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That's The Improvement You Want
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A big recovery and three more points.
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By:
Eric Hitchmo
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30/09/2009
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More On Dagenham and Redbridge
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"So then, after a horrible one on Saturday, it was an important visit from Dagenham & Redbridge that followed. Talk beforehand suggested that this was the sort of game where if we were to harbour serious hopes of a good season, we needed to get the points. We could do with some of that 'bouncebackability' or something.
And that's what we got. We shocked them in the first half with a barrage of slick, incisive play at a high tempo. The first goal was a gem. Great work down the left by Yannick Bolasie, who for the first time this season showed the excellent form that won him so many admirers, fed Kenny Gillet, one of my villians from Saturday who put in a superb cross which was neatly tucked home by Paul Furlong from close range. I was very critical of Kenny on Saturday, so equally I should be able to say well done to the lad when he's played well. Lovely stuff. We'd started very well and it was a lead we deserved fully.
From the start Dagenham had employed the tactic they always seem to do. Massive punts upfield towards a hefty striker looking for a knock down to the dangerous Benson to get onto. It had John Still written all over it. Effective you may say, but certainly not on this occasion. Every vertically challenging lump upfield found either a Barnet head, the hands of Jake Cole, or the stands for a goal kick or throw in. In fact many of these punts found themselves flying out of our little ground.
Even when it's working this tactic is horrible to watch, but it was in laughably bad practice last night. Boring long ball Dagenham were having a very bad night at the office. Their only glimmers of hope were left back Griffiths, who gave Adomah a pretty fruitless night on the wing and midfielder Stuart Thurgood who sprayed a couple of nice passes around the park. He certainly showed glimpses of why we were after him for so long a few years ago. The aforementioned Dangerous Benson was kept very quiet by the imposing figure of the returning Gary Breen. We improved infinitely across the park, and it was showing.
Of course, two regular figures for a tremendous amount of banter/abuse come from the Essex side. Mark Arber and Tony Roberts were given their usual torrent of fantastic abuse. The former gets it a bit more seriously for all that drama back in 2002, where basically, to put it in real layman's terms, he tried to get loads of money off the club. John Still described it as 'disgusting'. It was pretty full on abuse as it always is, but football supporters will never forget when a person does such things to their football club. His general whiney attitude helps none either. Y'know, he's one of those players that will get in the referee's earholes pleading for bookings every time a foul goes in. One of THOSE players!
Roberts really is a great character to have in football, gives it plenty of banter, and takes a load of stick too. It's quite funny when he gets in a big old strop about it mind you, sulking like a kid. I took my opportunity to tell him so at half time, after John O'Flynn's penalty.
More good work from Bolasie won the penalty and O'Flynn put it past Roberts with minimum fuss despite the odd movements of the old Welsh man. He does himself no favours when he leaves his foot in after a goal kick, striking Paul Furlong, then having the nerve to complain when Ismail Yakubu goes in for an aerial challenge with him. Still with that silliness aside, we were pretty deserving of this two goal lead at half time, we'd really done well.
The second half was much of the same story. We could have done with adding another one but we didn't really create many clear cut chances on goal, if any. However, Dagenham's threat was still pretty minimal with the defence staying strong and solid throughout. It really was a massive improvement.
So all in all a satisfying win against a local 'rival'. A good recovery and something to build on ahead of Saturday's visit of the fish based side Grimsby Town. Their superb fanzine Cod Almighty have been ever so kind in sending us a little pretext to the game, which you can read tomorrow.
Still Out!"
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