Dagenham and Redbridge’s battle to avoid the drop was dealt a cruel blow on Tuesday night as Leyton Orient salvaged a point deep into added time in the East London derby.
Scott McGleish slotted a stoppage time spot-kick for the O’s, after defender Femi Ilesanmi had been sent off for bringing down Paul-Jose M’Poku, to nullify Danny Green’s 12th minute opener, which looked to have secured the Daggers three vital points in their scrap for survival.
However, it was Orient who will feel the happier of the two sides after cementing their place immediately outside the play-off places, leaving Dag & Red perilously positioned just a point above the drop zone, in a game that both sides desperately wanted to win for their respective causes.
Having emerged victorious from last weekend’s rendez-vous with the Robins of Charlton, described by coach John Still as the biggest in the club’s history, Dagenham so nearly went one better by stepping out from their closest neighbours’ shadow and conquering their Brisbane Road base.
Thwarted in their attempts at chalking up a club record 15th game unbeaten by foes from across the City Brentford, before ordering a judicial review of the decision to hand door-step dirtiers West Ham keys to the Olympic Stadium, Orient were especially determined not to suffer back-to-back league losses for the first time since the Daggers’ first ever League One win sparked a run of three straight reversals for the O’s in September.
In this, the East End institutions’ fourth meeting of the season, it was honours even at the Matchroom Stadium. But host manager Russell Slade insists his side should have come away with more, having created numerous openings and stayed true to their passing principles, rather than “hoofing it” as the game wore on and chances came and went. “That’s what got us to seventh place in the table and it would be ridiculous to start changing those tactics now” he suggested.
Whereas, praise from the opposing dugout was aimed at the visitors’ organisation and application of pressure, ensuring “the crowd got on their back”. “The fans know that what they get from our team is everybody giving every single ounce they have” urged Still.
If this committed work ethos can be consistently replicated by both these sides and allied to a little extra skill and composure, such as that shown by Orient’s McGleish in the dying embers of this derby, there is no reason why either London club shouldn’t reach their respective targets come May.
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