Published:
4:54 PM January 29, 2022
Updated:
5:07 PM January 29, 2022
Dagenham & Redbridge suffered a second successive Saturday home defeat to take the edge off their Celebrate Diversity Day at Victoria Road.
After a 2-0 loss to Stockport County a week earlier, Daryl McMahon brought Sam Ling and Josh Walker into the starting line-up for Mauro Vilhete and Angelo Balanta, following Tuesday’s 2-1 come-from-behind win at Weymouth, with Scott Wilson having joined Aldershot on a one-month loan deal.
And Daggers made a good start, winning an early corner when a Myles Weston cross was deflected behind.
Junior Morias saw a shot pushed behind by Sam Johnson on eight minutes before Matty Warburton’s effort was comfortably saved by Elliot Justham at the other end.
But the visitors took the lead on 19 minutes when Warburton fired into the top corner from the edge of the box and Justham had to get down to turn away a shot from Aaron Martin soon after.
Halifax had another sight of goal as Jamie Allen was played through but sliced his shot well over, but Daggers almost drew level when Will Wright’s shot was cleared off the line and Dean Rance could not capitalise with his follow-up attempt.
Good play by Rance then allowed Ling to send in a cross on 35 minutes, but Johnson gathered and then parried away a looping cross from Weston moments later.
And Halifax doubled their lead two minutes before the break through Billy Waters to leave the hosts with a mountain to climb in the second half.
Ling made way for George Saunders during the break and the newcomer had a shot deflected behind three minutes after the restart.
Weston then won another corner after collecting Wright’s crossfield pass and beating his man, with Paul McCallum heading over from the set-piece.
And the home side continued to press, with Weston doing brilliantly to beat his man and win another corner just before the hour mark, with Johnson tipping over a Morias cross after Yoan Zouma had been shown a yellow card for a challenge on Allen.
Daggers halved the deficit on 62 minutes through Robinson, who headed past Johnson after Kenny Clark had headed back across the Halifax goal.
And they went close to levelling a minute later as Morias saw a shot blocked by the Halifax defence.
Clark then headed another Wright corner back across goal and saw the ball turned over by a Halifax defender on 70 minutes. But Warburton curled a shot wide of Justham’s post at the other end two minutes later.
McCallum sent a first-time half volley from a Saunders cross over the crossbar on 76 minutes, before Zouma’s superb pass sent Weston through to win another corner.
Warren’s brilliant tackle denied Morias at the cost of another Daggers corner.
And Walker got on the end of a Weston cross four minutes from time, but could not get it on target.
But hopes of salvaging something were dashed in the last minute of normal time as Waters got his second and Halifax’s third goal of the game to secure all three points.
Dagenham: Justham, Wright, Clark, Zouma, Ling (Saunders 46), Rance, Robinson, Weston, Morias, McCallum, Walker.
Unused subs: Sagaf, Scott, Akanbi, Jones.
Attendance: 2,460 (including 163 Halifax fans).
https://www.eastlondonadvertiser.co.uk/sport/dagenham-and-redbridge-halifax-town-match-report-8655010
