We suffered a 1-0 defeat to Dagenham & Redbridge on Saturday afternoon, after Aramide Oteh’s second-half effort separated the two sides in East London, despite our best efforts of pulling one back.
The Daggers were backed by a large crowd on home soil upon the arrival of their new minority shareholder and YouTube sensation KSI, which helped push the hosts to victory.
The game got off to a frantic start in East London, with excitement at both ends of the pitch. However, it wasn’t until the seventh minute when the first major chance came in the game, as Joe Haigh found a pocket of space on the edge of the area to shoot, only for his effort to whistle over the crossbar.
The hosts were back amongst the action just eight minutes later, as pinball in the box emerged from a corner, allowing the Daggers to poke one towards goal. Fortunately, a Wanderers white shirt was there to clear off the line and prevent an early deficit.
The game then settled down, with both sides taking a more reserved approach to the half. Jake Lawrence was amongst the action for us, forming a left-sided rivalry with Paul Kalambayi. Though, Kalambayi stood strong to thwart the forward’s burst of pace.
Just shy of the interval, we had a series of chances in the Dagenham penalty area; Jason Prior came inches away from probing one past goalkeeper Sam Howes. Then, minutes later Howes popped up again to block Louie Annesley’s attempt of drilling it across the six-yard box.
Half-Time: Dagenham & Redbridge 0-0 Dorking Wanderers
We made two changes straight after the break, with Frank Vincent and Harry Pinchard replacing Kai Enslin and Harry Sidwell. The second half then started in similar fashion to how the first one ended. Charlie Carter had the first chance of the half, after his strike launched over the crossbar 10 minutes after the reset.
However, it didn’t take much longer for the deadlock to be broken, as the ball was cut back for a lurking Aramide Oteh in the box who stuck it past Foulkes in the 60th minute to put the Daggers one-up.
The pressure of the game released after the goal, with the Daggers comfortable in possession despite our pursuit for a leveller.
The hosts almost doubled their output on 85, as Oteh slipped in Harvey Broad for a shot across goal. However, the latter saw his strike flash across the face of goal and out for a goal kick.
Dagenham then had a flurry of chances amidst the eight minutes added, all coming on the back of counter attacks down the left-hand side. Although none found the back of the net and helped them see the out game for a home victory.
Full-Time: Dagenham & Redbridge 1-0 Dorking Wanderers
We now look ahead to our next game at home to Chelmsford City on Tuesday night.