If only we had Stuart Thurgood

Daggers home form has been far from good recently, and they were looking to put it right against high flying Shrewsbury on Saturday.

The Daggers came into this game on the back of a of defeat away to Luton and a draw away to Wycombe.

For forty minutes or so Daggers matched the Hatters and had chances to take the lead at Kennilworth Road, but a quick fire double on the stroke of half time left the Daggers 2-0 down at the break and facing an uphill struggle.  The second half ended with a goal a piece but ultimately Luton took all the points.  Christian Doidge scored the consolation goal for the Daggers, the Welshman's first for the club.

Doidge gets first goal against Luton

Daggers took the lead against Wycombe, Jamie Cureton scoring again, unfortunately the Daggers couldn't hold on and the Chairboys snatched a late equaliser, meaning the Essex boys only took a point away from the Hive instead of all three, but a draw against one of the top four shouldn't be sneezed at when your a team who are finding it hard to pick up any result anywhere at the moment.

Before the home game with the Shrews the Daggers played a home game in the Essex Senior cup.  This was a chance for some of the players who were coming back from injuries and also chance for some of the fringe players at the club to get a run out.  Captain Abu Ogogo was eligible to play in this game as his 3 match ban didn't extend to friendly matches.  The biggest boost in this game was the return of last years top scorer Rhys Murphy.  The striker marked his return to first team football with a goal from the penalty spot.  The Daggers won the game against Ryman League one side Barkingside 2-0, Bradley Goldberg scored the second goal, a bit of a worldy by all accounts.

Shrewsbury came into this game after a midweek tussle with top of the Premier League Chelsea in the League cup.  The Shrews had put in a magnificent performance and had the country's top team on the ropes at one point of the game.  Unfortunately for them though Chelsea sneaked over the line with a 2-1 win.

 Micky Melon's boys would have put a lot into that performance on Wednesday night and Wayne Burnett's instructions would probably have been to get at them early and close them down.  The Daggers were quick out of the blocks in this one and were rewarded for the positive start when a powerful Billy Bingham shot gave the home side the lead after 6 minutes.  The Shrews are a good team and although they had their chances in the first half the daggers battled hard and deserved their lead at half time.  Mark Cousins in the home goal was earning his keep and the Daggers number 30 made some smart saves.  At the other end the Shrewsbury goalkeeper was probably quite lucky to be still on the pitch.  George Porter chased down a hopeful ball which looked to be too long for the winger and looked to be heading out of play for a goal kick when for some reason the Shrew's stopper raced out of the side of his area and deliberately punched the ball.  Referee Mr Sheldrake decided that a yellow card was punishment enough for these actions although George Porter argued it wasn't and  was subsequently booked for his protestations.  All I can say is the rules must have changed because a few seasons ago our goalkeeper at the time Chris Lewington was sent off twice in a season for handling the ball outside of his area.  One of which was so inconclusive that not one person in the ground could be 100% wether it was in or out of the box.  Oh well that's consistency for you.

Billy Bingham gave Daggers perfect start

Shrewsbury were reduced to ten men though early in the second half when Jermaine Grandison pulled back Ade Yusuff with the Striker through on goal.  Grandison who had scored the own goal Wednesday night against Chelsea which had ultimately dumped the Shrews out of the cup ended a troublesome week for himself after seeing a red card for denying a goal scoring opportunity.  Unfortunately for the Daggers the extra man became more of a hindrance then a help.  Wayne Burnett decided it would be a good idea to take off a midfielder in Andre Boucaurd and replace him with a defender in Matt Partridge.  I'm not sure if it was just for tactical reasons or for an injury but whichever it certainly disrupted the shape of the team as Shrewsbury with less men seemed to be finding more space in midfield.  The Shrews began to dictate the game as the Daggers seemed to get deeper and deeper.  Billy Bingham who had been doing so well in the middle of the pitch ended up on the left side of midfield and the gaps were starting to show.  The Daggers should have been in charge but instead were being put under more and more pressure as the away team launched attack after attack.  Daggers couldn't win the ball back and it was only a matter of time before the Shrews scored.  It was Wednesday nights hero Andy Mangan who got the anticipated leveller on 70 minutes.  The substitute scoring an unstoppable volley from a lovely ball over the top of our ever receding defence.  Daggers made more changes, Rhys Murphy came on to make his first league appearance of the season, Ashley Chambers also came on.  Twice the daggers could have scored the winner but firstly George Porter didn't play in Ashley Chambers when he was free on goal and then Rhys Murphy decided to go alone when George Porter was in acres of space with the goal at his mercy, these opportunities were to cost the Daggers dearly in the last minute of injury time when the Shrews who to their credit never gave up,  Andy Mangan got free in the box and Scott Doe brought  him down.  Veteran Liam Lawrence stepped up, scored and gave Shrewsbury all the points leaving Daggers with absolutely nothing.  I walked out of Vicky Road with my son wearing his shiny new away shirt probably the most down I have felt in many a year.  Where does the team go from here?  To be honest I don't have a clue.

A lot of our fans were rightly pissed off with the result and a lot of them made there thoughts known towards the manager.  To be fair the blame has to lay at his door as his tactics in the second half were poor at best.  It's a game we should have won or at least drawn, but instead we leave Victoria Road not for the first time this season having lead at half time with nothing.

The Daggers welcome Conference side Southport on Saturday in the FA Cup.  A slip up in this game could spell the end of Wayne Burnett's tenure as daggers boss.  I hope that this isn't the case as I like what he has done for the club and have been amazed at the talent he has brought to the club, but as he as always said football is about results and if he doesn't put out the right team with the right tactics to get that result then that is down to him.

Is Wayne a manager under pressure

On a brighter note today is Stuart Thurgood's birthday.  Thurgood only played 17 times for our club but in his short time in the centre of our midfield proved to me and many others what a player he was.  Unfortunately we have never really replaced his tenacity and tackling ability in the middle of the pitch.  Thurgood would make a big difference to our midfield at this moment in time such a shame we don't have him now.  Happy 33rd birthday Stuart.

Happy birthday Stuart Thurgood.

Come on you Daggers!!