give us a 3-1 lead with a wicked effort that was saved by Long.

 

The next time we launched a serious attack was after 68 minutes. Hicks tried to square the ball from the byline to West, but Jonathan Allan's clearance kept us at bay... for a few more moments. Hands quickly found young Dagenham substitute Paul Parkinson in space, and Paul's centre was tapped in by Max at the far post!

 

That was Hicks' 19th and final goal of an excellent first season with the Daggers. It came not long after we heard that Pompey had moved back in front against Colchester. Barring a sensational turnaround in both matches, we would be the champions!

 

Captain West was unable to add to his 15 season goals before I subbed him off with 20 minutes to go. Steve Hughes, who'd been in decent scoring form for our youth and reserve teams, came on for just his second senior appearance. Ten minutes later, our longest-serving player Beech made way for schoolboy centre-half George Darvill, who made his debut at just 15 years and 337 days young! It would be a real learning experience for George.

 

At the start of three additional minutes, Soar teased Darvill with his footwork before setting up an emphatic strike from Kyle Bowker. Charlton had pulled one goal back, but it was too late for either them or Colchester to change the destiny of the league title. When the final whistle blew about three minutes later, we began arguably the biggest ever celebrations this club has had! We were the CHAMPIONS of League One!!!

 

Charlton Athletic - 2 (Soar 37, Bowker 90)

Dagenham & Redbridge - 3 (Hicks 8,68, Charles 45)

League One, Attendance 15,465 - POSITIONS: Charlton 19th, Dag & Red 1st

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Ryan, Beech (Darvill), Charles, Dalton, Warren, Roche (Parkinson), Fraser, Hands, Green, West (Hughes), Hicks. BOOKED: Hands, West, Beech.

 

That was my 900th competitive match as a football manager, and I ended it with my third league championship. Clinching the League One title with a club so close to my heart was definitely my sweetest triumph yet.

 

Prior to this, very few of my players had won anything in their professional careers. Even captain Mark West's CV was bare in that respect before he lifted the trophy. Only vice-captain Tim Beech and winger Jonathan Roche had tasted success before with the Daggers - in 2024, when we won that memorable non-league double of the Conference Premier and the FA Trophy.

 

This was undoubtedly the best possible way to end a momentous campaign... but it wasn't quite over.

 

The following weekend, I watched Dagenham & Redbridge's reserves host Southend United's second string in the Essex Senior Cup Final.

 

The Essex Senior Cup had always eluded me during my 17-year managerial career with Romford and then Dagenham. I considered taking control of the Daggers for this match to try and finally get my hands on the trophy. However, considering that my assistant Fabio Saraiva had taken them all the way from Round 1 to get to this point, I felt that would be incredibly selfish of me. I wished Fabio the best of luck and told him, “Bring it home.”

 

But bring it home he couldn't. A tense match was decided in the 87th minute thanks to a costly mistake from Shaun Johnson. Richard Thorpe pounced on Shaun's miscued clearance and knocked the ball back to Southend winger Fabian Rowe, whose cross was headed in by Sunday Mohammed. The Shrimpers had won 1-0 and stolen the county spoils.

 

Ah well... but at least we've won the league. Now it's time to prepare ourselves for the Championship.

[CFuller]

MAY 2029

Getting promoted from League Two to the Championship in the space of three seasons is not a bad achievement at all. However, we had to be fully prepared for the ramifications of going up the divisions so quickly. There was also a nagging feeling inside me that the club might perhaps be growing a little too quickly.

 

Among the stipulations of promotion to the Championship was that we had to convert our stadium into an all-seater ground. Victoria Road may have had a maximum capacity of 6,077, but it only had 2,200 seats. Its terraces, which made up close to two-thirds of the ground, would have to be converted into seating - at the cost of around £500,000.

 

We would, therefore, be unable to play at Victoria Road until these improvements were completed. That meant we had to ground-share with another club for most of, if not the whole of next season.

 

After about a fortnight of talks, managing director Angelo Bosco returned to the board with some significant news. We would temporarily be moving from east London to west London - to play our home games at Fulham's Craven Cottage.

 

At first, I was quite perplexed by this development. Moving in with West Ham United or even Leyton Orient would have sounded more logical to me, considering that they were much more local to us. When I thought clearer about it, though, it didn't sound too bad. It wasn't like moving Wimbledon to Milton Keynes.

 

Victoria Road's redevelopment costs would likely be offset by the financial benefits of playing in the Championship, not to mention the increased gate receipts we'd get at Craven Cottage. There was no certainly that things would pan out as we hoped they would, mind. Therefore, the board would not be in a position to confirm my transfer or wage budgets until June.

 

With such uncertainty surrounding our finances, I conceded that I would have to sell some surplus players in the summer.

 

Troy Hands had been a wonderful player for us in recent seasons, scoring 60 goals in 155 competitive games. However, only eight of those had come in the campaign just gone, and at 28 years old, the striker looked to be on the decline.

 

Hamilton Academical made a bid of £130,000, much of which would be paid out over the course of two years. I gave them short shrift. When Chester offered £200,000 straight up, I was much more willing to accept.

 

Troy quickly accepted the offer to go to the Deva Stadium, thus ending his four-year stay at Dagenham. We could well play against him next season, as Chester survived their first Championship season in 16th place. If we do just as well in our maiden second-tier campaign as Marcus Bignot's men did, I would be delighted.

 

We also parted with reserve striker Gianluca Cecere, who returned to his native Italy after failing to make a significant impact in England. Luca agreed to sign for fourth-division side Vigor Lamezia for £6,000.

 

Other players that I intended to offload during the summer included winger Jonathan Roche, who was placed on the transfer list again, and right-back Dan Plummer.

 

On-loan trio Benjamin Ashton, Thanasis Iordanidis and Kobe Nuyts went back to Southampton, Derby County and Sheffield United respectively. Zac Johnson and Dennis McCann returned to us from loan stints at Dulwich Hamlet, while Tony Rattle completed his season-long spell with Crawley Town.

 

There were new contracts for a couple of our strikers. Captain Mark West agreed to stay on for at least two more seasons, and Joel Honeyball's impressive form late in this campaign was rewarded with a four-year deal. At the same time, left-back Marc Hopkins and midfielder Lloyd Bailey each signed their first professional contracts.

 

As far as incomings were concerned, the first confirmed new arrival was 19-year-old Arran Banton. The ambitious right-back joined us on a free transfer from Arsenal, for whom he made one senior appearance in the FA Cup after coming through the youth set-up.

 

My second proposed signing is a much more familiar face to Arsenal fans like myself. A genuine Gunners legend is on his way to Dagenham & Redbridge - and the imminent announcement of his acquisition will really set pulses racing!

[CFuller]

League One Table (End of 2028/2029)

                                   P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS
1.    C     Dag & Red              46    25    14    7     75    41    +34   89
2.    P     Colchester             46    26    6     14    86    52    +34   84
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.          Scunthorpe             46    25    8     13    79    62    +17   83
4.          Ipswich                46    23    9     14    70    49    +21   78
5.          Notts County           46    22    10    14    59    55    +4    76
6.    P     Oldham                 46    22    9     15    59    51    +8    75
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7.          Tranmere               46    20    12    14    68    58    +10   72
8.          Luton                  46    18    14    14    65    60    +5    68
9.          Portsmouth             46    17    16    13    61    54    +7    67
10.         Northampton            46    18    13    15    57    52    +5    67
11.         Barnsley               46    18    11    17    74    66    +8    65
12.         Bradford               46    18    10    18    72    69    +3    64
13.         Rochdale               46    15    16    15    53    51    +2    61
14.         Rotherham              46    17    9     20    65    63    +2    60
15.         Fleetwood              46    16    10    20    55    60    -5    58
16.         Dartford               46    15    13    18    48    68    -20   58
17.         Sheff Wed              46    15    12    19    71    61    +10   57
18.         Morecambe              46    13    17    16    53    54    -1    56
19.         Charlton               46    15    10    21    60    69    -9    55
20.         Oxford                 46    13    11    22    55    70    -15   50
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
21.   R     Chesterfield           46    14    8     24    59    85    -26   50
22.   R     Gillingham             46    11    12    23    47    72    -25   45
23.   R     Shrewsbury             46    9     16    21    47    65    -18   43
24.   R     AFC Telford            46    10    8     28    46    97    -51   38

[CFuller]

Dagenham & Redbridge Player Statistics (2028/2029)

(Includes stats from all first-team matches & 7 Essex Senior Cup matches)

 

GOALKEEPERS               APPS    CON  CLN  MOM  P%   TR   ST%  Y    R    AV RAT
Engin Cetinkaya           6       4    3    0    62%  -    -    0    0    6.83
Colin Glasgow             0 (1)   0    0    0    78%  -    -    0    0    6.50
Kobe Nuyts                15      14   8    0    84%  -    -    0    0    6.95
Daryl Ryan                38      37   16   0    82%  -    -    0    0    6.91
OUTFIELD PLAYERS          APPS    GLS  AST  MOM  P%   TR   ST%  Y    R    AV RAT
Benjamin Ashton           33 (4)  1    1    2    78%  2.87 50%  4    0    7.26
Nigel Atta                1       0    0    0    79%  1.00 -    0    0    6.70
Lloyd Bailey              6 (4)   0    0    0    67%  3.22 50%  0    0    6.71
William Barnes            32 (8)  0    3    1    86%  5.52 45%  14   0    7.02
Tim Beech                 28 (1)  0    2    0    79%  3.81 0%   3    0    7.14
Alex Busetto              22 (7)  0    2    0    83%  3.13 20%  0    0    6.97
Jonathan Butterfield      1       0    0    0    69%  1.00 100% 0    0    6.90
Gianluca Cecere           1       0    0    0    63%  -    0%   0    0    6.60
Josh Charles              32 (3)  3    2    6    75%  2.30 73%  3    0    7.44
Robin Cook                4 (1)   0    1    0    69%  2.78 -    1    0    6.70
Gavin Dalton              43 (1)  3    1    3    75%  2.81 50%  5    0    7.42
Victor Dam                24 (11) 3    4    2    81%  3.45 33%  2    0    7.06
George Darvill            1 (1)   0    0    0    59%  0.90 -    0    0    7.10
Grant Drake               5 (1)   0    3    0    71%  0.87 15%  0    0    7.00
Gareth Flood              12 (4)  1    3    0    71%  1.63 100% 1    0    6.73
Matthew Fraser            25 (3)  0    5    1    87%  5.47 35%  0    0    7.27
Roy Ganfield              6 (11)  9    1    2    71%  1.64 45%  1    0    7.20
Marvin Green              10 (9)  3    3    0    74%  2.66 55%  0    0    6.92
Troy Hands                33 (5)  8    7    1    78%  3.83 42%  5    0    7.01
Geraint Harding           31 (4)  0    2    1    82%  6.53 35%  0    0    7.07
Max Hicks                 21 (8)  19   9    5    73%  2.47 53%  2    0    7.44
Joel Honeyball            7 (3)   6    3    2    77%  2.00 47%  0    0    7.37
Marc Hopkins              8 (4)   0    2    0    71%  3.42 0%   1    0    7.15
Steve Hughes              2 (6)   2    1    0    79%  0.42 80%  0    0    6.80
Thanasis Iordanidis       2 (2)   0    0    0    87%  6.33 -    0    0    7.03
Shaun Johnson             9 (5)   0    0    0    64%  1.69 0%   1    0    6.71
Kye Maguire               9       0    0    0    79%  3.47 -    0    0    6.92
Dean Martin               22 (17) 4    3    1    83%  4.77 34%  3    0    6.94
Dennis McCann             5       0    1    0    68%  1.06 -    1    0    7.62
Daniel O'Reilly           27 (5)  2    4    1    79%  5.25 63%  3    0    6.98
Mitchell Paratusic        0 (2)   0    0    0    75%  1.00 -    0    0    6.25
Paul Parkinson            0 (2)   1    1    0    70%  2.12 50%  0    0    7.30
Ollie Pert                23 (8)  10   9    4    73%  2.76 44%  2    0    7.27
Dan Plummer               13 (3)  0    0    1    74%  3.90 0%   1    0    6.99
Jonathan Roche            19 (3)  1    1    0    79%  3.34 33%  1    0    6.82
Kenny Rydeheard           3 (6)   3    0    1    81%  1.88 64%  0    0    6.93
Tommy Scott               1 (2)   0    0    0    78%  6.05 -    1    0    6.70
Tom Virgo                 4 (2)   0    0    0    69%  2.44 67%  0    0    6.87
Thomas Wannell            7       1    1    0    71%  1.67 50%  0    0    7.13
Matt Warren               23 (11) 1    9    0    80%  4.50 25%  4    1    6.95
Mark West                 32 (2)  15   8    4    77%  2.27 53%  6    0    7.44
Derek Wright              1       0    0    0    94%  3.00 0%   0    0    6.60

APPS - Appearances (Substitute apps), GLS - Goals, AST - Assists,
CON - Goals conceded, CLN - Clean sheets, MOM - Man of the Match awards,
P% - Pass completion %, TR - Tackles per 90 mins, ST - Shots on target %,
Y - Yellow cards, R - Red cards, AV RAT - Average match rating

 

[CFuller]

JUNE 2029

Unbelievable as it sounded, none of our title-winning players were honoured at the Football League's awards show. We didn't even get anyone in the PFA's League One Team of the Year!

 

Admittedly, we didn't have any particularly outstanding players - just a very strong and solid team. Our best XI for the 2028/2029 season, as voted for by the club's fans, featured Daryl Ryan, Tim Beech, Josh Charles, Gavin Dalton, Matt Warren, Geraint Harding, William Barnes, Troy Hands, Victor Dam, Mark West and Max Hicks. The Fans' Player of the Year award went to Mark West for an unprecedented third year in succession.

 

The core of our squad would remain intact for our first voyage into the Championship. There would also be a few reinforcements as we looked to extend our stay in the second tier beyond a single season.

 

Chairman Antonello Scolaro met me at the start of June to confirm my budgets for the coming campaign. I would have a decent-sized transfer kitty of £500,000, plus a weekly player wage budget of £56,000.

 

At the same meeting, I asked Mr Scolaro for a new contract, mainly to give me some security incase things got a bit hairy. He was only too happy to oblige, giving me a four-year deal that would more than double my weekly salary to £3,200.

 

There was also a new four-year contract in the pipeline for my assistant Fabio Saraiva. Indeed, most of my backroom staff signed new terms with the club, and we were also able to bring in a second physiotherapist - 37-year-old Adam Hutchings.

 

The only staff member to leave my backroom in the summer was James Stevens, who was sacked as Under-18s manager after a disappointing campaign. His replacement was a man with quite a big reputation.

 

Former England winger Tom Ince had retired from playing two years earlier, having enjoyed his best years at Tottenham Hotspur. The 37-year-old was now looking to follow his father - Coventry City boss Paul - into management, and I was willing to offer a helping hand. Ince Jnr would become our new Under-18s head coach.

 

As a player, Tom's peak arguably came at UEFA Euro 2020, where he helped England to reach the Final, although he did not actually play in that unforgettable showdown with Spain.

 

Among the teams that Ince and England defeated on the way to Final heartbreak were Italy, who lost on penalties to the Three Lions. If you said nine years ago that the Azzurri's main man on that day would be playing for Dagenham & Redbridge in 2029/2030, you would have got a lot of odd looks!

 

There were, indeed, a few odd looks among the journalists who gathered for a special press conference on 9 June, when I unveiled my latest signing. I doubt that any of them could have predicted that I would be presenting the great Marco Verratti as a Dagenham player.

 

That's right, folks - football's most famous Sinead O'Connor lookalike was now a Dagger!

 

This was a man who had won 106 caps for Italy, played in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Final, and enjoyed incredible success while turning out for Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal and Juventus. His bulging CV included two UEFA Champions Leagues, a UEFA Europa League, a FIFA Club World Cup, two Premier Leagues, two FA Cups, four Ligue 1 titles, two Serie A scudettos... and the 2018 FWA Footballer of the Year award. Not bad, eh?

 

Verratti actually football from playing about 11 months ago, after playing for Italy in their failed UEFA Euro 2028 campaign. He moved back to London and seemed perfectly happy not to kick a football in anger again.

 

Why, then, had one of the greatest midfielders of his generation decided to sign for a provincial north London team whose ground couldn't even fill 1/100th of his global fan club?

 

This surprise transfer actually came about via a chance meeting at the Emirates Stadium. One of the perks of leading Dagenham to League One glory was that I was invited as a guest of honour to my beloved Arsenal's final match of the Premier League season, at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers. Also in attendance for that game - a 1-0 home win - was Gunners icon Marco Verratti.

 

Feeling like an excited schoolgirl who was about to ask her favourite boyband member for an autograph, I approached Marco and started a conversation about Arsenal. That in turn led to a discussion about my exploits with the Daggers.

 

Contrary to what some of those media hacks thought, Marco had actually heard of Dagenham & Redbridge, and he was aware of the success I'd brought them. When he congratulated me on winning the league, I - half-jokingly, in truth - asked if he would like to play for us in the Championship next season. To my surprise, Verratti was interested - seriously interested.

 

He asked to meet me again a few days later, where I offered him £1,200 per week to join the Daggers as a player-coach for 12 months. Those wages might've seemed like chicken-feed to a superstar whose personal fortune could've bought him a private island in the Caribbean, but they didn't actually matter to Marco. He just wanted to enjoy a possible last hurrah and pass on his footballing expertise to our exciting young talents.

 

Verratti signed the contract surprisingly quickly, but it wasn't until I saw him walk out in front of the gathered journos wearing Dagenham's red and blue jersey that my dream signing felt real. To me, it felt like I had persuaded Brandon Flowers to sing at my wedding, or invited Stephen Fry over for dinner.

 

After about an hour of frenzied press activity, which included countless questions for either Marco or myself, I thanked the journalists for coming and left them to write their stories. Unsurprisingly, our 'coup' was a major story on the sports pages of several well-respected news websites... and Mail Online.

 

Verratti was my first foreign signing of the summer, and he almost certainly won't be our last. After two years of trying, I had finally persuaded Mr Scolaro to broaden our scouting range.

 

Two of our five scouts are now stationed in Europe as we look to identify cheap talents from overseas. There's not much chance of us immediately finding and signing the next Nando Ribas or a budding Andrzej Wolanski, but there's no harm in trying, is there?

[CFuller]

JUNE 2029 (continued)

A few more players left Dagenham over the summer as I continued to make changes to my squad. The most significant departure of all was my final original player - Tim Beech.

 

Daggers fans had grown attached to Tim over the years, and so had I. The right-back made 282 league appearances in eight seasons at Victoria Road and could never be accused of slacking. Beech was still only 27 years of age, but I had serious doubts about whether he could continue to perform in the Championship.

 

I spent the latter part of June mulling over whether Tim deserved a new contract. Then St Mirren came in with an offer of a three-year deal, and guaranteed first-team football in the Scottish Premier League. By then, I'd already agreed to sign another right-back on loan, so I allowed him to leave.

 

Of course, it was very sad to lose a real Dagenham stalwart. Life went on, though, and I was looking forward to seeing what our new right-back would do. 21-year-old former England youth international Shahed Hector arrived on a season-long loan from Fulham. He had temporary spells at Sheffield Wednesday and Rangers last term.

 

Moving back to my list of departures, and we bade farewell to another right-back. Dan Plummer completed a £60,000 transfer to Leighton Town - a non-league club that was dreaming big.

 

Financed by a Kuwaiti business tycoon, Leighton reached the play-offs of the Southern League Premier Division last term. They will certainly hope to go one better this season and then race up the leagues over the coming years.

 

Zac Johnson (yep, that's another right-back) was also on his way out after signing for Chelmsford City. Goalkeeper Engin Cetinkaya and midfielder Thomas Wannell didn't earn full-time contracts and were released at the end of their youth deals.

 

Meanwhile, three players have been sent out on loan for the first half of the 2029/2030 season. Alex Busetto will drop back into League One with Scunthorpe United until late January. Marc Hopkins is on his way to League Two side Kidderminster Harriers for the next seven months, while Tommy Scott has moved to Boreham Wood in the Conference Premier.

 

As always, I'll end this end-of-season summary with a look ahead to the first fixtures of the new campaign. Our first ever game in the Championship will be at home (at Craven Cottage, remember) on 4 August against...

 

...Stoke City. Recently relegated straight back from the Premier League, the Potters will hope to make a good start under their new manager - ex-England left-back Nathaniel Clyne. It could be a real baptism of fire for us, or an opportunity to upset the apple cart early on.

 

Three days after hosting Stoke, we'll travel to Chester - our old rivals from the lower leagues. That'll be followed on 11 August by a massive Essex derby at home to Colchester United. Those first three matches could go some way to deciding how we'll fare in our maiden second-tier campaign.

 

Looking even further ahead, we'll welcome Sheffield United to Craven Cottage on 14 November, when it's very likely that we'll encounter our former heroes Marcelo Andrade and Paul Hart again. Speaking of Paul, how has he performed since he made that £1.6million move to Bramall Lane?

 

Hart's not done too badly, actually. Despite a shaky start to his Premier League career, United boss Elvis Scoria kept faith in Paul, starting him in most games. The 21-year-old midfielder's form took a turn for the better in February, when he was named as the PL's Young Player of the Month. Although United weren't able to stay up, Paul's late-season performances saw him win the Blades' Player of the Year award. He is definitely the real deal.

 

Are WE the real deal, though, or will our first trip on the Championship roller-coaster be a short and painful ride?

[CFuller]

Dagenham & Redbridge's class of 2024: Where are they now?

We may be in the Championship now, but we've never forgotten about our Conference Premier exploits in 2023/2024. Winning the non-league double of the Conference and the FA Trophy was undoubtedly the catalyst for our recent success. Five years after those glory days, what has happened to our heroes?

 

Fans' Team of the Year

Robbie Ryder (Goalkeeper, Daggers 2022-2027) - Robbie lost the captaincy after our Conference Premier win, but he remained at Victoria Road for our three-season stint in League Two. After 144 league appearances for the Daggers, he moved on to Kingstonian, and won promotion to League One with them this season.

Tim Beech (Defender, Daggers 2021-2029) - Right-back Tim played in over 300 competitive games for Dagenham and was a key component of our rise up three divisions. However, the hard-working Mancunian will now be seeking a new challenge in Scotland, having joined St Mirren on a free transfer.

Aaron McEwan (Defender, Daggers 2023-2026) - Aaron, nicknamed Big Mac, was rock-solid at the back in our double-winning season but struggled with injuries thereafter. He won promotion from the Conference Premier yet again with Macclesfield Town in 2027 before having a brief stint at Forfar Athletic earlier this year.

Wayne Coton (Defender, Daggers 2023-2028) - Wayne was consistently reliable in the centre of our defence over five seasons before moving up to the Championship with Wrexham 12 months ago. Sadly, the step-up proved too much for him as the Red Dragons were relegated back to League One.

Ben Purrington (Defender, Daggers 2023-2025) - After an acrimonious end to his stay at Victoria Road, Ben played in a handful of matches for Stockport County and then hung up his boots. He has since gone into management, starting out with Oxford City before ending up at Weymouth in Southern League Division 1 South & West.

Mitchell Clark (Midfielder, Daggers 2020-2027) - Mitchell turned down a lucrative move to Bolton Wanderers in 2025 and stayed with us for a couple more years. The holding midfielder then signed for Macclesfield, and he remains at Moss Rose today, despite the Silkmen's relegation to the Conference Premier in 2028.

James Dunne (Midfielder, Daggers 2023-2025) - Midfield warhorse James ended his playing days at Dagenham and then embarked on a new career in coaching. He was Boreham Wood's Under-18s manager for three years and has been working as a coach with Bolton's youth team since last summer.

Bradley Dack (Midfielder, Daggers 2021-2024) - Bradley spent three years with Dagenham and then joined Ebbsfleet United following our promotion. He would win the Conference Premier title again with Ebbsfleet in 2026, and two years after that, he announced his retirement from football.

Jonathan Roche (Midfielder, Daggers 2023-present) - Jonathan has been a right-wing regular with us for six years now, playing in 166 league games and scoring nine goals over that time. However, I will be looking to sell him in the summer as I reshuffle my squad for our upcoming Championship debut.

Yasser Ibrahim (Midfielder, Daggers 2022-2028) - Yasser was a goal machine in 2023/2024, and although his influence waned thereafter, he remained an important member of our team. He left the Daggers last year, spent a few months at Leyton Orient, and will play for Ashford Town (Middlesex) in the Conference Premier next term.

Jamie Bell (Forward, Daggers 2022-2025) - Sadly, Jamie's career went down a cliff following his exit from Victoria Road in 2025. He spent two very unhappy years with Scunthorpe United, for whom he scored three goals in only 19 league matches, and then retired at just 27 after failing to find another club.

 

Other notable players

Thomas Tierney (Defender, Daggers 2023-2027) - Dependable backup center-half Thomas was sold to Ross County in 2027, and was then flogged to Falkirk, for whom he made only two appearances last season.

Stuart Gould (Forward, Daggers 2023-2024) - Our former loanee Stuart has been at Kidderminster Harriers since 2025 and has so far scored 61 league goals for the League Two play-off regulars.

George Green (Midfielder, Daggers 2023-2024) - Skilful attacking midfielder George ended his professional career at Charlton Athletic, although he still plays part-time for Hampton & Richmond Borough.

Rikki Scarlett (Midfielder, Daggers 2023-2024) - Winger Rikki became a Walsall regular following his loan at Dagenham, and he will hope to continue his rise after signing with Championship side Leicester City.

Michael King (Midfielder, Daggers 2023-2024) - Ex-Daggers loanee Michael was released by parent club Bristol Rovers five years ago and subsequently retired to Singapore, where he now lives and works.

Lee Finnie (Forward, Daggers 2022-2024) - Lee briefly rediscovered his scoring touch at Leyton Orient, scoring 20 league goals in 2025/2026, but is now a free agent after short spells with Montrose and Airdrie United.

Louis Jack (Defender, Daggers 2023-2026) - Louis also ended up at Airdrie, having previously turned out for Maidstone United and FC Halifax Town, but he too is looking for another club.

[CFuller]

Romford watch: 2028/2029

Romford had a chastening season in the Conference Premier last time out, leaving Tyrone Mears with the tough task of picking his team up. Could the Boro make amends for relegation by storming back up at the first time of asking?

 

Conference South: 6th

As returns to the Conference South go, it was a pretty bad start to the season for Romford. A 2-0 home loss to Welling United was followed by a 4-0 humbling at Eastbourne Borough, leaving them bottom early on. The Boro did recover somewhat by defeating AFC Hornchurch 2-0, but that would be one of only two wins from their opening nine fixtures. Mears' job was very much on the line now.

 

Romford spared their manager with three straight 2-1 victories that moved them up from 19th place. The Boro hit some decent form after that, and they were in 7th spot by December. Things got a little hairy again just before Christmas, with a draw at Welling coming ahead of defeats to Weston-super-Mare and Eastbourne. Then came another hot streak, as the Boro picked up 13 points from five matches between Boxing Day and the end of January. They were very much in the play-off hunt...

 

...until they were blown off course in February. Defeats to Staines Town and cash-strapped Torquay United began a run of four losses in six games. Romford dropped to 10th and now had little margin for error. They did climb back up to 6th place courtesy of four straight victories, but they had to carry that run on into their final three matches.

 

Alas, the Boro ran out of steam. A 2-1 defeat at Maldon & Tiptree virtually ended their play-off hopes, and any signs of life were snuffed out by home draws against Chelmsford City and Weston. Romford's first campaign back in the Conference South saw them miss out on the play-offs by seven points.

 

FA Cup: Qualifying Round 2

Romford's recent disappointing record in the FA Cup continued here. A 2-1 loss at Isthmian Premier outfit Bishop's Stortford proved to be their only match in this season's competition.

 

FA Trophy: Qualifying Round 3

The Boro were scalped again in the FA Trophy - this time by Leighton Town at Ship Lane. This defeat wasn't particularly shocking, as Southern League side Leighton are owned by ambitious Kuwaiti multi-millionaire Mohammed Al-Rashidi.

 

Essex Senior Cup: Round 4

Romford progressed to the Quarter Finals reasonably safely, with comfortable wins over Canvey Island and Billericay Town Reserves sandwiching a narrow extra-time victory against Concord Rangers. Their last-eight clash at Southend United Reserves also went to 120 minutes, but the Shrimpers won 2-1 and went on to lift the trophy.

 

Best Players

The standout player in Romford's line-up was arguably their right-winger Scott Garland. The former Norwich City trainee bagged 7 goals and 14 assists in an impressive first full season at Ship Lane. There was also plenty of creativity in midfield from Rob Connor and the much-loved Phil Blake, although a shaky defence - and the lack of a consistent goalkeeper - was a major concern. Only two teams shipped more Conference South goals than the Boro.

 

Romford signed former Chelmsford striker Darty Fieldwick to lead their line, and although he topped the club's charts with 11 goals, he could easily have had many more. Fellow veteran Junior Morias only scored 8 times, and he'll be leaving for Worthing United in the summer. On-loan Cambridge United forward Danny Thomson was more impressive late on in the campaign, and Mears will hope to bring the Scot back next term.

 

The Future

Mears will pretty much have to rip up his team and start again next season. The 46-year-old is bringing in a new-look defence and will have to find a replacement midfielder for Blake, who has joined Northern Irish champions Linfield. If he plays his cards right, Romford could well push back into the top five - and maybe go even higher.

[CFuller]

2028/2029 season round-up: Part 1

Premier League

When Chelsea made an excellent start to the campaign, it looked like they were on course to finally end a 19-year Premier League title drought. With Derek Halliday scoring 33 goals, the Blues were certainly not short of firepower. Defending champions Manchester City kept up the pace, though, and eventually retained their crown by three points after a tense battle. Martin Klonz bagged 31 PL goals and defender Stuart Lindsay was once again excellent for Ciro Ferrara's Citizens, whose third straight championship is their 13th in total.

 

Manchester United sacked manager Ciriaco Sforza in November and surprisingly replaced him with a 36-year-old former Israel striker who had no prior coaching experience. Moanes Dabour handled the pressure surprisingly well, guiding the Red Devils to a 3rd-place finish and an FA Cup Final in what was legendary winger Grégory Lefevre's final season. Liverpool recovered from losing their first four matches to challenge for the last remaining UEFA Champions League place, only to be pipped by Arsenal on goal difference.

 

Sunderland's ninth season under the management of Jim Bentley was their best yet, as the Black Cats finished 7th and lifted the FA Cup for the first time in 56 years. Norwich City's new manager Craig Bryson led the Canaries impressively to 8th place. Things didn't go quite so well for Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur, who both ended up in the bottom seven. In fact, Spurs were embroiled in a relegation battle until the final few weeks!

 

None of the three teams who came up from the Championship would last more than a single campaign in the PL. Stoke City won just three matches and Sheffield United only five as they finished well adrift. Aston Villa couldn't survive, either, as six defeats in their final seven games doomed them to the drop. For the third time in six seasons, Newcastle United were left breathing a sigh of relief in 17th spot.

 

                                   P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS
1.    C/CL  Man City               38    26    6     6     85    39    +46   84
2.    CL    Chelsea                38    25    6     7     81    43    +38   81
3.    CL    Man Utd                38    22    8     8     64    35    +29   74
4.    CL    Arsenal                38    20    4     14    68    51    +17   64
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.    EL    Liverpool              38    18    10    10    64    54    +10   64
6.          West Ham               38    16    10    12    65    62    +3    58
7.    EL    Sunderland             38    16    7     15    61    60    +1    55
8.          Norwich                38    13    14    11    52    50    +2    53
9.          Wolves                 38    14    10    14    48    41    +7    52
10.         West Brom              38    13    12    13    53    48    +5    51
11.         Everton                38    13    12    13    58    63    -5    51
12.         Burnley                38    13    11    14    50    57    -7    50
13.         Reading                38    11    15    12    49    52    -3    48
14.   EL    Fulham                 38    11    14    13    48    56    -8    47
15.         Tottenham              38    11    13    14    44    52    -8    46
16.         Watford                38    11    11    16    55    68    -13   44
17.         Newcastle              38    10    10    18    46    62    -16   40
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18.   R     Aston Villa            38    10    6     22    45    61    -16   36
19.   R     Sheff Utd              38    5     8     25    31    73    -42   23
20.   R     Stoke                  38    3     11    24    36    76    -40   20

 

Championship

After three disappointing seasons in the Championship, Southampton roared back to the Premier League at the fourth attempt. The resurgent Saints scored an impressive 87 goals, but were narrowly beaten to the title by Huddersfield Town on the final day.

 

Brighton & Hove Albion and Blackburn Rovers both needed extra-time to withstand Hull City and Nottingham Forest in the Play-Off Semi Finals. The Final also went beyond regulation time, but the teams could not be split after four goals in 120 minutes. Kane Allaway, who got Blackburn's second goal, missed the decisive penalty in the shoot-out as Brighton triumphed 5-4 and returned to the big league!

 

Wigan Athletic had a disappointing year by their standards, only coming 9th. Meanwhile, Chester were ecstatic to finish 16th in their first ever season as a second-tier club. One spot below the Blues were Middlesbrough, whose Irish striker Steve Scanlon led the division's goal chart with 26.

 

A run of just one win between mid-October and early March did for Doncaster Rovers, who dropped into League One. Their fellow Yorkshire side Leeds United exited the Championship after just a year, as did Wrexham, whose defence shipped 81 goals.

 

                                   P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS
1.    C     Huddersfield           46    27    15    4     76    38    +38   96
2.    P     Southampton            46    29    8     9     87    41    +46   95
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.    P     Brighton               46    27    10    9     80    42    +38   91
4.          Blackburn              46    24    13    9     76    41    +35   85
5.          Nottm Forest           46    26    7     13    68    50    +18   85
6.          Hull                   46    21    14    11    78    54    +24   77
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7.          Peterborough           46    22    9     15    66    52    +14   75
8.          Leicester              46    21    5     20    71    70    +1    68
9.          Wigan                  46    19    10    17    62    56    +6    67
10.         Crystal Palace         46    17    14    15    53    54    -1    65
11.         Coventry               46    18    9     19    67    71    -4    63
12.         Swansea                46    12    21    13    54    59    -5    57
13.         Derby                  46    13    16    17    64    67    -3    55
14.         Bolton                 46    15    9     22    47    62    -15   54
15.         QPR                    46    12    17    17    49    56    -7    53
16.         Chester                46    15    8     23    49    72    -23   53
17.         Middlesbrough          46    12    15    19    61    76    -15   51
18.         Crewe                  46    11    17    18    50    66    -16   50
19.         Plymouth               46    13    10    23    61    68    -7    49
20.         Millwall               46    11    13    22    43    63    -20   46
21.         Cardiff                46    10    16    20    42    65    -23   46
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
22.   R     Wrexham                46    12    9     25    50    81    -31   45
23.   R     Leeds                  46    11    11    24    43    70    -27   44
24.   R     Doncaster              46    9     14    23    47    70    -23   41

 

League One

Football fans across Essex were celebrating when Dagenham & Redbridge and Colchester United won automatic promotion from League One. Dagenham will enter the Championship for the very first time next season, and they will do so as champions of the third tier.

 

Ipswich Town defeated Notts County in the Play-Off Semi Finals and were favourites to win the Final against Oldham Athletic, who edged past Scunthorpe United on penalties after a 10-goal thriller. What followed at Wembley was quite simply astonishing. James Galloway ran riot for the Latics, scoring FIVE goals as Oldham triumphed 7-1 and ended a 32-year stint in League One!

 

Shropshire's big two clubs - AFC Telford United and Shrewsbury Town - both had terrible seasons and slipped down to League Two. Joining them there were the similarly disappointing Gillingham and recently-promoted Chesterfield.

 

                                   P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS
1.    C     Dag & Red              46    25    14    7     75    41    +34   89
2.    P     Colchester             46    26    6     14    86    52    +34   84
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.          Scunthorpe             46    25    8     13    79    62    +17   83
4.          Ipswich                46    23    9     14    70    49    +21   78
5.          Notts County           46    22    10    14    59    55    +4    76
6.    P     Oldham                 46    22    9     15    59    51    +8    75
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7.          Tranmere               46    20    12    14    68    58    +10   72
8.          Luton                  46    18    14    14    65    60    +5    68
9.          Portsmouth             46    17    16    13    61    54    +7    67
10.         Northampton            46    18    13    15    57    52    +5    67
11.         Barnsley               46    18    11    17    74    66    +8    65
12.         Bradford               46    18    10    18    72    69    +3    64
13.         Rochdale               46    15    16    15    53    51    +2    61
14.         Rotherham              46    17    9     20    65    63    +2    60
15.         Fleetwood              46    16    10    20    55    60    -5    58
16.         Dartford               46    15    13    18    48    68    -20   58
17.         Sheff Wed              46    15    12    19    71    61    +10   57
18.         Morecambe              46    13    17    16    53    54    -1    56
19.         Charlton               46    15    10    21    60    69    -9    55
20.         Oxford                 46    13    11    22    55    70    -15   50
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
21.   R     Chesterfield           46    14    8     24    59    85    -26   50
22.   R     Gillingham             46    11    12    23    47    72    -25   45
23.   R     Shrewsbury             46    9     16    21    47    65    -18   43
24.   R     AFC Telford            46    10    8     28    46    97    -51   38

 

League Two

24 goals from Welsh teenager Kevin Wells helped Bristol City to finally win a place back in League One. They also beat Aldershot Town to the League Two title on goal difference, while Kingstonian's impressive rise continued with a second promotion in three years.

 

A resounding 5-1 win over Kidderminster Harriers in their first play-off game saw Birmingham City through to the Final. There, they would meet Cheltenham Town - narrow victors over Forest Green Rovers. Surprisingly, it was the Robins who clinched promotion after Nathan McDonnell's last-minute strike gave Cheltenham a 2-1 win.

 

Swindon Town and Leyton Orient had each been in the Football League for over 100 years before they spiralled into the Conference Premier. Orient would've been spared at AFC Bournemouth's expense had the Cherries not won their final game at Exeter City.

 

                                   P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS
1.    C     Bristol City           46    24    10    12    61    42    +19   82
2.    P     Aldershot              46    25    7     14    78    61    +17   82
3.    P     Kingstonian            46    22    10    14    73    54    +19   76
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.          Kidderminster          46    21    12    13    61    54    +7    75
5.          Forest Green           46    20    11    15    64    51    +13   71
6.    P     Cheltenham             46    20    11    15    70    58    +12   71
7.          Birmingham             46    19    13    14    62    54    +8    70
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8.          Exeter                 46    17    18    11    53    41    +12   69
9.          Cambridge              46    19    10    17    66    59    +7    67
10.         Walsall                46    19    10    17    56    54    +2    67
11.         Yeovil                 46    18    9     19    57    55    +2    63
12.         Hereford               46    18    9     19    49    63    -14   63
13.         Blackpool              46    17    11    18    57    59    -2    62
14.         Wycombe                46    18    8     20    63    71    -8    62
15.         York                   46    17    10    19    51    56    -5    61
16.         Brentford              46    16    12    18    54    53    +1    60
17.         Bristol Rovers         46    15    13    18    69    65    +4    58
18.         Stockport              46    15    13    18    47    58    -11   58
19.         Hartlepool             46    16    8     22    46    60    -14   56
20.         Grimsby                46    15    10    21    50    62    -12   55
21.         Port Vale              46    14    11    21    47    58    -11   53
22.         Bournemouth            46    13    11    22    46    59    -13   50
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
23.   R     Leyton Orient          46    12    12    22    49    61    -12   48
24.   R     Swindon                46    11    13    22    50    71    -21   46

 

Conference Premier

Mansfield Town only scored 52 league goals all season, but a solid defence saw them grind their way back into League Two as winners of the Conference Premier.

 

Burton Albion and AFC Wimbledon were seen off in the play-offs by Ebbsfleet United and Stevenage, who met at Wembley for the Final. Ebbsfleet won 2-1 after extra time, with Keith Wallace's strike after 96 minutes earning the Kent side another crack at the Football League.

 

A decade in non-league football's top tier ended with relegation for Darlington. Bath City also went down alongside the underperforming Hampshire duo of Farnborough and Eastleigh.

 

                                   P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS
1.    C     Mansfield              46    24    12    10    52    32    +20   84
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.          Stevenage              46    20    16    10    53    33    +20   76
3.    P     Ebbsfleet              46    21    9     16    62    55    +7    72
4.          Burton                 46    19    14    13    73    60    +13   71
5.          AFC Wimbledon          46    20    10    16    63    60    +3    70
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6.          Alfreton               46    17    18    11    68    47    +21   69
7.          Barnet                 46    18    14    14    67    61    +6    68
8.          Ashford Town           46    19    11    16    56    51    +5    68
9.          Macclesfield           46    19    11    16    53    49    +4    68
10.         Boreham Wood           46    18    13    15    50    43    +7    67
11.         Altrincham             46    19    10    17    56    56    0     67
12.         Southend               46    18    12    16    49    43    +6    66
13.         Southport              46    18    12    16    58    60    -2    66
14.         FC Halifax             46    17    14    15    65    56    +9    65
15.         Bromley                46    15    20    11    62    53    +9    65
16.         Barrow                 46    17    13    16    53    55    -2    64
17.         Crawley                46    15    13    18    54    59    -5    58
18.         Carlisle               46    13    18    15    56    58    -2    57
19.         Stalybridge            46    16    9     21    47    59    -12   57
20.         Canvey Island          46    11    17    18    43    56    -13   50
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
21.   R     Farnborough            46    8     19    19    37    61    -24   43
22.   R     Eastleigh              46    9     15    22    48    66    -18   42
23.   R     Darlington             46    9     15    22    44    63    -19   42
24.   R     Bath                   46    10    9     27    40    73    -33   39

 

Conference North

Promoted: Gateshead (1st, 82 pts), Mossley (3rd, 70 pts).

Also in Play-Offs: Tamworth (2nd, 77 pts), Preston North End (4th, 70 pts), Sheffield (5th, 63 pts).

Relegated: Guiseley (20th, 42 pts), Bury (21st, 38 pts*), Buxton (22nd, 35 pts*).

* 10 points deducted

 

Conference South

Promoted: Basingstoke Town (1st, 87 pts), Dorchester Town (3rd, 79 pts).

Also in Play-Offs: Newport County (2nd, 82 pts), Welling United (4th, 73 pts), Chelmsford City (5th, 72 pts).

Relegated: Staines Town (20th, 40 pts), Weston-super-Mare (21st, 38 pts), Thamesmead Town (22nd, 37 pts).

 

Regional Premier Divisions

Promoted from Northern Premier League Premier: Matlock Town (1st), Salford City (5th).

Promoted from Isthmian League Premier: Hitchin Town (1st), Burgess Hill Town (4th).

Promoted from Southern League Premier: Corby Town (1st), Tiverton Town (2nd).

[CFuller]

2028/2029 season round-up: Part 2

Major Transfers

• By far the biggest signing in the Premier League last summer was Manchester United's new centre-back José Luis. United paid Sevilla £40.5million for the Spain international just before his 22nd birthday. The 6ft 7in giant was consistently brilliant and ever-present in the Premier League, even though he did pick up 13 yellow cards and one red. Two existing Red Devils went in the opposite direction to Spain, as strikers Florian Ivancic and Melyvn Schmitt signed for Real Sociedad and Real Madrid respectively.
• Israel's run to the European Championship Semi Finals led to heightened interest in Lokomotiv Moscow's right-winger Dudu Ashkenazi. The 23-year-old made a £15.75million transfer to Tottenham Hotspur, joining international team-mate Adi Nasser Al-Din at the AIA Stadium. Ashkenazi had a decent first season in the PL, scoring eight goals and making nine assists.
• Arsenal wasted £11.5million on Besiktas left-back Kenan Bingol, who made just six appearances and then moved to Fulham after a single season. The Gunners did, though, unearth a real bargain in centre-half Marijan Djulic. The Croatia international arrived on a Bosman from FK Sarajevo and went on to start every PL game as Arsenal returned to the top four.
• After narrowly escaping the drop last season, Norwich City appointed Aberdeen's Craig Bryson as manager and extensively remodelled their squad to the tune of just over £25million. Although the Canaries did improve a great deal, some of their new imports had contrasting fortunes. Marco Paiva was an absolute steal at £5.75million from Guimaraes, but fellow midfielder Alexander Valencia was very underwhelming after costing £7.25million from Krylja Sovetov Samara.
• Manchester City were relatively quiet in the summer, signing no senior players and selling unsettled striker Maxim Rybin to Barcelona for a cut-price £9million. The champions would be rather more active in the transfer market in January. City acquired AC Milan's defensive midfielder Dario Laraia for £12.25million and then paid Newcastle United £19million for left-footed South African playmaker Taariq Khan.
• With Samuel Umtiti coming to the end of his career, Real Madrid signed a ready-made replacement at centre-half. 24-year-old Rodrigo Yepes from Colombia had a magnificent first year at the Santiago Bernabeu following his £14.25million purchase from Boca Juniors. Fellow Spanish giants Real Sociedad spent much more conservatively than in the previous two seasons, though they did pay £10.75million for Chelsea right-winger Juan Jofré - an Argentine-born Italy international.

 

Managerial Movements

• Vitor Pereira's latest attempt to break the Premier League failed after he somehow managed to drag Tottenham Hotspur into a battle against the relegation. The Portuguese was out of the door by mid-December and would soon be on his way to Valencia. Back at the AIA Stadium, Chris Powell walked out on Celtic to repair Spurs and lead them to safety in 15th place.
• Two other big London clubs changed manager during the season. Zema Abbey received his marching orders from West Ham United for Boxing Day and was succeeded by Rangers' title-winning boss Darren Ferguson. Fulham also went Scottish again, hiring Allan McGregor to take over from Michael Appleton. McGregor's old job at Aston Villa went to much-travelled Brummie Gary Rowett, latterly of Blackburn Rovers.
• Lee Clark had two spells at Newcastle United as a player, and in January, he began his second stint as the Magpies' manager. After sacking yet another coach in Eddie Howe, Newcastle turned back to Clark, who left Burnley to rejoin the club he loves most. Ex-Hibernian chief Mark Robins succeeded him at Turf Moor.
• Josep Guardiola retired after Spain's disappointing UEFA Euro 2028 campaign. He was surprisingly replaced by 61-year-old Jose González, who had been out of work since a two-and-a-half-year stint at Valencia ended in 2026. Italy also changed their national head coach, with Marco Motta leaving Roma to take the reins from Gianfranco Zola. Roma subsequently brought in Andrea Migliorini from Serie B side Novara.
• Not long after his dismissal by Manchester United, Ciriaco Sforza found himself in another massive job. The Swiss was brought in to replace Abdoulaye Soumaré at Real Madrid in January, when Los Merengues were struggling to qualify for next season's Champions League. Real did eventually succeed by finishing 3rd in La Liga, but a change of manager didn't do their city rivals much good. Atlético Madrid had their worst league season for 26 years and came 12th after Jeroen Zoet quit Feyenoord to succeed Florent Sinama-Pongolle.
• Empoli and AC Milan ditched their managers midway through the Serie A season as they struggled to keep up with Juventus. Empoli's decision to replace Roberto Di Matteo with Sevilla's Michele Serena paid off, as an excellent second half to the campaign saw them finish runners-up. Milan were rather less successful, only coming 9th under José Gomes, who resigned from FC Krasnodar to take Henning Berg's place.

 

Other Major Stories

• Neil Lennon ended Barcelona's nine-year wait for European glory when he oversaw a 3-1 Champions League Final victory over Paris Saint-Germain. Thomas Weber gave Barcelona the lead when he tapped in Zbigniew Szwarga's cross in the 8th minute. Gastón Menéndez levelled for PSG on 25 minutes, but Szwarga restored his team's lead just before half-time. An inspired performance from the French wideman, who was captaining Barca in place of the suspended Nando Ribas, ended with a 64th-minute assist for Mátyás Vágo.
• Weber is well on his way to iconic status at the Nou Camp after a sensational season. The 25-year-old German scored 42 goals in all competitions for Barcelona, including 28 in La Liga, which the Catalans won at a canter. Real Sociedad were eight points behind, with Real Madrid and Real Betis even further off the pace.
• PSV became the first Dutch club to win a major European title since 2014 when they overcame Arsenal 2-1 in the UEFA Europa League Final. The winning goal was scored in injury time by Tunisian midfielder Anis Souayah, whose low strike rocketed past veteran Arsenal goalie Jack Butland. PSV's victory made up for them being pipped to the Eredivisie title by Ajax. Godenzonen coach Ard van Peppen won his second straight league championship in Holland, having previously led FC Utrecht to glory last year.
• Porto's fourth successive Primeira Liga victory brought them their 39th Portuguese league championship - a feat matched by Juventus in Italy. While the Old Lady ran off with a third straight scudetto, Udinese dropped into Serie B, just four years after finishing as Serie A runners-up.
• Sunderland won their first FA Cup since 1973 in dramatic fashion against Manchester United. With the scores level at 1-1 after Norman Alcock's United opener was cancelled out by Andrew McCarthy, Sunderland won a corner deep into stoppage time. As the match ticked into a 94th minute, Mauricio Machado's outswinging corner was squirmed across the line by wing-back Jan Matusik for a famous win!
• Umtiti and his fellow former France defender Kurt Zouma both retired at the end of this campaign. England's two most-capped players have also packed it in. Malaga's Phil Jones retired at 37 after earning 149 caps, while Empoli's Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain won 153, despite being a couple of years younger.

 

Cup Winners

FA Cup: Sunderland 2-1 Manchester United.

League Cup: Fulham 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur.

Community Shield: Manchester United 4-2 Manchester City.

Football League Trophy: Colchester United 1-0 Shrewsbury Town (aet).

 

UEFA Champions League: Barcelona 3-1 Paris Saint-Germain - at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff.

UEFA Europa League: PSV 2-1 Arsenal - at San Nicola, Bari.

UEFA Super Cup: Manchester City 3-0 Manchester United - at Stadio Olimpico, Turin.

FIFA Club World Championship: Manchester City 4-1 Corinthians - at National Kasumigaoka Stadium, Tokyo.

 

Major European Leagues

Dutch Eredivisie: Ajax (1st), PSV (2nd), Feyenoord (3rd).

French Ligue 1: Paris Saint-Germain (1st), Rennes (2nd), Nantes (3rd).

German Bundesliga: Bayern Munich (1st), Borussia Dortmund (2nd), Hamburg (3rd).

Italian Serie A: Juventus (1st), Empoli (2nd), Cagliari (3rd).

Portuguese Primeira Liga: Porto (1st), Benfica (2nd), Braga (3rd).

Russian Premier League: Kuban Krasnodar (1st), CSKA Moscow (2nd), Krylja Sovetov Samara (3rd).

Scottish Premier League: Hibernian (1st), Celtic (2nd), Rangers (3rd).

Spanish La Liga: Barcelona (1st), Real Sociedad (2nd), Real Madrid (3rd).

 

Award Winners

PFA Player of the Year: Martin Klonz (Manchester City).

PFA Young Player of the Year: Vedran Budimir (West Ham United).

FWA Footballer of the Year: Clive Johnson (Arsenal).

Premier League Manager of the Season: Jim Bentley (Sunderland).

PFA Premier League Team of the Year:

• Carl Baker (Manchester United and Wales)
• Ratinho (Chelsea and Brazil)
• Stuart Lindsay (Manchester City and England)
• José Luis (Manchester United and Spain)
• Estanislao Flor (Manchester United and Spain)
• Dudu Ashkenazi (Tottenham Hotspur and Israel)
• Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Liverpool and England)
• Cheick Tigana (Manchester United and France)
• Lefteris Nasiopoulos (Burnley and Greece)
• Martin Klonz (Manchester City and Germany)
• Clive Johnson (Arsenal and England)

 

FIFA Ballon d'Or: Clive Johnson (Arsenal).

World Soccer World Player of the Year: Clive Johnson (Arsenal).

European Golden Shoe: Derek Halliday (Chelsea).

UEFA Best Player in Europe: Clive Johnson (Arsenal).

FIFA/FIFPro World XI:

• Andy Boyes (Manchester City and England)
• Ratinho (Chelsea and Brazil)
• Fabián Valino (Real Madrid and Argentina)
• Marcel Schaap (Barcelona and Holland)
• Filip Hradil (Real Sociedad and Czech Republic)
• Inaki Arce (Barcelona and Spain)
• Christos Vassiliadis (Bayern Munich and Greece)
• Iván Guillermo (Bayern Munich and Argentina)
• Andrzej Wolanski (Real Betis and Germany)
• Zbigniew Szwarga (Barcelona and France)
• Clive Johnson (Arsenal and England)

[jWaSiMhE]

Congratulations. Best of luck for the upcoming season. A few canny signings should see you survive you would hope at least.

[CFuller]

4 minutes ago, jWaSiMhE said:

Congratulations. Best of luck for the upcoming season. A few canny signings should see you survive you would hope at least.

Thank you, Daniel. I think our squad's capable of surviving as it is, but yes, a few new signings here and there will certainly help towards us establishing ourselves in the Championship. It'll be particularly interesting to see if Marco Verratti can still hack it at 36.

I'm currently taking a bit of a breather, but the plan is to start posting up the new season next week. Another heads-up - this coming season will almost certainly be the last that I post of this story until the New Year.

[CFuller]

JULY 2029

A few decades ago, Dagenham was a thriving east London suburb, with the Ford car factory the main factor behind its economic development. The car plant, which employed 40,000 at its peak, has since been closed down and the town has gone into decline. As far as football is concerned, though, Dagenham has never had it so good.

 

In my first seven seasons at Dagenham & Redbridge, I had transformed a free-falling Conference Premier side into a team that was about to enter the Championship for the first time. This was sure to be our biggest challenge yet, with no fewer than 17 former Premier League clubs on our fixture list.

 

With the likes of Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and Wigan Athletic boasting multi-million-pound talents that we couldn't even hope to sign, survival had to be the main objective in our maiden Championship season. Increased TV revenue and a temporary groundshare with Fulham would certainly help when it came to building a squad capable of staying up, but I wasn't going to make too many changes to a side that had just won the League One title.

 

Alongside our earlier signings of Arran Banton, Shahed Hector and a certain Marco Verratti, we welcomed in one more player early in pre-season. Although we would be playing in the same division as them, Forest were willing to let their 21-year-old centre-back Colin Butler join us on loan until the end of January. Colin is a tactically-astute Dubliner who has no fewer than 34 caps for Republic of Ireland Under-21s.

 

Elsewhere, we had a couple of early injuries to contend with. Homegrown forward Joel Honeyball's campaign was delayed when he twisted his knee, while defender Josh Charles would miss most of pre-season with a back strain.

 

We would leave no stone unturned in pre-season, which would be our longest yet. Eight friendlies against a mixture of teams were scheduled, and the first of them would see us play host to foreign opposition for the first time under my stewardship.

 

Anderlecht had been Belgian Pro League champions for 12 of the past 13 seasons, including the last four consecutively. Manager Rogier Molhoek brought an experienced squad to Craven Cottage.

 

7 July 2029: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Anderlecht

Anderlecht's three-man attack didn't give us too much bother early on. Kenny Guillaume headed the ball safely into Daggers keeper Daryl Ryan's hands after 90 seconds, while Roberto Flávio pulled a shot into the side netting on eight minutes. The Belgians' third striker - club-record signing Sherwin Monte - was kept rather quiet by our defence.

 

In contrast, our fans would not stay silent for very long. A Dagenham attack in the 16th minute appeared to break down when Max Hicks met Victor Dam's pass with a heavy first touch. The ball went loose, but centre-back José Ricardo failed to clear for Anderlecht, leaving Mark West with as easy a finish as he would ever get! Craven Cottage suddenly sounded like Victoria Road as we had a 1-0 lead!

 

The Paars-wit could've scrubbed their deficit out as early as the 20th minute, but Roberto Flávio swerved a shot just over the bar. Hicks and Dam then struck a couple of Dagenham free-kicks wide before we went into the interval with an unlikely advantage over the UEFA Champions League regulars!

 

Anderlecht made a determined response after the break. Substitute striker Benedetto Devos couldn't hit the target in the 53rd minute, although his side did get much closer four minutes later. Midfielder Stevan Kovacevic slotted the ball into our box and found Roberto Flávio, whose shot was superbly blocked by Ryan. Two minutes after that, former Holland Under-21s striker Monte floated an effort inches over Daryl's bar.

 

On 63 minutes, Ryan frantically parried behind a low centre from Devos. Our Irish goalie was defending his area superbly... but three minutes later, Anderlecht finally found a weakness in his wall of resistance. Gavin Dalton could only head a Devos cross as far as visiting centre-back Attila Antal, and Ryan didn't react quickly enough to the Serbian's 20-yard drive. Parity had been restored.

 

Though Marvin Green did threaten to reinstate our lead with a 73rd-minute piledriver that was held by Paars-wit keeper Marco Lourens, it seemed inevitable that the next goal would go against us. Sure enough, in the 83rd minute, 16-year-old Kalu Ndongala hammered Anderlecht in front with some assistance from the excellent Kovacevic.

 

Ndongala was unlucky not to score again on 88 minutes, when his header beat our reserve goalkeeper Tony Rattle but rattled the bar. Our last chance to get a result came in the dying moments of injury time... and Anderlecht's Denmark international Klaes Jorgensen made a comfortable catch from Matthew Fraser's all-or-nothing effort. We came away from this match with an expected defeat, but with our pride still intact.

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 1 (West 16)

Anderlecht - 2 (Antal 66, Ndongala 83)

Friendly, Attendance 4,650

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Ryan (Rattle), Hector (Banton), Dalton (Johnson), Butler (Darvill), Warren (O'Reilly), Harding (Bailey), Verratti (Fraser), Martin (Barnes), Dam (Green), West (Pert), Hicks (Ganfield).

 

Two more players - both former England youth internationals - signed for us after our opening friendly. England Under-19s goalkeeper Kieran Whalley was first to arrive, on a free transfer. The Salford-born 18-year-old had recently been let go by Manchester City.

 

On the other end of the age scale was 32-year-old striker Mason Bennett, who arrived from Rangers with plenty of top-flight experience in England and Scotland. The former England Under-21s star turned down a permanent move to Heart of Midlothian to join us on loan for the next six months.

 

Both Kieran and Mason would make their Dagenham debuts when we played Wycombe Wanderers at Adams Park. The Chairboys finished 14th in League Two last term under Matt Lowton's management.

 

11 July 2029: Wycombe Wanderers vs Dagenham & Redbridge

Kieran Whalley had an early chance to show his goalkeeping credentials when he parried a close-range strike from Wycombe's Anthony Ward in the 8th minute. At the other end, our shots were not quite so threatening. A solid Chairboys defence limited us to a couple of long-distance efforts from William Barnes and Gareth Flood, neither of whom could get near the goal.

 

Fortunately for us, Wycombe couldn't take their chances when they came. Ward, for instance, headed over an Aaron Griffin corner on 29 minutes. In the 44th minute, a counter-attack from the hosts resulted in a poor finish from ex-Daggers striker Neil Munn, who failed to break the deadlock.

 

I was far from pleased with our first-half display, so I gave my players some stern words at the break and brought on three substitutes. One of the players that I sent on was our newest recruit Mason Bennett, who needed only ten minutes to make his mark. Bennett ran onto an excellent through-ball from Ollie Pert and fired a right-footed shot against the post. However, like the experienced marksman that he is, he poked home the rebound with his left foot.

 

Wycombe had been broken, and when midfielder Dylan Dixon broke his arm just before the hour, the Chairboys fell apart. Bennett's ruthlessness came to the fore again in the 62nd minute, with his second goal coming from a superb pass by Matthew Fraser.

 

Two minutes after we moved 2-0 up, Whalley kept the 'nil' intact with a simple catch from Tom Weait's header. Kieran would come off with a clean sheet, and replacement Daryl Ryan carried on his good work by making a couple of late saves from Harry Songhurst and Craig Connor.

 

Victory was almost ours, and the only question now was over whether Mason would get a debut hat-trick. An injury-time save from Wanderers goalie Chris Simpson denied Bennett his treble, but it was still a fabulous start to his Daggers career.

 

Wycombe Wanderers - 0

Dagenham & Redbridge - 2 (Bennett 55,62)

Friendly, Attendance 1,777

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Whalley (Ryan), Banton (Hector), Dalton (Butler), Johnson (Darvill), O'Reilly (Warren), Roche (Parkinson), Fraser (Harding), Barnes (Martin), Flood (Green), Pert (Hughes), Ganfield (Bennett). BOOKED: Ganfield.

 

After that game, Wycombe - and a host of other lower-league teams - offered to take Roy Ganfield on loan. None of them would pay at least 50% of Ganfield's wages, so I told them to go away unless they were willing to do so.

 

Our next friendly was an all-Essex clash with Canvey Island, who've narrowly avoided relegation in each of the last three Conference Premier seasons. Incredibly, they are still managed by my old adversary Steve Tilson, who has been in charge at Park Lane for 17 years!

 

14 July 2029: Canvey Island vs Dagenham & Redbridge

Marco Verratti was an expert at free-kicks during his golden years, and he demonstrated that talent after just three minutes. Verratti struck a 30-yard set-piece towards goal, and Canvey Island keeper Simon Coulson did well to tip it against his crossbar. Canvey defender Harry Davidson then slid the ball behind just before Max Hicks could poke it in.

 

Coulson would have two more major scares in the 8th minute. After deflecting a Gareth Flood cross behind his goal, the long-standing Gulls goalie caught a diving header from George Darvill. 16-year-old George would be booked three minutes later after shoving the hosts' lone striker Norman Rogers. Further foul play cost us a goal in the 18th minute, when Hicks pushed Coulson as he headed a deep cross from Arran Banton into the net.

 

We'd absolutely dominated the first 20 minutes, but amazingly, we would only trouble Canvey once more in the first half. On 38 minutes, Coulson beat away a low effort from Mason Bennett to prolong our wait for a goal.

 

Another Dagenham chance went to waste on 49 minutes, with Mark West making a total hash of his header from Flood's cross. The first hint of an opportunity for Canvey Island came in the 62nd minute. Gulls captain Cameron Norman, who was beginning his 16th season at Park Lane, fired in a free-kick that was comfortably dealt with by our goalkeeper Tony Rattle.

 

Norman would give us an even greater scare from another free-kick five minutes later. His delivery swerved wickedly to midfielder Darel Boyce, who flicked a header just over. That was it as far as Canvey's attacking exploits went, and we ended the match just like we started it - with a slew of chances.

 

Dean Martin hammered wide a decent opening in the 80th minute, while West failed to get close with his next two attempts. It looked like we were destined to be shut out by a team from three divisions below us. Then, in the second minute of injury time, our captain dug us out of a big hole. Dean nodded youth midfielder Tom Virgo's direct ball on to Mark, whose half-volley went in off the post and finally won us the game!

 

Canvey Island - 0

Dagenham & Redbridge - 1 (West 90)

Friendly, Attendance 1,751

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Rattle (Whalley), Banton (Hector), Butler (Johnson), Darvill (Dalton), Warren (O'Reilly), Roche (Paratusic), Verratti (Virgo), Dam (Martin), Flood (Atta), Bennett (Wright), Hicks (West). BOOKED: Darvill.

 

There was no doubt that we'd got away with a below-par performance. We would have to seriously up our game in our next two friendlies, which were both against Premier League opponents.

[CFuller]

JULY 2029 (continued)

Rising star Roy Ganfield had played at Wycombe Wanderers earlier in pre-season, and he would soon be heading back to Adams Park. The teenage striker started a six-month loan spell with Wycombe after the Chairboys agreed to pay half of his wages over that period.

 

There was some less positive news regarding Victor Dam, who suffered a back strain in training. The Danish attacking midfielder would be absent for the next four weeks.

 

Next on our pre-season itinerary was a long-awaited meeting with West Ham United - the giants of East London football. The Hammers have gradually become a Premier League force since being bought out by an Icelandic consortium nearly five years ago. They took part in the UEFA Champions League group stages last season but won't be involved in Europe this term, despite finishing 6th in the league.

 

17 July 2029: Dagenham & Redbridge vs West Ham United

As expected, Dagenham goalkeeper Daryl Ryan was kept busy in the early stages. After catching a couple of headers from West Ham strikers Rob McLoughlin and Adam Hunt in the 6th minute, he produced a breathtaking save to deny midfielder Vedran Budimir in the 11th. Daggers left-back Daniel O'Reilly was subsequently forced to concede a corner, from which Budimir showed why he was named PFA Young Player of the Year last season. The 22-year-old Croat's corner was nodded in by a superb diving header from Colombian anchorman Pablo Rojas, and the Hammers were 1-0 ahead.

 

Max Hicks missed our first real chance to hit back after 16 minutes, although Mason Bennett did force West Ham keeper Glenn Nordh into an excellent fingertip save moments later. Swedish-born England youth international Nordh saved his team again in the 30th minute by parrying an attempt from Mark West.

 

On 33 minutes, a clumsy foul from William Barnes on visiting full-back Sean Jeffrey resulted in a yellow card for our young midfielder, and a great opportunity for the Hammers. Will did atone for that foul somewhat by heading Rojas' free-kick clear, but the danger was only dispelled temporarily.

 

Less than a minute later, Jeffrey curled the ball to the far post, and teenage winger Jonny Smith volleyed in West Ham's second goal from a tight angle. Was this going to be a real humbling at the Hammers' hands, or could we strike back?

 

Two minutes into the second half, it looked like the latter answer would be the correct one. Bennett rounded past Rojas' sliding tackle and sidefooted the ball to Hicks, whose emphatic strike got us back to within one goal of our opponents.

 

Five minutes later, Dagenham midfielder Dean Martin was booked for a careless foul on England forward Sol Ashby. The Hammers' other star striker - captain McLoughlin - went close to restoring his team's two-goal cushion in the 58th minute. Our substitute keeper Kieran Whalley caught McLoughlin's header just in time. That would be crucial, as we hit the Hammers on the counter just three minutes later. Shahed Hector searched out skipper West in the penalty area, and Mark's clever left-footer drew us level!

 

Darren Ferguson's Hammers became more nervous after losing their 2-0 lead, and it showed in their next few shots. McLoughlin, Andre Diaz and André van der Ploeg were all unable to hit the target midway through the period. Having withstood everything that the Premier League big boys could throw at us, we looked to complete an epic second-half comeback.

 

After 82 minutes, Matt Warren floated an inswinging corner to Colin Butler on the edge of West Ham's six-yard box. Colin rose above Diaz to flick his header over goalkeeper Carlton John-Lewis and send our fans into ecstasy! Sadly, Butler's moment of magic would be taken away, as the referee awarded West Ham a free-kick for a foul from Ollie Pert on John-Lewis. Nevertheless, it had still been a great fightback from the Daggers, and when the final whistle blew with the score at 2-2, our fans cheered us off to a standing ovation!

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 2 (Hicks 47, West 61)

West Ham United - 2 (Rojas 12, Smith 34)

Friendly, Attendance 11,182

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Ryan (Whalley), Hector (Banton), Dalton (McCann), Johnson (Butler), O'Reilly (Warren), Harding (Roche), Barnes (Fraser), Martin (Verratti), Bennett (Honeyball), West (Pert), Hicks (Flood). BOOKED: Barnes, Martin.

 

That was an impressive result against one of London's top teams, and it meant spirits were high when we played host to another at Craven Cottage. This match actually felt more like an away game, though, because our opponents were our landlords Fulham.

 

Fulham had just endured their worst league season since 2021/2022, finishing a lowly 14th in the Premier League. Allan McGregor's team did win the League Cup, but I felt that we had a good chance of causing an upset.

 

21 July 2029: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Fulham

Our confidence took a hit early on as it became clear that Fulham were not going to take us lightly. Croatian striker Dino Kelava fired a decent chance over the bar after four minutes, and then forced Kieran Whalley to save his next effort a minute later.

 

In the 9th minute, England Under-21s midfielder Liam Wood had a pop from 25 yards, but fired past the post. Wood would get another opportunity after 22 minutes. Johan van Keulen's mazy dribble into the Dagenham area was halted by a fine tackle from Geraint Harding, but Wood reacted quickly to fire the loose ball past Whalley.

 

The Cottagers led 1-0, and they would be further ahead before too long. Whalley did catch a header from Kelava in the 25th minute, but our teenage goalkeeper could not stop winger Esmond Abbey from nodding Romaric Mawéné's cross into the net a minute afterwards.

 

A third Fulham goal could've followed after 28 minutes, but Kelava's misfortune continued when he flicked Ghana international Abbey's corner over the crossbar. Another corner in the 34th minute, this time from Mawéné, did result in a 3-0 lead for the Cottagers. Abbey flicked the right-back's delivery on towards the far post, where Slovenian centre-half Anze Janzekovic drove the ball home. Once again, the gap in class between us and Fulham was looking like a chasm.

 

Prior to the second half, I told my players to claw back some pride and tell Fulham that they wouldn't be pushed over so easily. A great opportunity to unsettle the Cottagers came four minutes after the restart. Marco Verratti intercepted a knock-on from Abbey and found Joel Honeyball on the penalty spot. Sadly, Joel made a meal of his shot and pulled it past the post.

 

At the other end, our substitute goalkeeper Daryl Ryan had to save efforts from Dirk Henrich and Kelava just before the hour to keep our deficit down. On 62 minutes, Verratti floated in a free-kick that would've reduced our arrears to two goals had it not fizzed just over. We would not get close to the opposition goal again.

 

It was a different story for Fulham's attackers, as Abbey swerved wide a couple of attempts in the 67th and 70th minutes. Abbey also created yet another opening for Kelava, who was denied again by Ryan on 74 minutes.

 

Daryl remained in impressive form for us, as he came up with a breathtaking fingertip save to turn a Wood drive over the bar shortly after denying Kelava. Thanks to a stirring display from the Irish custodian, Fulham's 3-0 half-time lead would not be increased before the final whistle blew. That was a little crumb of comfort for us.

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 0

Fulham - 3 (Wood 23, Abbey 28, Janzekovic 34)

Friendly, Attendance 14,678

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Whalley (Ryan), Dalton (McCann), Johnson (Banton), Butler (Darvill), O'Reilly (Warren), Harding (Roche), Verratti (Virgo), Fraser (Atta), Martin (Flood (Bennett)), Pert (West), Honeyball (Hicks). BOOKED: Dalton.

 

A heavy defeat came to a particularly painful end for Gareth Flood, who fractured his arm in a collision with Fulham right-back Romaric Mawéné just before full-time. The Irish winger would be on the sidelines for four weeks.

 

Our other Irish winger, Jonathan Roche, would also be out of Daggers contention, potentially for good. After failing to find a buyer for the transfer-listed 26-year-old, I allowed him to go on a season-long loan to League Two side Birmingham City, who would pay his wages in full. With his contract set to expire next summer, it seems unthinkable that Jonny will add to his 166 league appearances for Dagenham.

 

Birmingham were also interested in taking Geraint Harding on loan for the season. However, they only wanted to pay 50% of Geraint's £3,200-a-week wages, and I preferred to get him off the wage bill completely, so that deal was off.

 

Elsewhere, a quick glance at the Championship promotion odds showed just how unfancied we were. The obvious frontrunners were Stoke City at 5-2, Aston Villa and Sheffield United at 3-1 apiece, and Nottingham Forest at 6-1. We came in at 33-1, which were shorter odds than fellow promotees Colchester United and Oldham Athletic, but it was fair to say that nobody was staking their house on us going straight up to the Premier League!

[CFuller]

JULY 2029 (continued)

Now that we were in the Championship, the board were willing to sanction friendly trips outside the south of England. We could now go further afield, so whereabouts would the Dagenham & Redbridge pre-season tour be going in 2029? Spain? America? The Far East? No... Wales.

 

It was in the rather unglamourous surroundings of Glamorgan in south Wales where we set up camp for the last fortnight or so before the league season began. I can't remember where precisely in Glamorgan we were based in, but I recall that the town had hardly any vowels in its name, and also that it had a larger sheep population than human.

 

After a few days settling in at our training base, we travelled down to Bridgend for a match against part-timers Bryntirion Athletic. Bryntirion were winners of the Welsh Football League last season and will soon be playing in the Welsh Premier League for only the second time in their history.

 

25 July 2029: Bryntirion Athletic vs Dagenham & Redbridge

We took the game to Bryntirion in the opening half-hour, not giving them any peace with a strategy that was aggressive in more sense than one. Joel Honeyball was booked for tripping Tirion's Sam Greenaway in the third minute, and he chipped our first shot into goalkeeper Liam Griffiths' hands three minutes later.

 

On 10 minutes, Daggers centre-back Colin Butler raced away from a Welsh defence that seemed to be counting sheep to connect with a Matthew Fraser free-kick. Colin had a clear goal to aim at... but he headed the ball against the post! More misses would follow from the likes of Arran Banton, who hit the side netting after 18 minutes, and Mark West, who had a header saved by Griffiths after 24.

 

Our breakthrough finally came after William Barnes intercepted a sloppy pass from Bryntirion captain Huw Thomas in the 34th minute. Will started the counter-attack, and he completed it by racing onto Fraser's direct ball and firing it home! Unbelievably, that was Barnes' first ever goal for the Daggers!

 

It shouldn't have been our only one of the entire first half, but striker Paul Parkinson had the shooting accuracy of a blindfolded man aiming at a strawberry. Paul missed no fewer than THREE sitters before half-time!

 

Our attacking woes continued in the second half, as even West failed to find his scoring touch. Mark missed the target twice, first with a volley and then with a header, in the opening five minutes of the second half.

 

Bryntirion's first shot at goal came in the 53rd minute, and Greenaway drove it miles wide. That was followed by even more incredible misses from Dagenham, as Mark and substitute Max Hicks found new ways to keep our hapless hosts in the running! Ollie Pert was slightly better, with both of his attempts being saved by Keith Pilkington in the 65th and 75th minutes.

 

After a couple of ridiculous long-range punts from winger Keith Mazurczak, Tirion finally conceded that they were probably not going to win this game. I also resigned myself to what I saw as an 'embarrassing' 1-0 win when Mitchell Paratusic's injury-time cross evaded everyone in the Bryntirion box.

 

About a minute after that howler, Mitchell made amends by volleying in a centre from Marvin Green. After 23 shots at goal, only six of which were on target, we went back to our base with a two-goal win that really flattered our beaten opponents. Frankly, we might as well have played against Bryn Terfel and his operatic friends.

 

Bryntirion Athletic - 0

Dagenham & Redbridge - 2 (Barnes 34, Paratusic 90)

Friendly, Attendance 1,200

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Rattle (Whalley), Butler (Dalton), Hector (McCann), Darvill (Johnson), Banton (Paratusic), Butterfield (O'Reilly), Barnes (Harding), Fraser (Bailey), Honeyball (Green), West (Pert), Parkinson (Hicks (Wright)). BOOKED: Honeyball, Johnson.

 

The second match of our Welsh tour was rather different from the first. For one, we weren't playing against a bunch of amateurs... and secondly, this game, erm, wasn't being played in Wales. Instead, we crossed back over the border to the Shropshire town of Oswestry - home to The New Saints.

 

TNS - formerly of “They'll be dancing in the streets of Total Network Solutions tonight” fame - are to the Welsh Premier League what Phil 'The Power' Taylor was to darts and Raymond Ceulemans was to carom billiards. Since Carl Darlington was appointed manager in 2010, the Saints have won 17 out of a possible 19 WPL titles, with only Bangor City breaking their monopoly in 2011 and 2015. And you think England's Premier League has become boring!

 

28 July 2029: The New Saints vs Dagenham & Redbridge

The match was only a few seconds old when our playmaker Matthew Fraser was cut down by a tackle from TNS midfielder Jonathan Carpenter. Matthew was left with a rather large gash on his leg, but it was still very early doors, so I decided to keep him on.

 

TNS had packed their midfield with a narrow 4-2-3-1 formation, and another of their middlemen gave us a fright in the second minute. Emma Dormer's 30-yard punt was awkwardly parried by Daryl Ryan. The hosts' bright start got better after just over eight minutes, when Jamie Gardner hammered in a fierce shot from the corner of our six-yard box.

 

We were 1-0 down early on, so I chose to sacrifice the struggling Fraser before things got worse. His replacement, William Barnes, would not make as strong an impact as I expected. Barnes was booked in the 26th minute for tripping Gardner, and he fired a free-kick wide four minutes later. That was one of several missed opportunities from the Daggers.

 

Mason Bennett had one of our better chances after 32 minutes, when his low swerver was picked up by TNS keeper Jack Parton. Mark West wasted an even greater opening on 42 minutes, as his header from Matt Warren's half-volleyed cross rattled the bar! This wasn't quite as embarrassing as our array of misses against Bryntirion Athletic, but it was still very worrying.

 

Colin Butler failed to deliver an equaliser in the 53rd minute, flicking a Barnes free-kick past the post. On 55 minutes, Daggers substitute Ollie Pert had a shot blocked by TNS defender Jamie Pegg before Will volleyed wide the rebound. Pegg would soon prove to be our nemesis at the other end. Our defence lost sight of Billy Murray-Jones' free-kick delivery into our area, allowing Pegg to race through unchallenged and give the Saints a 2-0 lead after 66 minutes.

 

The alarms were blaring out for the Daggers, and we took action a couple of minutes later. Warren floated in a cross from the byline to find Pert in the area. Ollie's header was parried by Parton, but the young Geordie pounced on the rebound. That was just the tonic we needed to get back on our feet and prevent an upset.

 

The Saints then suffered a real defensive meltdown in the 73rd minute, as they left Pert criminally unmarked when Joel Honeyball knocked the ball through to him. Ollie didn't need a second invitation, and his second goal levelled the scores!

 

TNS tried to gee themselves up for the closing stages, but our sub keeper Kieran Whalley easily caught a couple of shots from their striker Michael Chapple. A couple of attempted counter-attacks late on from the Daggers broke down, and so the match ended in a 2-2 draw - a fair result, all things considered.

 

The New Saints - 2 (Gardner 9, Pegg 66)

Dagenham & Redbridge - 2 (Pert 68,73)

Friendly, Attendance 753

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Ryan (Whalley), Hector (Banton), Butler (Johnson), Dalton (Charles), Warren (O'Reilly), Paratusic (Parkinson), Fraser (Barnes (Hicks)), Harding (Verratti), Green (Atta), West (Pert), Bennett (Honeyball). BOOKED: Barnes.

 

On one hand, it was encouraging that we had come back from 2-0 down against a surprisingly strong TNS side that could actually have been rather competitive in the Football League. On the other, I was perturbed that we were struggling to convert our scoring chances on a regular basis.

 

I also had some concern about Matthew Fraser's gashed leg. The physio said that Matthew would be out for two weeks, and so he will definitely miss our first two league matches.

 

We had one final friendly in our tour of Wales, and I hoped that it would give us a big win - and some much-needed confidence ahead of our Championship opener against Stoke City.

[EvilDave]

7 minutes ago, CFuller said:

Instead, we crossed back over the border to the Shropshire town of Oswestry - home to The New Saints.

BOOOOOOOO!

Ahem. Looks like a decent enough pre-season if not spectacular - hope you don't suffer any massive injuries in the last game, that's always my fear. I'd going for a comfortable 17th place in the Championship this year, although it wouldn't be a CFuller season without a slump somewhere, and this time it might have you looking over your shoulder...

[CFuller]

23 hours ago, EvilDave said:

BOOOOOOOO!

Ahem. Looks like a decent enough pre-season if not spectacular - hope you don't suffer any massive injuries in the last game, that's always my fear. I'd going for a comfortable 17th place in the Championship this year, although it wouldn't be a CFuller season without a slump somewhere, and this time it might have you looking over your shoulder...

I'm not a fan of TNS, either, to be fair. They tonked my Shrewsbury side 3-0 in one of my first ever Championship Manager matches (way back in the days of CM3), and that has always stuck with me since.

As for your prediction, I'd be reasonably happy with 17th. I'm using our old rivals Chester (if my Daggers are like your Prestatyn team, Chester are like TNS, and Marcus Bignot is Neal Ardley) as a source of inspiration for this term, and they finished 16th in their first Championship season.

[CFuller]

AUGUST 2029

Our Welsh tour came to an end in Port Talbot - a coastal town in West Glamorgan whose famous sons include the comedians Rob Brydon and Rhod Gilbert. In other circumstances, I might have expected us to laugh our way to victory against semi-professionals Afan Lido. On this occasion, though, I was far from all smiles.

 

We had earlier produced laboured performances against two other Welsh Premier League sides, scraping a 2-0 win against Bryntirion Athletic before having to come from behind and draw against The New Saints. Afan Lido were somewhere between those two teams in terms of difficulty, having finished 6th last season.

 

With our Championship curtain-raiser just three days away, I chose to rest the majority of my first-teamers and give opportunities to our younger squad members. Would the kids be alright?

 

1 August 2029: Afan Lido vs Dagenham & Redbridge

On the evidence of the first six minutes, probably not. Goalkeeper Tony Rattle didn't do his chances of a first-team breakthrough any good when his clearance was intercepted by Afan Lido's Jody Wells. The left-winger cut the ball across to striker Karl Frater, who unleashed a vicious effort that rocketed past Rattle! My worst fears had been realised - Afan Lido were 1-0 to the good!

 

Our first attempt to rectify that came in the 15th minute, but Joel Honeyball's free-kick was a disappointment. Ollie Pert went much closer to scoring on 22 minutes, although his next attempt - a header in the 25th minute - was miles off target.

 

Once again, we were dominating our Welsh opponents in the possession stakes, yet failing to make the most of our opportunities. With the 1-0 deficit still standing after the first period, a half-time dressing-down was in order, along with some major changes.

 

I brought on some of our more experienced players - namely Josh Charles, Marco Verratti and Matt Warren - for the second half. They took longer than expected to make their mark, although a game-ending injury to midfielder Carl Reed in the 52nd minute did hit Afan Lido hard. Paul Parkinson could've dealt a big blow on Lido seven minutes later, but a wayward strike confirmed for me that he was most definitely not a centre-forward.

 

Another veteran came on in the shape of Mason Bennett, and it was he who finally turned the game in our favour after 76 minutes. With a humiliating defeat looming large, Bennett ran onto an exquisite cross from Robin Cook, heading it over goalkeeper Liam Bowen and into the net.

 

About two minutes after that, a clumsy foul from Lido's Richard Connolly on Marvin Green set the scene for another old star. 36-year-old Marco Verratti showed that class was permanent when he thundered a free-kick right into the corner of Bowen's goal. Marco's first strike in a Dagenham & Redbridge shirt ensured that we finished our pre-season on a high, with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Afan Lido.

 

Afan Lido - 1 (Frater 6)

Dagenham & Redbridge - 2 (Bennett 76, Verratti 79)

Friendly, Attendance 1,443

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Rattle (Glasgow), Darvill (Butler), Charles (Hector), Johnson (Dalton), Banton (Cook), Butterfield (Warren), Virgo (Martin), Bailey (Verratti), Honeyball (Green), Pert (Drake), Parkinson (Bennett (Hughes)).

 

I suppose that this pre-season campaign hadn't gone too badly. Although we made heavy work of all our away friendlies, we did get an excellent draw at home to West Ham United in between losses against Anderlecht and Fulham.

 

Before the season got underway for real, I sent three more young Daggers out on loan. Among them was reserve goalkeeper Tony Rattle, who went to League Two side Bristol Rovers for the next six months.

 

Also spending six months in League Two was left-winger Marvin Green, who accepted an offer to join Birmingham City. He was the second Daggers winger to go on loan to St Andrew's after Jonathan Roche.

 

Mitchell Paratusic was also reunited with a Dagenham colleague after going on loan to Conference South outfit Boreham Wood, again for six months. The Wood had already taken Tommy Scott's services on a temporary basis.

 

The squad that I now had was by no means the biggest in the Championship, but I was confident that it could hold its own in the second tier. Our first six league matches would put my faith to the ultimate test.

 

We needed to hit top gear as soon as the lights turned green, because our opener was against one of the division's biggest beasts. Stoke City may have finished bottom of the Premier League last term, but they were among the favourites to win promotion under new manager Nathaniel Clyne.

 

If we could spring a surprise against Stoke, it would certainly raise a few eyebrows. My main aim, though, was to avoid an opening-day blowout.

[CFuller]

Dagenham & Redbridge squad - Start of 2029/2030 season

(All ages correct as of 1 August 2029)

GOALKEEPERS

1. Daryl Ryan (age 24, Irish)

Daryl was consistently solid in League One, although it remains to be seen if he'll adapt quickly to the Championship. With excellent concentration and a wise head on reasonably young shoulders, I reckon he'll be fine.

13. Kieran Whalley (age 18, English)

A well-rounded goalie with few obvious weaknesses, Kieran could well be our next number 1.

DEFENDERS

2. Shahed Hector (age 21, English)

On loan from Fulham for the season, Shahed is a youthful temporary replacement for Tim Beech. The right-back is just as tireless as his predecessor, and at 6ft 3in, he can also fill in at centre-half.

3. Matt Warren (age 32, English)

Matt is in his fifth season at Dagenham, and he doesn't seem to be slowing down just yet. A left-back with his physical fitness and professionalism should be able to continue performing in the Championship.

5. Josh Charles (age 28, English)

Josh looks like he's at the peak of his central defensive powers. The supremely-strong Birmingham native has come off the back of his greatest ever season and will play a key role in our bid for Championship survival.

6. Gavin Dalton (age 24, English)

Neglected by Northampton Town, Gavin has truly flourished since joining us four years ago. Now our vice-captain, the centre-back is one of the team's more outspoken members and will always put his body on the line.

21. Colin Butler (age 21, Irish)

Centre-half Colin is on loan from Nottingham Forest until the end of January. As well as being very strong in the air, he also has the acceleration needed to play as a covering defender.

22. Alex Busetto (age 23, Italian)

Alex will be at Scunthorpe United until late January as the centre-back gets used to being a regular starter.

23. Arran Banton (age 19, English)

Though usually a right-back, former Arsenal trainee Arran is fairly versatile and not afraid to fly into tackles.

29. Daniel O'Reilly (age 21, Irish)

Right-footed left-back Daniel has improved year on year and is now a reliable deputy to Warren.

MIDFIELDERS

4. Geraint Harding (age 25, Welsh)

Geraint is a no-frills defensive midfielder who just gets his job done - and usually very well. However, I'm willing to listen to any offers that come in for the Wales international, who is on £3,200 per week.

7. Jonathan Roche (age 26, Irish)

Right-winger Jonathan will probably leave us next summer after a season-long loan at Birmingham City.

8. Victor Dam (age 24, Danish)

Victor disappointed me a little last term, so this is a make-or-break season for the attacking midfielder. The Dane is certainly a creative player, although he could do better when it comes to his finishing.

11. Marvin Green (age 19, English)

Marvin is also on loan at Birmingham, although the speedy left-winger will only be with City for six months.

12. William Barnes (age 20, English)

William has so many strings to his bow, but consistency is not one of them. The enigmatic midfielder also needs to control his aggression when tackling, as he picked up a staggering 14 yellow cards last season.

14. Matthew Fraser (age 22, Scottish)

When he's fit, Matthew is an incredible deep-lying playmaker with an eye for a long pass. Unfortunately, the intelligent Scot doesn't have great luck with injuries and was restricted to just 24 league games last term.

17. Gareth Flood (age 22, Irish)

My assistant keeps saying that left-winger Gareth is going to be a superstar, but I'm still not convinced.

18. Dean Martin (age 21, English)

There is very little doubt in my mind now that Dean is a first-team player. The attacking midfielder's passing could be a little more accurate, but his versatility and his flair make him a backup option at worst.

36. Marco Verratti (age 36, Italian)

Marco's enjoyed a stellar career at the very top, and this move to Dagenham could be his last hurrah. The playmaker will play sparingly for us, while he'll also pass on his wealth of footballing knowledge as a coach.

FORWARDS

9. Max Hicks (age 31, English)

Max notched up 19 goals and 9 assists in an exceptional first season with the Daggers. The veteran poacher will hope to make even more hay while the sun is shining and he still has his Olympian-esque pace.

10. Mark West (age 31, English)

Mark has never played in the Championship before, but our burly captain will surely take to it like a duck to water. The Yorkshire hotshot needs just seven more league goals to reach 100 for Dagenham.

15. Joel Honeyball (age 21, English)

Homegrown forward Joel ended the last campaign strongly and will hope to begin this one in a similar fashion.

16. Ollie Pert (age 20, English)

Ollie is developing into a strong target man who just needs a little more maturity to reach the next level.

20. Mason Bennett (age 33, English)

Mason is with us until early January as we look to cement our place in the second division. His lethal finishing and his attacking know-how will surely help us out in the first part of this exciting new chapter.

24. Roy Ganfield (age 19, English)

Young prospect Roy will be honing his skills at Wycombe Wanderers for the next five months.

 

RESERVE & YOUTH PLAYERS

Goalkeepers: Colin Glasgow, Tony Rattle (on loan at Bristol Rovers)

Defenders: Jonathan Butterfield, George Darvill, Marc Hopkins (on loan at Kidderminster Harriers), Shaun Johnson

Midfielders: Nigel Atta, Lloyd Bailey, Robin Cook, Dennis McCann, Mitchell Paratusic (on loan at Boreham Wood), Paul Parkinson, Tommy Scott (on loan at Boreham Wood), Tom Virgo

Forwards: Grant Drake, Steve Hughes, Derek Wright

 

BACKROOM STAFF

Manager: Christopher Fuller

Assistant Manager: Fabio Saraiva

Coaches: Jamie Cochrane, Danny Keohane, Lewis Proudfoot

Fitness Coach: David Wheater

Goalkeeping Coach: Scott Carson

Physios: Sam Cutler (head), Adam Hutchings

Scouts: Callum Donnelly (chief), Goma Lambu, Chris Lewington, Dylan McGeouch, Nicky Reynolds

 

Head of Youth Development: Curtis Langton

Under-18s Manager: Tom Ince

Under-18s Coach: Joseph Yoffe

[CFuller]

AUGUST 2029 (continued)

4 August 2029: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Stoke City

The first shot of our Championship bow was not a promising one, as Dean Martin bent a 30-yarder wide after just over a minute. Our second attempt - in the sixth minute - was much, much better. Dean exploited a gap in the Stoke defence to find Mark West, who slotted in the opening goal!

 

Our fans were clearly delighted, but they would be firmly on edge for the next quarter-hour. Goalkeeper Daryl Ryan just about kept us in front when he parried Ian Dillon's centre in the 8th minute and caught a free-kick from Zvonko Trajkovic two minutes later.

 

Another Trajkovic free-kick in the 13th minute went loose in our penalty area and fell to Dillon, who scuffed wide an absolute sitter! Stoke continued to pile on the pressure after 17 minutes, when Kaveh Salmani lifted a corner into our box. Potters striker Chuba Akpom headed it against the bar, but Dillon turned the rebound across the line to end our spell in the lead.

 

Dillon almost helped Stoke to pull ahead two minutes later, when his lob to Akpom was headed straight into Ryan's hands. Two of our midfielders then had attempts from distance midway through the half. Marco Verratti went high and wide on 21 minutes, while William Barnes was unlucky not to score from a bending effort that skimmed the bar ten minutes later. Gavin Dalton also sent an effort just over the bar in the 37th minute, with his header from Verratti's free-kick representing our best chance to score again before half-time.

 

Stoke seemed to be nervous and were liable to concede fouls, so I encouraged my players to run at them in the second half. As it turned out, the Potters took the game to us shortly after the restart. An early angled effort from Trajkovic was parried by Ryan, and Daggers right-back Shahed Hector could only head it as far as Esteban Morin. The young French midfielder attempted to fire the ball home... but it struck his team-mate Akpom and went behind for a goal kick.

 

Akpom then hit the outside of Ryan's left-hand post in the 49th minute after getting his head to a cross from Serbian winger Trajkovic. A couple of long-range attempts from each side followed before Daryl saved our skin again on 60 minutes, pushing away a close-range header from 33-year-old Nigeria international Akpom.

 

Three minutes later, a promising free-kick from Dagenham's William Barnes was held by Sasa Vucemilovic-Grgic in the Stoke goal. That proved to be one of our last scoring attempts, and before long, the Potters were going all-out in a bid to spoil our Championship welcoming party.

 

We needed a strong goalkeeping performance from Ryan more than ever, and to be fair, the Irishman produced the goods. A comfortable save from Salmani's drive in the 68th minute was followed by a more awkward one from Morin in the 75th. That latter save had come shortly after Mark hit the post with what could've been the match-winner for us.

 

We would have to settle for a draw in the end, but not before Daryl made one last heroic save to turn Salmani's piledriver over the bar on 84 minutes. Stoke were wondering at full-time why they hadn't won, whereas we were delighted to have taken a point from our opener!

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 1 (West 6)

Stoke City - 1 (Dillon 17)

Championship, Attendance 6,198 - POSITIONS: Dag & Red 11th, Stoke 13th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Ryan, Hector, Butler, Dalton, O'Reilly, Barnes, Verratti (Harding), Martin (Warren), Bennett, West, Hicks (Parkinson).

 

Three days after a creditable draw, we hoped to register our first win of the campaign at Chester. Marcus Bignot's Blues finished 16th on their maiden Championship voyage last time out, but very few were expecting them to survive beyond this second season. A 2-1 loss at Sheffield United on the opening day hadn't done anything to silence the doubters.

 

7 August 2029: Chester vs Dagenham & Redbridge

I made us favourites to win at the Deva Stadium, and we started as such. After nine minutes, right midfielder Paul Parkinson played a one-two with Mason Bennett to leave himself with a great opportunity. Paul's finishing had eluded him in pre-season, and it did so once again here, as the ball swerved awfully off target.

 

Mason then had a couple of attempts to chip Chester's goalkeeper Colin Keegan in the 15th and 16th minutes. The first was pushed away by Keegan, and the second was scuffed wide. At the other end, Chester captain Deale Flynn fizzed a shot past the post on 20 minutes.

 

In the 27th minute, Flynn headed his next attempt safely at Daryl Ryan. Daryl would have a quieter first half than his opposite number Keegan, who pushed away a Bennett header in the 35th. Mark West was denied a second goal in as many games five minutes later, as his low strike beat Keegan before catching the outside of the post. This wasn't looking like our lucky day.

 

Five minutes into the second half, it WAS looking like our lucky day! Chester winger Garry Rice appeared to have given his side the lead when his cross bypassed Ryan and found the net... but the referee disallowed the goal after adjudging Flynn to have impeded Daryl.

 

We would make the most of our let-off in the 54th minute. After Flynn struggled to head away a corner from Joel Honeyball, Daggers defender Josh Charles flicked it on to William Barnes, who lashed in a ferocious half-volley! Will's first competitive goal had made it 1-0 to Dagenham & Redbridge!

 

Barnes looked like being our hero, but in the 62nd minute, another young Dagger became a zero. Arran Banton's attempted back-pass to Barnes was intercepted by Blues winger Bickram Cook, who knocked the ball down the line for Robbie Shenton. The ex-Dagger dribbled up the left flank and lobbed the ball to Flynn, who unleashed an unstoppable volley from close range. I was so angry with Arran that I took him off almost immediately.

 

A nervous period of play followed, and matters weren't helped when our excellent centre-half Charles pulled his groin in the 77th minute. I told Josh to stay on... but that very nearly cost us dear. With eight minutes to go, Chester's left-back Mel Willis crossed towards Flynn, who got above Ryan to flick home what he thought was his second goal. However, Flynn was accused of obstructing Daryl for the second time in this match, and the hosts had another goal disallowed.

 

Two minutes later, Flynn played a through-ball to Shenton, who bore down on goal and sought a Chester winner. That was until our substitute right-back Shahed Hector came in with a vital tackle that ultimately saved us a point.

 

Chester - 1 (Flynn 62)

Dagenham & Redbridge - 1 (Barnes 54)

Championship, Attendance 5,329 - POSITIONS: Chester 18th, Dag & Red 13th

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Ryan, Banton (Hector), Charles, Dalton, O'Reilly, Parkinson (Martin), Barnes, Harding, Honeyball, West (Hicks), Bennett.

 

Two games, two draws, two goals scored, two conceded, two points. Not too bad...

 

Despite our solid start, I still had concerns over our attacking movement. We worked much harder on that side of our game before we hosted Colchester United, who like us had won automatic promotion from League One. The U's drew with Peterborough United and lost at home to Sheffield United in their opening Championship matches.

 

11 August 2029: Dagenham & Redbridge vs Colchester United

Max Hicks missed the target with a couple of efforts in the second minute, although he did find the net six minutes later. Max tucked away a rebound shot after Joel Honeyball's initial effort had been parried by Colchester goalie David Croft. However, Hicks was well offside, and so his goal was rightfully disallowed. Croft saved another shot from Honeyball in the 9th minute, while a superb tackle from U's midfielder Harrison Atkins stopped Dean Martin from bursting through two minutes later.

 

United had their first attempt after 13 minutes, as Joel Edwards' shot was tipped over by Daggers goalkeeper Daryl Ryan. Daryl would be relatively untroubled for the rest of the half. We continued to control the game and create several scoring chances, but converting them was still an issue.

 

Our best chance came after 17 minutes, when Croft spectacularly turned behind a 25-yard half-volley from Mark West. Croft denied West again in the 32nd minute, but Mark would soon have another opportunity to beat the visiting goalie. At the end of a flowing Dagenham move two minutes before the break, Hicks headed Honeyball's long ball into the Colchester area, where West struck in a sweet volley! What a great time to take the lead!

 

Captain West had led by example, and vice-skipper Gavin Dalton could've done likewise in the 49th minute, when he flicked Geraint Harding's corner just over the bar. Five minutes later, Mark's next effort - from the edge of United's area - sailed not too far wide. After Harding messed up a volley in the 57th minute, we began to sit back a bit more and protect our lead.

 

Colchester's attempts to draw level weren't helped by some poor tackling from right-back Josh Simpson and striker Regan Stroud, who each earned bookings. Dagenham midfielder Martin was also cautioned in the 85th minute. Three minutes after that, Dean struck an audacious 30-yarder straight at Croft.

 

While we caused Colchester's rearguard all sorts of problems, the U's seldom got through our defence, which was held together superbly by the likes of Colin Butler and Matt Warren. Matt would subsequently be named man of the match, although Colin almost took that award off him with an injury-time header that went close to doubling our winning margin.

 

Dagenham & Redbridge - 1 (West 44)

Colchester United - 0

Championship, Attendance 5,578 - POSITIONS: Dag & Red 11th, Colchester 21st

DAG & RED LINE-UP: Ryan, Hector, Butler, Dalton, Warren, Barnes, Harding (Fraser), Honeyball, Martin (Bennett), West (Pert), Hicks. BOOKED: Martin.

 

That may not have been a performance for the ages, but at least we were able to pick up our first win before our first defeat. With our opening three games yielding five points, we seemed to be chugging along nicely.