Bristol Rovers – Dag & Red 3:1

(Belle 14’, Williams 53’, Disley pen 83’ – May 85’)

Dagenham and Redbridge fell to the bottom of the table after suffering an undeserved 3:1 defeat against Bristol Rovers, who made the most of their chances and took full advantage of the Daggers’ mistakes.

Dag & Red had a strong start to the game with Baidoo seeing his shot deflected by the Rovers keeper Tom Phillips only seconds after the first whistle, but the hosts responded quickly with a half-volley by right-winger David Pipe that went above the Daggers’ goal.

Baidoo had another chance in the 7^th minute, but again Phillips did well to turn the ball away for the corner. Crosses first from Parinello, headed for another corner, and later from Butcher did little harm to Rovers. On the other side of the pitch, the hosts made the most of a corner they won after a rather sluggish counterattack.

Much fault for the goal goes to Brezovan, who failed to collect a cross from left-back Joe Jacobson. Morley won the header and directed the ball to unmarked defender Cortez Belle, who had little problem with netting the ball into an empty goal. Brezovan got to his feet when all of Dag & Red’s defenders were already holding heads in their hands.

After the goal Baidoo continued to be the greatest threat to Bristol Rovers defence and had one well-placed strike from a free-kick deflected by Phillips. His another shot, after good passing from Burt and Strevens, went wide. The Daggers were heading off the pitch after the first half with a one-goal deficit.

For the second half Onoszko replaced the slightly injured Howell with May, but even the gladiator-like midfielder could do little in the air against the Rovers’ captain Steve Elliott in the 53^rd minute. The header won in midfield paved the way for Pipe, whose run was finished with a clever pass into the box to Andy Williams. The hosts’ no.9 easily struck the ball past Brezovan to make it 2:0.

The Daggers reacted fast. A nice dribble from Burt in the 56^th minute was stopped by another brilliant save from Phillips. The Rovers goalie also did well by catching a header by Strevens from Butcher’s pass. Onoszko then took inefficient Graham and Baidoo off the pitch and sent Carruthers and Dickinson on.

But before the substitutes had time to make impact, Rovers were three goals ahead. Krause fouled Lines in the box in a jostle for the ball drifting from Jacobson’s corner and attacking midfielder Disley converted the penalty, which was the hosts’ third shot on target that game.

All hope for at least a point for the Daggers was lost, nonetheless the team showed character in the last minutes of the game by scoring their second goal of the campaign. Butcher ran with the ball on the right side of the pitch over 30 metres before crossing the ball to Strevens. The tall striker lost the header against Jacobsen, but the clearance met May, who struck the ball with great force. It was a wonderful shot that went in just below the crossbar leaving Phillips with no chance.

Shortly afterwards the Daggers tried to construct an attack once more. Good passing between Butcher and Dickinson found Carruthers having enough time to provide Strevens with a cross. The header went wide though and the final score was 3:1 for Bristol Rovers. 

 Dag & Red’s next game was away at Luton. They appear to be a strong opponent with Richard Langley ruling in midfield and Noe Pamarot leading the team’s defence. Luton were impressive in a 2:0 away win at Morecambe, but later disappointed its fans with a 0:1 home defeat against Grimsby.

Onoszko disposed Strevens of the captain’s badge and handed it over to Howell. Goodwin returned to right defence after Comminges did little to impress against Bristol Rovers. The same concerned Graham on the left wing, who was replaced by Carruthers.

Midweek the Pole strengthened his squad with a £70k purchase of versatile midfielder Matthew Turner from Bradford. Turner got a place on the bench, which meant Onoszko decided to leave Graham outside the sixteen. Doherty, back from an injury, replaced McMahon as the substitute goalkeeper.