This was more like the Daggers of old as Garry Hill has finally got his team of summer signings playing with confidence.
Mark Bentley had the first say for the Daggers when he burst through from the right wing ignoring Danny Shipp and Alex Meechan who had steamed forward and instead went for glory.
But just as the crowd were about to start celebrating they saw his effort hit the post and rebound out into open play.
At the other end, Darren Watson's snapshot from ten yards flew wide and Tony Scully's reply was to shoot straight at Phil Smith from close range.
Sean Hankin's foul on Bentley as he stormed through the middle of the park won the Daggers a free-kick 25 yards from goal.
Paul Bruce stepped up to float the ball into the back of the net to give the Daggers the lead in what was his first home league goal in his two seasons in Essex.
Ten minutes into the second half, Margate had their best period of the game. Manny Omoyinmi caused havoc down the left, brushing aside Tarkan Mustafa and let rip from 20 yards, but his shot failed to dip in time.
The Daggers added their second in the 62nd minute, again from a free-kick from the same distance. This time, Shipp stepped up and although it counted all the same, his tame shot that trickled in was hardly in the same league as Bruce's earlier effort.
Meechan then got in on the act with a fine effort, picking up the ball outside the area and banging it into the far corner of the net.
And finally, as if it was written in the script, Leon Braithwaite, the man who had taken so much abuse from even his own fans for failing to find the net, broke his duck against his former club.
Meechan floated the cross in from the left and Braithwaite's diving header flew past Smith, with Gate then having Sean Hankin sent off.
The final twist came as home keeper James Pullen saw himself dismissed for a foul on Jean Michel Sigere.
Stepping up to take the penalty himself, Sigere faced outfield player Bentley in goal, but the pressure was too much and his shot hit the post and flew out.