Dagenham & Redbridge ended a run of four straight defeats with a comprehensive victory over lowly Kettering at Victoria Road.
It was a well-deserved win but more importantly it was much-needed as the Daggers finally ended their dismal run.
As early as the tenth minute it seemed that their luck may have been out once more as Danny Hill curled a left-foot shot which struck the bottom of the post. A minute later Paul Terry's corner found the head of an unmarked Lee Matthews but he wasted the opportunity as he headed the ball wide.
Kettering conceded possession but Dale Watkins and Gez Murphy looked threatening up front and it was Murphy's shot that Tony Roberts saved with his fingertips in the 14th minute.
But Daggers took the lead in the 21st minute as Junior McDougald squeezed in a cross from the right and Terry arrived at the near post to thunder home a header.
Terry could have made it 2-0 but his left-foot shot went straight at keeper Ian Bowling.
But Daggers' lead was short-lived as Kettering broke at speed. Watkins placed a through ball to Danny Walsh who had run the length of the pitch. Terry could not quite intercept the pass and Walsh calmly placed the ball into the net.
An important moment came three minutes before the break as Kettering nearly took the lead when Roberts saved Murphy's close-range effort.
Instead it was Daggers who scored the crucial goal. Terry's corner was cleared, Hill volleyed the ball back into the box and Mark Stein diverted it into the net.
Daggers could have added a third two minutes later as McDougald broke. It was three on one but Mark Stein's first touch let him down. Mark Janney then skipped past two defenders brilliantly only to see his clipped shot hit the right-hand post with Bowling beaten.
The second half saw Daggers reassert the same kind of authority they had enjoyed in the opening period of the match. Daggers pressed, Kettering offered little, and inevitably the third goal came when Craig Norman pounced on the back of McDougald for a clear penalty.
McDougald took it himself, Bowling got two hands to it but could only push it into the top corner and the game was all but over.
Kettering never capitulated but Daggers only looked like increasing their lead. Hill was an excellent creative force while Paul Bruce saw a shot fizz wide as did Danny Shipp.
Stein had three late efforts to extend the lead but two were saved and another whistled past the post