Dagenham 0 Burton Albion 2

Last updated : 18 October 2003 By Footymad Previewer

The up and down form of the Daggers continued as Burton Albion leapfrogged them in the table.

The 2-0 scoreline was not in any way a reflection of the Daggers efforts on the day as they dominated in every way, bar the final touch.

Dagenham wasted no time in their pursuit of goals as just two minutes in Leon Braithwaite's cheeky lob was cleared off the line by a backtracking Darren Wassall.

Alan Kimble was next to try his luck, but his effort from outside the box drifted over the bar.

Despite the early pressure it was Burton who took the lead through a flowing move involving Andy Ducros, who sent the ball into the box from the right wing and then Barry Williams who pounced on a deflection from Dean Beckwith to put Burton ahead.

Terry Henshaw then helped to keep their lead intact as he marshalled Chris Piper off the ball when he had looked a certainty to score as he stormed through the middle of the area.

Daggers top scorer Mark Bentley then tried his luck from the edge of the box but Matt Duke got down well to hold it on the line as the Daggers upped the pressure.

Tony Scully then saw his volley smash off Duke and Mark Janney saw his follow-up shot blocked by Steve Chettle.

Chris Piper was next in line for a goal attempt as his thundering volley had to be tipped over just after Danny Shipp had hit the sidenetting.

The impetus was definitely with the Daggers now, but as the second half kicked off Andy Sinton made an instant impact after coming on as a substitute by putting Albion further ahead with a cracking shot from the edge of the area with his first touch of the ball.

An hour in and it was still Dagenham playing their best football of the season, but surprisingly 2-0 down. Their misfortune was further compounded when Shipp hit the crossbar as the crowd starting calling for new signing Steve Watts.

They got their wish minutes as the former Shrewsbury man made his debut, but still the goals eluded them.

Alex Meechan was then introduced to bolster the attack, but the all-important final touch continued to elude the Daggers.