The Daggers went into the County match with a sense of anticipation – despite our previous two defeats it seemed like the time was right to get some points on the board. The Magpies started the day bottom of the table and throughout the first half it certainly looked like they’d be staying there. The home side seemed uncharacteristically nervous, and adopted strange tactics with Ben Davies isolated on the wing and the grizzly Ben Burgess ploughing a lone furrow up front, attempting to latch onto poorly-directed balls forward.

Josh Scott was the key figure for us, firstly showing a good turn of pace to control Benson’s pass before slamming the ball into the keeper’s legs. With Vincelot free to his right he should probably have done better, and minutes later he found himself out of luck with a shot against the post.

Picking up the ball on the right hand side of the box there seemed to be little danger but after shifting his bulk inside two defenders, he let rip with a low effort which rebounded to safety off Nelson’s near post. He was then involved again attempting to latch onto a superb Gain cross which was somehow smuggled away at the back post for a corner.

County barely got out of their half in the first period, but with no goals to show for it the Daggers’ position was always a dangerous one. So it proved soon after the restart; Ben Davies, finding himself in a central area and with time to turn due to the loose attentions of 2 Daggers players, threaded the ball through a square back-line to Westcarr who had also vacated his wide position. The former Kettering man made no mistake with a cool finish past Roberts.

And so the game pretty much petered out into nothing. Clearly shell-shocked, the green-clad warriors took about 20 minutes to recover any sort of quality, and the home side expertly shut up shop for the remainder of the match. Scannell’s introduction briefly lifted things but he couldn’t find a telling contribution against a resolute defence despite his lovely cornrows.

A week later Tranmere visited Victoria Road for our first home match in League One. Once again a dominant but impotent first-half display lacked any goals, the best effort being a Green shot from distance which Collister superbly turned away. Despite some other half-chances, there weren’t many clear openings with the visitors repelling most attempts to get the ball into their area.

Mindful of the previous week’s events, this time it was the Daggers who flew out of the blocks after the break. Peter Gain pulled out a showboat moment to work space for the cross, and it was met by Vincelot who had made a superb run to head home the opening goal. With Benson immersed in Charlton transfer talk and subdued as he had been at Meadow Lane, captain Mark Arber took goalscoring matters into his own hands. After seeing one volley well held by Collister and a powerful header flash wide, he made no mistake at the third attempt with a crisp strike from a corner.

It didn’t seem there was any way back for Rovers, but minutes later a moment of doziness in the home defence saw Showunmi afforded the space to bobble a right-footed shot into the far corner. The ball should have been cleared before it got that far, and it was another poor goal to concede in a growing list. It didn’t help that Ian Goodison had laid the ball off to the peanut-headed striker; minutes earlier he’d only seen yellow for throwing a tantrum and hitting out at Josh. You can only assume the referee didn’t see the incident and guessed, or that violent conduct had briefly been downgraded for that particular minute of the day.

With minutes left in the match it got worse as McCrory dived in just outside the box. Although the free-kick was out wide to the right, Cresswell stepped up to hammer an unstoppable shot across the goal and into the top corner. It was another harsh lesson for us, but a wonderful goal to finish the match. Git.

Midweek saw a host of changes for the Pointless Paint Cup trip to Charlton, but the game was notable for one reason. Paul Benson finally completed his protracted move to the Addicks shortly after the Tranmere match, and in a typical football twist of fate made his first appearance against us. Benno was given a warm reception and will be rightly remembered as a Daggers legend – he scored so many crucial and memorable goals and nobody can begrudge him a move at almost 31 – so thanks Paul for your services.

The game itself wasn’t the best and the highlight was Chris Lewington’s performance between the sticks. Making a rare start he made some good stops and showed impressive command of his area. He couldn’t do anything about the winner though, coming 10 minutes after the break. Racon scored with the aide of the post from Fry’s cross and to be honest, nobody will lose much sleep at exiting a competition which will only distract our bid for survival. Still, without a win this season a victory even in this tinpot cup would probably have been a welcome one.

Perhaps optimism was on the wain then, going into Saturday’s London derby against Leyton Orient (or was it a London derby? Amusing discussions on the forum about county boundaries here). The O’s were coming off the back of 2 consecutive wins without conceding, but it was us who kept a clean sheet in a 2-0 win. It took only 8 minutes to get off the mark, that man Vincelot again making a surge into the box to meet Green’s perfect cross with his head. Tomlin fired wide after jinking into the box and a superb move down the left involving Currie, Scott and Tomlin culminated in Green’s volley over the bar.

Surprisingly John Still selected Darren Currie in place of Stuart Lewis in this match for his first league start since February, but the move certainly paid off with his ball-retention vital in keeping the Daggers’ attacking momentum. We’ve previously seen him look ineffective with our direct style not suiting his, ahem, lack of mobility, but in this match he consistently received the ball to his feet and almost always found a red shirt.

Before the break Roberts had to make a superb block from Revell’s header and also field a Spring shot, whilst Ogogo made a brilliant goal-saving tackle which unfortunately cost him further part in the match, replaced at the break by Antwi. Vincelot’s strike just over Jones’ crossbar signalled the end of the half, but in the second period he wasted even less time before scoring again after 5 minutes. This time Arber headed Green’s cross back for the Frenchman to nod home his 3rd in 2 matches.

From this point onwards the Daggers sat back with Gain, Nurse and Lewis all finding themselves in a well-manned backline at different points. However the best effort on goal was again from the home side with Josh dribbling forward before unleashing a 25-yarder which slammed against the post. Roberts made another great save from Revell to keep his clean sheet intact but otherwise the victory was sealed with minimal fuss.

So a much-needed win finally on the board and what better way to do it than in front of a home crowd in a local derby. Defensive errors were finally cut out and although a forward is still yet to score, Vincelot is certainly making up for this with his lung-bursting forays into the opposition penalty box. With Benson’s departure everybody was probably expecting another forward to arrive, but it definitely won’t be the rumoured Kandol who has signed for Albacete. So with the loan window opening this week, we may be looking at a short-term fix to augment the great work Scott has been showing and take the heat off Tomlin who is still recovering full fitness.

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Coming up against a strike force of Clinton Morrison and Marcus Tudgay, who both have proven Championship pedigree, with the likes of Neil Mellor and Paul Heffernan on the bench says it all. They have a squad full of very good players and will beat most visitors to their huge ground. Indeed, Morrison obliged with the Owls’ 2nd goal after Scott Doe had minutes earlier diverted a Coke effort into his own net.

Both goals were sloppy from our point of view, and you really can’t give gifts to these sort of teams. Coke was unmarked inside our area to side-foot the ball goalwards from a corner, and the game was over when Teale was afforded too much space to cross for Sedgewick, who in turn fed Morrison for a tap-in. Roberts then had to make a wonderful save from Tudgay’s header to keep us in the game. Dagenham came back into it though, and Vincelot really should have scored from just inside the box with a placed effort.

Josh Scott was introduced to give us more attacking impetus and most of the 2nd half play was in the Owls’ half. Nurse put a free header into the ground and over the bar, McCrory drove into Weaver’s arms and both Lewis and Vincelot screwed long-range efforts wide of the target. You sensed the home side had another gear, but it was encouraging nonetheless.

Midweek saw a League Cup visit to club-thieves MK Dons, and the Daggers built on their 2nd half showing in Sheffield by taking the lead. McCrory bent a lovely free-kick over the wall to give us the lead at the break, with Currie, Scott and Nurse making starts. However, a first win in the competition wasn’t to be and an Ibehre double put us out in the first round for the 4th consecutive season. A superb Easter pass sent the former Orient man clear of Doe to score the first, before Doe’s woefully short backpass put the same man in for the winner.

You have to feel sorry for Doey, who was immaculate at Hillsborough but found his name on the scoresheet for the wrong side, before his misjudgement put us out of the cup. I’m sure he will bounce back given his obvious ability, but we will certainly need to defend better after conceding 4 goals in our first 2 matches. Once Lewis and Vincelot’s fledgling partnership in front of the back 4 starts to bed in you would expect the defence to tighten up.

The sad death of Exeter striker Adam Stansfield meant we were without a game this weekend. To lose your life to cancer at 31 is something that shouldn’t happen to anybody let alone a fit sportsman, and our thoughts are with his family.

We will now be playing catch-up for a few weeks; Notts County are next up and they are currently bottom of the division after two defeats, so a point at Meadow Lane on Saturday would be very welcome. Easier said than done given the quality in their squad but we have the ability to take advantage. It remains to be seen whether we’ll have to do it without Josh Scott – a well-known rag has reported a rather unsavoury incident involving Josh although we will wait for more reliable information before discussing it. If he isn’t available, a lot of pressure will be on Gavin Tomlin after his ineffectual debut but his pre-season form was excellent so you would imagine goals are just around the corner for him.

Up the Daggers!

At the back, Anwar Uddin’s departure left a sizeable hole and hopefully the signing of Luke Wilkinson will go some way to filling it. After being released from Bristol City at 17, the 6’2″ centre half certainly fell on his feet with a contract at Premiership Portsmouth. He was given a squad number of 44 with the south coast club but never made a first team appearance. He can at least claim to have played against the very best, having been a substitute in a friendly against Benfica in which he managed to score an own goal. Despite a short loan at Northampton he is yet to make his senior debut but it is believed the management have high hopes for the 18 year old who has signed for 3 years.

A further addition to the back line is Histon left-back Gareth Gwillim. The 27 year old has long been admired in non-league circles and first impressed against the Daggers for Bishop’s Stortford; five years ago the Blues ran out 2-1 winners in an FA Trophy tie at Victoria Road with Gwillim imperious in the visiting defence. His abilities aren’t limited to his own half, and he brings with him a reputation for his excellent set-piece delivery and long throws. He should provide excellent competition for Damien McCrory, or even allow Damien to revert to the left wing position he occupied as a youth team player at Plymouth.

The several new faces in midfield are Stuart Lewis, Danny (J) Green and Damian Scannell. Stuart is still only 22 despite having earnt a good reputation with Stevenage a couple of years ago, where he won England C honours. A move to Gillingham saw him win the League 2 playoff final at Wembley but various injuries meant both his seasons with the Gills were disrupted. This ultimately led to his release but his whole-hearted approach should suit the Daggers down to the ground. He has already spoken of how well he has settled into the club and can also provide cover at right-back.

Damian is another who has had injury problems recently, having suffered from swine flu and a broken metatarsal. Formerly of Fisher and Eastleigh, Southend had high hopes for the pacey winger when they signed him in 2008, and the Daggers will be hoping he can stay fit after being restricted to 23 starts in his 2 and a half years with the Shrimpers. He can play on either wing but seems set to play mainly on the left given recent comments from Still, and he also provides and emergency option up front.

Danny Green number 2, who will forever be cursed with the lengthened name of Danny J Green given our existing player of the same name, was signed back in April from Billericay Town. He is approaching his 20th birthday and is a small but tricky left-sided player. Given the presence of Nurse, Monty and Scannell it seems he may have to bide his time before a first-team appearance comes his way but time is certainly on his side. His former clubs include Harlow and, just like his namesake, Bishop’s Stortford where they played together on a handful of occasions.

Up front, Grays’ 16 year old striker Alex Osborn was snapped up in May and John Still has already stated his ambition that the youngster can graduate to the first team this season. He was picked up by Grays only last season from local club Boca having previously played junior football for Ridgeway Rovers. His first season in senior football yielded 2 goals, against AFC Wimbledon and Forest Green Rovers.

The final confirmed signing is striker Gavin Tomlin from Yeovil Town. Having failed to nail down a place at Gillingham and Brentford earlier in his career, Gavin spent time in non-league with Staines and Fisher, the latter of which brought him under the guidance of current Daggers coach Wayne Burnett. Although Yeovil offered him a new deal which he initially agreed to sign, the offer was later withdrawn and he signed for the Daggers at the end of June. He can play in a variety of positions including on the wing and behind the striker, and has started his Dagenham career in the best possible way with 2 goals in 2 friendly matches so far.

It seems that Duran Reynolds will also be announced as a new signing, the former Southend youth player being given squad number 32 on our most recent list. The lanky blonde defender has previously played for Histon at U16 level and played 7 matches on loan at Grays last season. It seems he could find himself playing for our local rivals again this season, having turned out for the Blues in a friendly this week alongside other Daggers Stephen Demetriou, Alex Osborn and youth teamer Lee Wootton. Another young player to be given a squad number for the first time is defender Femi Ilesanmi who spent last season on loan at Ashford Town (Middx). He will wear 29 but is another who may find himself loaned to Grays for further experience.

Other players to have trialled for the Daggers so far include former Welling right-back Sanchez Ming, Sierra Leonean international Ishmael Kamara, former Eastleigh winger Sam Butler, and former Lille duo Molami Bokoto and Goffin Boyoko. Whether any of these earn a deal remains to be seen.

So the squad has definitely taken shape for the new season, with plenty of competition in every position which we perhaps lacked in recent seasons. Most of the new faces are young lads looking to prove themselves at this level, and with John Still’s record of finding players, you would back most of them to succeed.

His departure didn’t come as a huge surprise given his lack of first team opportunities in recent months led to him being placed on the transfer list after the play-off final.

Signed on a three-year deal from Fisher Athletic in September 2008, Wes had one year left to run on his contract. Restricted to only three starts last season, he became accustomed to bit-part roles as Benno and Josh formed an unbreakable partnership up front.

The arrival of Phil Walsh from Dorchester Town in January further restricted Thomas’ opportunities at Victoria Road. He was eventually moved out on loan to Rushden & Diamonds for the final few weeks of the 2009/10 season.

But the Daggers No. 16′s stop-start season was to hit the buffers again. An injury sustained on his arrival at Nene Park meant he was unable to aid the Diamonds’ Conference promotion push.

Thomas was re-enlisted to the Daggers ranks in the final stages of the season, appearing in the squad for the final regular season game at Darlington. In a game where the Daggers were two goals to the good, Thomas failed to make it on to the pitch that day.

In total, Wes scored three times for the Daggers in 30 appearances; his last goal a crucial one away to Macclesfield Town in October which helped the Daggers to a 2-2 draw.

Still only 23, Wes has a great future ahead of him but most would agree he needs regular football to fulfil his potential. His move to Cheltenham Town is probably right all round. With the ageing Hayles and Alsop released in the close season, Wes has a good shout of becoming a first-team regular at the Robins.

With Phil Walsh making a handful of cameo appearances in the closing months of the season, it seems likely he will be the ‘third’ striker behind Benno and Josh in the striking pecking order. Nursey had his most prolific season to date in a Daggers shirt with eight goals to his name and will undoubtedly be in the mix as a back-up striker too.

But with Wes’ departure and Nwokeji moving to AFC Wimbledon, the Daggers will need to strengthen in the striking department before the season begins on August 7. Murmurings of a possible return of Ben Strevens were quashed after the ex-Brentford man signed for Wycombe Wanderers recently. Alex Osborn penned a three-year deal with the Daggers in May, signing from Grays Athletic, but is surely one for the future and won’t be thrown into action any time soon.

That all means John has some rebuilding work to do in the next few weeks as the Daggers prepare for life in League 1. In what will undoubtedly be a big step up in class, we certainly need some more strength in depth with our strikers.

Finally, all the best to Wes at Cheltenham Town. Thanks for your hard work over the last two years and let’s hope you get a decent run in the team.

It’s perhaps not the blockbuster tie that many would have craved but there will be plenty of those to enjoy as league fixtures next term!

Statistically, the Daggers’ record against the Dons is pretty meek. Three games and three defeats have yielded only one goal to date; Josh Scott’s last minute consolation in a 3-1 Johnstone’s Paint Trophy reverse at Stadium:MK last season.

However, the euphoria engulfing Victoria Road at the moment as the Daggers prepare for their inaugural season as a League 1 outfit could prove to be a real leveller. The Dons were no great shakes last season and finished a mediocre 12th in England’s third tier, some 20 points shy of Huddersfield in the final play-off spot. So despite history not being on our side, this could well be a closer contest than we witnessed last season.

A campaign that began with much promise for MK Dons, especially with the return of Paul Ince for his second managerial spell, imploded spectacularly. The Dons’ last competitive victory arrived on March 9 and was followed by five draws and six defeats. However, in Jermaine Easter they have a proven goalscorer who is not averse to grabbing the headlines, especially in the Carling Cup. During the 2006/07 season Easter, then a Wycombe Wanderers player, scored in every round of the competition up to and including a semi-final showdown with Premier League heavyweights Chelsea. He ominously bagged two goals in last season’s encounter with the Daggers.

Our record in this competition has not been great. Three defeats in three attempts have been chalked up, albeit against tough opposition in Cardiff, Reading and Luton. The closest the Reds came to reaching the second round was two years ago when Reading’s blushes were spared by an 89th minute Noel Hunt goal.

So to the other ties, and due to Championship sides being seeded there are no all-Championship draws at this stage.

Perhaps the tie of the round, at least for the romantics out there, sees Conference champions Stevenage Borough take on 2008 FA Cup winners Portsmouth. Bradford will no doubt enjoy rubbing shoulders with the big boys again, even if it is just for 90 minutes, as they take on Nottingham Forest at Valley Parade.

A south coast derby sees Southampton host Bournemouth. Despite a hefty points deduction last season, the Saints had an impressive campaign and will surely be favourites to progress here, but the fixture should generate strong local interest. Another fixture worth keeping an eye on is Aldershot against Watford. The Hornets left it late to retain Championship status last season whereas the Shots had an outstanding run in League 2 to finish sixth. With home advantage there is certainly a shout of an upset (that’s if you have any faith left in our predictions!).

Daggers’ League Cup record
2009/10: Cardiff City 3-1 Daggers (Scott 81)
2008/09: Daggers 1-2 Reading (Taiwo 68)
2007/08: Daggers 1-2 Luton Town (Strevens 73)

The Daggers took the lead on three occasions and immediately surrendered it twice, but there was to be no way back for the Millers once Jon Nurse had scored what proved to be the winner. Both sides had good chances with a Taylor header brushing the post on its way wide, and Warrington making two great saves from a Vincelot scissor-kick and Danny Green’s low free kick. However it was Benson who gave Dagenham the lead when his instant control and spin gave him the space to guide a placed finish just inside the post.

Within a minute the game was all square again, Ellison finding himself completely unmarked from a throw to hook to ball onto Taylor’s head for the simplest of goals. This led to the Miller’s best spell as they attempted to gain a lead before the break, but the half-time whistle came at the wrong time for them and the second half saw the Daggers on top. Green capitalised with an angled drive from the right hand side which nestled in the bottom corner.

Once again Rotherham attempted to hit straight back, but Harrison somehow hit the bar with the goal gaping from Lynch’s right-wing cross. We didn’t learn our lesson – the next attack saw Lynch again set free on the flank and this time he found Taylor – Rotherham’s best player on the day – who controlled and fired home.

But one thing we know about this team is that they will not give up. They continued attacking in search of the winner, and got their rewards with 20 minutes left. Green’s corner fell at Nurse’s feet, and he capped his best season in a Daggers shirt by firing beyond Warrington. The last 20 minutes was torture for all involved, but the defence and Robbo stood firm to restrict the Millers to very few chances, even when their own keeper joined the attack in the dying seconds.

This really is fairytale stuff for Dagenham & Redbridge FC. Our third promotion in ten years, two under the expert guidance of John Still, who has worked wonders for this club on a tight budget. Who thought that when we lost so many players last season we would be where we are now? The manager and his scouting network brought us the likes of Ogogo, Doe, Scott and Green who have all been more than a match for their predecessors. Danny Green took the man of the match award, but in reality there were 4 or 5 contenders with Ogogo and Doe both outstanding along with Benson and Vincelot. The Frenchman is surely the find of the season after joining us on trial and going on to become the heartbeat of the team with his incredible fitness and endeavour.

So next season we play the likes of Sheffield Wednesday, Southampton and Huddersfield. Perhaps best of all is the chance to play Charlton Athletic in a league match, who just 9 years ago were our FA Cup opponents when they were in the Premiership and we were in the Conference.

Here’s our photos from an amazing day:

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The game was far more open than any Daggers fan of a nervous disposition (for example, me) would’ve been happy with, and it wouldn’t have been an unfair reflection had the scoreline been 4-4. Both sides hit the woodwork, and both keepers had to be on their game to make quality stops as the play shuttled from end to end. Benson had a perfectly good goal disallowed for a phantom offside, but did net a header in between goals from Duffy and Artell as Morecambe fittingly won their final match 2-1 at Christie Park.

The affinity between the two clubs means nobody will begruge them that. The final whistle signalled a pitch invasion from the home crowd, who were soon joined by the visitors in a real party atmosphere. In contrast to more high-profile pitch invasions of recent weeks, the only violence that was on show here was over-zealous hand-shaking and back-slapping as Shrimps fans wished us well in our quest to reach the dizzy heights of League One. The only downside was conceding a goal to the labouring Artell who trundles around the pitch at a pace not seen since the days of Ken Charlery.

So this Sunday the Daggers will play Rotherham, a side we have never beaten in 6 attempts, for the right to play the likes of Sheffield Wednesday, Charlton and Southampton. We can only hope it is more successful than our last visit to Wembley in the 1997 FA Trophy final, which saw us cruelly denied by an extra-time winner after playing a large part of the game with 10 men. But never fear! On this occasion we have the all new special yellow kit to help us, with a rather snazzy blue arm and sidepanel, which of course is available to buy from the club.

It promises to be a wonderful day, and the atmosphere should be incredible with already over 12,000 sales in the Dagenham section. All we can do now is hope the lads play with the conviction which saw us get this far in the first place, and make sure we all do our part in cheering them on until the final whistle. COME ON YOU DAGGERS!

Anybody who has any interest in the club whatsoever, I urge you to buy your tickets here.

A few photos from the 2nd leg:
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Therefore the outcome of this match was, quite frankly, ridiculous. This was the best performance that Dagenham have produced in quite some time, and one would wager the worst that Morecambe have mustered. From minute one we were switched on, tenacious, and up for the fight, denying the silky Drummond space in which to work his magic. Even Mullin, so often our tormentor, was subdued with his supply lines restricted and Arber showing remarkable aerial prowess against his taller opponent. It was just four minutes before the pressure told, Benson on hand for a tap-in after Roche had saved a Nurse header.

Within minutes Morecambe were on the attack themselves, and Roberts had to make a good save from an excellent Mullin chance. It served as a warning for how quickly football matches can change, especially when Roberts then kicked a clearance flat along the ground which luckily evaded the blue-clad visitors. The unbearable tension around Victoria Road was lifted with ten minutes remaining in the half, Josh Scott picking up a poor Roche goal kick and running clear of the defence to coolly slot into the bottom corner. We have witnessed Josh enjoy an auspicious debut season as a professional, but it is fair to say he has room for improvement in the finishing department. This was certainly a move in the right direction. The last ten minutes of the half saw Danny Green uncharacteristically spurn 2 chances, dragging wide from the edge of the box before whipping a ball inches wide of the far post.

A healthy scoreline at the break, but would those missed chances haunt us? How about the two penalty appeals which were rejected, a Parrish handball which could be seen from the other end of the ground and a challenge on Benson by Bentley which got nowhere near the ball but definitely took the man? The referee was finally swayed at the start of the second period, Green cleverly drawing a foul from Bentley who could only look at the ground in despair. Arber wrestled the ball from a clearly irritated Green and hit a weak spot-kick against Roche, but Josh was on hand again with his first shot hitting the post and his second hitting the back of the net. John will have to decide upon our penalty taker before matches in future.

This signalled the opening of the floodgates, Josh rising highest to complete his hat-trick from Green’s corner, and Benson then latching onto Parrish’s poor header to lift the ball into the top corner. Just in case there was any doubt over the destination of the man of the match award, Josh then done superbly to win the ball by the corner flag before running along the goal-line and clipping past Roche with his right-foot (yes, right-foot) for his fourth goal of the afternoon. He could have added to his tally, trying one spectacular volley from way outside the box which dropped harmlessly wide before hammering a bending effort into the top of the side-netting.

Whatever the destination of any individual awards, this was simply a brilliant team performance in a completely unexpected 6-0 win. On Thursday it will require more of the same – Morecambe don’t lie down for anybody and will be desperate to put on a show for their final match at Christie Park. As the eternally wise Mr Still has said, “We’ve got to be professional and do our job”, and you would surely trust him to bring the players down to earth and lead us to that place beginning with W.

Here’s our photos from a great day – click to see larger versions, or click here for a slideshow.

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Danny Green can perhaps consider himself unlucky not to have made this year’s top three. A string of impressive early season performances accompanied with a scintillating final quarter of the season, have seen him end up as the club’s second highest goalscorer on 13 goals, just 5 shy of leading marksman Paul Benson. Admittedly Danny’s form hit the buffers somewhat in the middle of the season, but there can be no doubt had he been injured for the run-in, our play-off dream would have dwindled away many games ago.

Another player who certainly would have been in the reckoning had he stayed fit for the entire season is Stuart Thurgood. A tremendously impressive start was cut short with a season-ending injury picked up in the home defeat to Rochdale in November. It is no surprise that the Daggers’ automatic promotion push faltered drastically during Stuart’s absence.

So to the winners and the evergreen Tony Roberts. At the ripe old age of 40, he has remained irremovable between the sticks for another season. Despite a few errors in recent weeks, he is still rightly adored by the Victoria Road faithful and regarded as the finest keeper in the league by many. There seems no reason why John will look to change goalkeeping personnel any time soon.

And now to second-placed man, Scott Doe. Scott endured a horrendous start to the season with several nervy and frankly dreadful performances at right back. Yet the unfortunate injury to Will Antwi at Grimsby Town in December paved the way for Doe to move into his preferred central defence berth. The transformation was incredible. Daggers fans had not yet seen Doe play in the middle since signing for the club from Weymouth last season. However it soon became clear that John and his team had unearthed yet another diamond. By no means the tallest, Scott adapted to life in the Football League superbly. His ability to time tackles to perfection was evident against Hereford on Saturday. Statuesque Daggers defending left Bulls forward Manset bearing down on goal and but for the desperate and successful lunge of Doe, United would have won the game at the death and ended the Daggers’ season. Without a doubt the most improved player of the year.

And as for our winner, what more can you say about Mark Arber that hasn’t been said already? The Daggers’ skipper has led with assurance again and exhibited his usual calm presence on an inexperienced back four. Comfortable with both feet, Arbs’ spraying of the ball to both wings is a quality no Daggers centre half has ever demonstrated to this extent. Mid-season message board murmurings that Mark could be regarded as the finest player to ever wear the shirt were not misplaced given the consistency of his displays against football league opposition. A worthy winner and long may he remain at the club.