The Daggers' hopes of continuing their recent good form were dashed in a Boxing Day extravaganza against Aldershot Town which will leave Garry Hill's men apprehensive before the return fixture on New Years Day.
Chris Moore was the man who made the difference for the Daggers in the opening exchanges and his first shot on goal came after ten minutes which Nikki Bull react quickly to carry it away.
Five minutes later he again found himself in another one-on-one situation, again forcing Bull into making a point-blank save. From the ensuing corner Ashley Vickers had his header punched from the goal-line and his follow-up efforts accidentally headed off the line by Moore.
Despite the early action in the Aldershot half it was the visitors who took the lead as Adam Miller hammered home from close range leaving Daniel Naisbitt helpless.
Just two minutes later Miller struck again, but this time in spectacular fashion. Standing over a free-kick yards and practically on the painted white line of the wing, Miller sent an audacious shot dipping into the top corner of the net.
The comeback looked to be on ten minutes before the break as Moore latched on to a Mark Bentley throw and lofted the ball into the roof of the net.
In the second half Bull did everything he could to keep Aldershot ahead in the game and proved his worth when he tipped over a Steve Watts piledriver ten minutes into the second half.
The Daggers cause wasn't helped when Vickers saw red for an elbow on Jon Challinor and Garry Hill saw his side reduced to ten men.
The game was put out of reach for the Daggers after 80 minutes when Andrew Mumford struck from the corner of the box to restore the Shots two-goal lead.
Watts restored some hope through his tapping on 90 minutes, but this was to be too little too late.