Daggers 1-1 Burton Albion, Scott's Got One Brewing.

Wayne Burnett will be happy with his side’s second half performance after Dagenham & Redbridge recovered from being 1-0 down to draw 1-1 with Burton Albion. A poor first half saw Burton take a deserved lead through Lee Bell, before a superb solo effort from Josh Scott early in the second period made sure Daggers retained a share of the spoils. It extends Daggers' unbeaten run to three games ahead of next weekend's trip to Fleetwood Town.

Before the game Daggers fans could be forgiven for being slightly pessimistic. Our opponents were second in the league and following our lacklustre second half performance on Tuesday night, few were expecting three points this afternoon. One thing that worked in our favour however, was the head to heads. Burton have only won three times in fifteenth meetings against Dagenham, although one of those did come in a 3-2 victory at the Pirelli earlier this season.

After walking into a damp and particularly sparse Victoria Road just before kick off, the teams were announced:

Dagenham & Redbridge: Lewington, Ogogo, Doe, Wilkinson, Femi, Hoyte, Saunders, Howell, Elito, Strevens, Scott. Subs: Seabright, Green, Dennis, Reed, Shields, Maher, Bingham.

Wayne Burnett made a single change from the side that drew 2-2 against 10 man Torquay on Tuesday night, with Ben Strevens replacing Billy Bingham. This also triggered a change in formation. Abu Ogogo reverted to right back which would give Gavin Hoyte an opportunity to harness his crossing ability in right midfield. Matt Saunders & Luke Howell made up the midfield two with Medy Elito on the right along with Ben Strevens & Josh Scott up front.

Burton Albion: Tomlinson, Diamond, O'Connor, Sharps, Weir, McCrory, Maghoma, Bell, Zola, McDonald, Kee. Subs: Lyness, Corbett, Holness, Phillips, Dyer, Drury, Paterson.

February manager of the month Gary Rowett opted to make two changes from the midweek win at Aldershot. February play of the month Jacques Maghoma was restored in the midfield in place of Adam Drury, whilst up front the mesmeric Billy Kee came in for Michael Symes after passing a late fitness test. 

Slightly after 15:00 the two sides emerged from the tunnel to a cold ripple of applause. The wind swept through and the Daggerettes were nowhere to be seen. After a quick pre match handshake and team huddle, the two sides set themselves up for what would surely be an enthralling encounter.

After a slow opening few minutes, it was the visitors who were the first to get a shot away. The ball fell to Billy Kee on the edge of the area, but the forward failed to test Chris Lewington with his tame drive. Burton were seeing more of the ball and it showed as Calvin Zola headed straight at Lewington's mid-rift from close range. Daggers were unable to impose themselves as yet with the Brewers winning the majority of the key midfield battles early on.

The game continued in the same vain as we completed the first quarter. The ball fell to Robbie Weir but the Northern Irishman could only direct his fierce effort wide of the mark as Burton continued to press. Soon after that though, Daggers had their first chance of the afternoon. Elito's ball in from the left bypassed Strevens before being met by Josh Scott whose deflected strike went wide of the post for a Daggers corner.

Despite Daggers looking slightly more dangerous going forward, it was still the Brewers who looked the more likely to score with Alex McDonald seeing his header drift wide of the post. With little over 30 minutes gone Daggers had their first real chance of the match. Lee Bell fouled Josh Scott on the edge of the area which gave Matt Saunders a chance to test the 'keeper. Saunders looped his strike over the wall before seeing it tipped over the bar by the acrobatic Stuart Tomlinson.

Just as Daggers finally looked as though they might have some momentum, they found themselves a goal behind. After a scramble in the area, the ball fell for Maghoma who laid it back for Bell to unleash an unstoppable daisy-cutter strike along the floor and into the back of the net. The Burton players went off to celebrate as the Daggers defence looked at eachother bewildered, wondering why the man wasn't closed down quicker.

As the half wore on it was the visitors who looked the more likely to score the next goal and double their lead. They nearly did just that on 38 minutes, but luckily for Daggers Abu Ogogo was on the line to deny Calvin Zola his 14th goal of the season. Wayne Burnett's men never looked like finding a goal in the first half and once again found themselves lacking down the wings - the decision to move Gavin Hoyte to right midfield was not looking like a particularly smart one at this point. At the same time it could be argued that he was countering the threat posed by Damien McCrory and was thus doing his job.

Regardless of all that, the referee soon blew his whistle to indicate half time. To throw a meaningless stat in, this was only the fourth time all season Daggers had gone in behind at the break when playing at Victoria Road. There was no question about it; we needed an improved second half performance if we were to get something from this game. With that, Wayne Burnett continued the theme of making bold substitutions. This time Louis Dennis was introduced for Medy Elito who had done nothing wrong by any means. It would however give Dennis his biggest opportunity to shine, having played bit part roles at Wycombe and at home to Chesterfield a couple of weeks ago.

Following a slow start to the second half, Daggers soon burst into life just after the 50 minute mark. Josh Scott received the ball by turning his man and skipping past two Albion challenges before rounding it off by executing a superb right foot finish past a helpless Stuart Tomlinson. The significance of the goal was huge. It was a superb solo effort, but more importantly it was on his weaker foot which he's been reluctant to use in past years.

Daggers were now the side in the ascendancy following Dennis' introduction and Scott's fantastic strike. Femi then abused his power as cult hero by taking on a speculative effort from the left when passing out wide would have been the better option. Needless to say Tomlinson gathered with ease whilst Louis Dennis was left with his hands on his hips in frustration. 

The game continued to be fought in the midfield, with chances few and far between for both sides. Daggers were now enjoying the majority of the possession and looked most threatening down the left without creating any clear cut chances. But on 73 minutes, the hosts nearly remedied their lack of creativity. Good interchange between Dennis & Femi saw the latter cross into the box where an Albion defender took the ball from Josh Scott after the frontman, clearly brimming with confidence, brought the ball down in expert fashion.

Both sides were struggling to create any clear cut chances. Substitute Paterson flashed his shot inches wide of the mark after combining well with Drury, before in the dying stages Jacques Maghoma's goalbound effort was blocked superbly by Luke Wilkinson. Despite three minutes of additional time, neither side could find another goal which meant the scores remained locked at 1-1. The referee blew his whistle to signal the end of the contest which left both sides with a share of the spoils.

Taking into account the two halves, no one could disagree that both sides deserved a point. Burton largely dominated the first 45, whilst Daggers kicked on and were on top in the second half. The introduction of Louis Dennis was a turning point with the young winger constantly looking to take on his man, giving Daggers a different outlet to what's usually available. It also highlights the bold management of Burnett who’s seemingly not afraid to make a change if the system isn't working.

Josh Scott.

Perhaps the most pleasing aspect of the afternoon was Josh Scott. His excellent solo effort made sure we took an important point, but his performance was much more than that. He continued to work around the park, hustling the Burton defence before taking his chance extremely well. We also shouldn't underestimate the work Ben Strevens put in once again. Whilst he failed to create any chances, he gave 110% all over the pitch.

As for Burton, it's a crucial point for them. Victoria Road is a place where several sides pushing towards the top have slipped up this season - so they should see it as a valuable point in their quest for promotion. They're a well organised side and with the strike force available to them, I can definitely see them going up. I wish them good luck for the remainder of the season!

Our next game is one of the longest away trips of the season where we'll take on Fleetwood Town at Highbury. Unless there's a torrential downpour that calls the game off, you'll have a report from that one to read here on The Daggers Scale. Until then, have a good week and remember you can follow me on Twitter, @NickMurphyDRFC.

Burton Albion 3-2 Daggers, Billy The Kee

Dagenham & Redbridge suffered their first ever defeat at the Pirelli Stadium on Saturday afternoon as they were downed 3-2 by an impressive Burton Albion side. Goals from Dwight Gayle & Sam Williams were not enough for the Daggers, as Damien McCrory, Matt Paterson and Billy Kee sealed an impressive victory for the Brewers. After such an impressive performance against Rotherham United last weekend, John Still's men can't really have any complaints over this result.

Taking into account our impressive record over the Brewers, a run which includes only three defeats I was pretty optimistic over the game ahead. When you factor in that we've never lost at the Pirelli coupled with the fact we'd only lost three away games prior to this, we had good cause to be optimistic! Burton were also dealt a tough hand considering they were only in action on Thursday night against Altrincham, a game that they won comfortably 2-0.

The journey up wasn't particularly action packed, with two changes at Rugby and Tamworth before we finally arrived at Burton-On-Trent station. A gloomy and overcast sky awaited us as we were forced to make the 25 minute walk to the ground along a straight and extremely long road. After passing several annoying roundabouts we arrived at the ground just before 14:20.

The exterior is pretty modern which is rather obvious as the ground was only built in 2005, making it one of the newest in English football. We were given the corner part of the main stand such was our low number of travelling fans. We shared this with the Burton supporters, although the majority were from a local football club so the stewards didn't bother with any barriers to separate the clubs.

The stadium itself is quite nice; whilst it may be modern it retains a sort of charm that makes it feel more traditional. It's probably helped by the fact that it has three sides that are composed of terracing which allow for a good atmosphere. Otherwise the seating option is available to supporters who want it. The majority of the noise comes from the Rotala Stand, whilst the majority choose to congregate along the nPower Family Stand.

With not long until kick off the muffled PA system finally announced the teams as follows...

Burton Albion: Lyness, Stanton, Diamond, O'Connor, Weir, Palmer, McCrory, Maghoma, Bell, Kee, Zola. Subs: Atkins, Holness, McGrath, Taylor, Dyer, Richards, Paterson.

Burton opted to make several changes from their 2-0 cup victory on Thursday night, with Dean Lyness making his full football league debut in place of the injured Mark Oxley. Daggers hate figure Nathan Stanton also returned, as did forward Billy Kee. This meant Marcus Holness, and Cleveland Taylor dropped to the bench, whilst Damien McCrory started at left back against his former employers.

Dagenham & Redbridge: Lewington, Ogogo, Doe, Wilkinson, Femi, Spillane, Saunders, Howell, Elito, Gayle, Reed. Subs: Seabright, Caprice, Woodall, Williams, Bingham, Hoyte, Maher.

John Still kept with the same side that defeated Rotherham 5-0 in convincing fashion last week; this meant loan signing Jake Caprice had to settle with a place on the bench. Mickey Spillane who netted in this fixture last season lined up in midfield alongside Saunders and Luke Howell, who after some confusion last weekend was available to play in this match. 

The ground continued to fill up as the referee led the teams out onto the pitch under the guise of the floodlights. With the pre match rituals completed and a despairing "Thriller" dance routine waded through, the game began in earnest. The opening five minutes or so were scrappy as you may expect. The Daggers were edging the corner count whilst Burton were looking dangerous out wide, in particular Chris Palmer.

As the game wore on Burton looked the far more likely to open the scoring. A poor header back to Lewington from Femi gifted Kee the chance to open the scoring, however his attempt rebounded back off of the post. Minutes later and the Daggers defence were under pressure once more as Lewington made a superb double stop from Calvin Zola and Robbie Weir to somehow keep the Brewers at bay. 

The visitors had somehow managed to ride the storm without conceding and went on an attack of their own soon after with Abu Ogogo firing wide of Lyness' post. The Daggers were given a boost on 20 minutes as the dazed Calvin Zola had no other choice but to be substituted, he was replaced by Matt Paterson. Lewington was forced into action once more directly after the change, pushing Chris Palmer's curling free kick wide of the post to preserve the 0-0 scoreline.

As we reached the half hour mark, all attention turned to Albion debutant Dean Lyness. The 'keeper made a good stop from Medy Elito's rasping effort, however it all went horribly wrong for the 'stopper just minutes later. A superb through ball released Jake Reed who was in turn brought down by Lyness for a clear penalty as he raced towards the ball. The referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot, giving Lyness a lenient yellow card in the process.

Mickey Spillane who had been hit and miss from the spot so far this season stepped up in confident fashion to take the spot kick. Initially it looked as though Lyness had made amends, pushing Spillane's spot kick onto the post. However, inn somewhat cruel fashion the rebound fell to a delighted Gayle who tapped home for a 1-0 lead and his seventh goal of the season. Cue a sense of disbelief amongst Daggers fans as to how an earth we were leading this contest.

The away side were now looking more confident and nearly doubled the lead minutes later. A shot from the left hand side was parried well by Lyness and the follow up header from Saunders was clutched admirably by the 'keeper who was being given a stern workout on his debut. Abu Ogogo then went into the referee's book for a poor challenge as the Stanton/Ogogo rivalry amongst the supporters reignited once again.

Without a doubt it was John Still's men who ended the first half in the ascendancy as Matt Saunders twice went close to doubling the lead. Jake Reed was then released thanks to some clever play from Gayle, but the inexperienced forward got overexcited and overran his touch. Burton had one last attempt before the end of the half with a tricky looking ball running across the six yard box begging to be put into the back of the net - but alas there was no one to steer it in.

Almost inconceivably given how the opening half an hour had gone, the Daggers went in 1-0 up at the break. The standout player of the half was Chris Lewington without a doubt, without him inbetween the sticks we could have been 3 or 4-0 down going into the break. No one had really impressed for the Daggers as yet, although Elito was looking somewhat sprightly on the left hand side.

With the half time break, I took the chance to sample some of Burton's cuisine, aka the burger bar. Annoyingly they ran out of sausage rolls at half time, much to dissatisfaction of one supporter who took the chance to vent his spleen at the catering staff...who proceeded to have a good bitch about him after the customer left. In the end I settled for a tea which was pretty horrible. 

Upon returning to the stand everyone was optimistic of an improved second half where the Daggers would hopefully push on and extend the lead. The teams emerged from the main stand back onto the pitch, ready for what promised to be a pulsating second 45. 

With six minutes of the second half gone, Burton Albion found a deserved equaliser. As fate would have it, former Dagger Damien McCrory was the man who scored it. Jake Reed foolishly tried to keep the ball in play when a better option would have been to boot it into row Z. This allowed McCrory to interchange with Maghoma before firing a deflected strike over a helpless Lewington to compound the misery. Of all of the times to net your first goal for your new club eh?

Lewy left with no chance

Just as we recovered from that setback, we were sent reeling once more as a defensive mix up allowed Burton to take a 2-1 lead. Luke Wilkinson didn't get enough on his header back to Lewington which allowed substitute Paterson to nick in before anyone else and slide home to give the Brewers the lead. Cue the 10 year olds sitting next to us celebrating like 10 year olds do - getting a rise out of some of our supporters in the process.

The visitors now went in search of an equaliser, with Medy Elito & Femi both coming close on the left hand side. Dwight Gayle should have done better when allowed space in the box, however the forward decided to open a box of tricks rather than attempting to get a shot away when the time was right. John Still then made his first change; Billy Bingham was brought on for Matt Saunders in the midfield.

Almost immediately a Bingham corner nearly led to a goal, Dwight Gayle rose highest but his header went high over the bar. A good opportunity that really should have tested the 'keeper. Sam Williams was also introduced for the tiring Jake Reed; his first attempt was easily gathered by Lyness who was enjoying a quieter second period.

Within minutes of that attempt, the Daggers drew level in spectacular fashion. The ball was played forward to Luke Wilkinson who nodded it down for Sam Williams to finish emphatically into the top corner of the net. Cue delirium amongst the travelling support and songs of, "Sam Williams, he scores when he wants." Now I don't mean to ruin this moment...but I told you so!

Burton kicked off the game once more and within seconds the Daggers were brought back down to earth with a bump. A ball was lumped towards Kee who chested it down, took a touch and advanced forward before unleashing an unstoppable shot that rifled past Lewington and into the corner of the net. With a strike like that, there's nothing that you can do but applaud it really. The defending from Scott Doe could have been better perhaps, but there's no denying the sheer quality of the goal.

You may have expected the Daggers to put Burton under relentless pressure from this stage, but in reality it wasn't the case. The brewers held onto the ball admirably and restricted the Essex side to speculative efforts, none of which challenged Lyness in the slightest. In fact it was Burton who looked the more likely to extent their lead with Billy Kee firing just wide during the five minutes of injury time.

The referee blew his whistle to signal the end of the match, the end of our unbeaten run and the end of our unbeaten streak at the Pirelli. All good things come to end I suppose. All credit to Burton though, they deserve the win and Billy Kee's strike deserved to win any game - utterly superb. The best way to describe our performance is ordinary really, as John Still said after the game it was naivety that cost us.

As some have alluded to it's going to be a long season as it's unlikely the squad will be consistent for long periods. But that's to be expected. You have to remember we have a young squad who will both impress us and irritate us in equal measure this season. The important thing is that we have the basis of a good squad of players who will continually improve both performance and results wise. I said before the start of the season I'd be happy with a mid table finish and that's where we are at the moment. 

Chris Lewington deserves a lot of praise for his first half performance and realistically there's not a lot he could have done regarding all of the Burton strikes. The left side didn't impress me yesterday either, with Femi being caught out far too many times for my liking. This left Medy in a lot of trouble trying to cover when Femi galloped forward which ultimately didn't work. Here's hoping Luke Wilkinson enjoys a quick recovery as well as he clearly wasn't at the races with his heading yesterday due to the amount of staples in his head.

As for Burton, as I say I can't really begrudge you over the three points. Chris Palmer tormented us all afternoon and Billy Kee's strike was superb and deserved to win the points. Considering it was his League debut, Lyness also put in a decent display. I have no qualms with Burton so wish you and Damien McCrory good luck for the season ahead. Unless it comes down to us two for a final Play Off spot, in which case here's hoping we get it!

That's it for another week and another 3-2 away defeat as well. My next game is Fleetwood at home next week, before we take on Torquay & Bristol Rovers - both of which I won't be attending. 

Remember to follow me on Twitter, @NickDRFCMurphy is what you need...thanks for reading!

Here's a little gallery of other pictures from the day as well...

North Stand (nPower Family Stand)

Daggers 1-1 Burton Albion, Brian Woodinho

Dagenham & Redbridge salvaged a late draw at home to Burton Albion thanks to a sublime strike from fans favourite Brian Woodall in a result which keeps the Daggers six points above the drop zone and extends the unbeaten run to five matches.

Before the match I was strangely and dangerously optimistic, this was mainly due to a specific fact that I hadn't shut up about for the duration of the week. Dagenham & Redbridge haven't lost to Burton Albion since 2003, a run which has contained eight Daggers victories and two draws between the former Conference outfits. I was however extremely wary as this is the game that you just knew we would throw away, no disrespect to Burton but this is the game in our run in that we had the best chance of winning.

I arrived at Victoria Road for just after 2:30 meaning I could watch the whole of the stadium slowly fill up whilst reading my programme and having a burger; oh the joys. Whilst I was waiting for my several cohorts, the teams were read out over the tannoy system and they were as follows.

Dagenham & Redbridge: Lewington, McCrory, Arber, Baudry, Doe, Elito, Ogogo, Spillane, Green, Woodall, Akinde. Subs: Hogan, Wassmer, Bingham, Scott, Parker.

John Still decided to make two changes from the side that defeated Port Vale in Staffordshire last week with John Akinde & Dominic Green returning to the side after an absence. They replaced Billy Bingham who was consigned to the bench and Jon Nurse who had an assumed injury, this also meant that the home side reverted to a more attacking 4-4-2 formation.

Burton Albion: Atkins, Webster, Stanton, Corbett, Austin, Phillips, Maghoma, Dyer, Bolder, Richards, Pearson. Subs: James, Ada, Ainsworth, Taylor, Zola.

Burton Albion caretaker managers Gary Rowett & Kevin Poole named an unchanged side from the one that produced a resolute defensive display a week ago against Crawley Town. Albion's biggest threat in Billy Kee is ruled out for the rest of the season so that was a definite plus point for the afternoon.

It was nearing 15:00 so Lee, Anthony & I headed up to The Traditional Builders Stand where we met Chaz & Bill, struggling to find a seat we eventually positioned ourselves on the far side next to the 123 travelling supporters. The teams eventually came out to good applause from all four sides of the ground as the home fans in the TB Stand exchanged some friendly banter with the away supporters from Burton.

It was Mark Arber that won the toss and he opted to swap ends so that we would be attacking the TB Stand in the second half, hopefully to suck the ball into the net like at home to Accrington two weeks previous. We were all ready and within seconds the referee had blown his whistle to signal the start of this extremely important match.

The first ten minutes of the contest were very slow paced with hardly any action, only a Femi like header from Baudry giving Burton a chance to attack from the resulting corner, but even then Lewington wasn't tested. The first shot of the afternoon came courtesy of Congolese midfielder Jacques Maghoma, however his poor effort went high over the bar causing no problems for the Daggers defensive contingent.

With just over 15 minutes played in the contest there came a big talking point up the other end of the field. Dominic Green was on the right hand side and whipped a ball into the box that hit the arm of Jack Dyer before bouncing clear. To all of the Daggers fans it appeared to be a stonewall penalty, however the referee was having none of it and somehow waved away the appeals to give another corner. I personally thought it was a stonewall penalty, these appeals also set the tone for the afternoon with some people shouting handball rather annoyingly every five minutes.

With just under 20 minutes gone in the contest, Burton managed to get the first shot on target away courtesy of Jimmy Phillips who could only screw his shot straight at Lewington. Why am I so funny? The away side continued to pressure the hosts when front man Greg Pearson headed narrowly wide from an enticing ball in by the ever threatening Phillips.

Towards the end of the half and Still's men looked to pressurise the Burton defence with several decent opportunities. Aaron Webster was booked as Dominic Green fired a free kick into the wall, whilst minutes later John Akinde headed onto the roof of the net following some good play down the right hand side by Medy Elito. Both sides were limited to shots from target and it was showing as Mickey Spillane fired wide from about 30 yards out following some neat play in the middle of the park between Ogogo & Green.

It was the home side who mustered the final attempt of the first half as loan star Mathieu Baudry forced visiting 'keeper Ross Atkins into a fine save from his long range effort. From the resulting corner, the ball went through a crowd of bodies to the unsuspecting Spillane who could only manage to prod an effort over the top and out for a goal kick to end the action as the teams went in level at the half way mark.

Overall I'd say that 0-0 at the break was pretty even, neither side had created any substantial opportunities with the game being quite flat in truth. One positive was that the TB Stand was heaving with supporters and the banter between the home and away fans was pretty decent, the majority of songs being ginger based which became increasingly tedious as the half wore on. As the teams headed down the tunnel, Nathan Stanton received some more abuse for his part in getting Abu Ogogo sent off in the reverse fixture at The Pirelli back in December.

The teams came back out for the second half and the home side nearly scored instantly from a well earned corner. The ball went through a crowd of players to eventually find an unmarked Akinde at the back post; Akinde continued his sluggish afternoon by firing a tame shot goalward that was blocked easily on the line by Andy Corbett, (no relation to Ronnie). The rebound fell to Baudry inside the 6 yard box but he fired over amongst a crowd of players from both sides as the scores remained level.

Jacques Maghoma
http://www.img.skysports.com/

We were then straight up the other end from the goal kick as Jacques Maghoma found some space on the right before cutting inside and unleashing a spectacular left footedcurling shot which found its way into the far corner of the net, leaving Lewington to dive in despair. An absolutely sensational strike from the 24 year old that sent Burton's supporters into overdrive with joy. As downbeat as I was, I couldn't help but laugh at a minority of opposition supporters who really tried rubbing it in but only succeeded in making total arses of themselves in the process.

John Still's men tried to respond with a Damien McCrory free kick, unfortunately though his low "drive" could only cannon back off of the wall allowing torrents of abuse to come his way from all four sides. Burton then made their first change of the afternoon on 55 minutes; Jack Dyer was withdrawn for Shrewsbury loan player Lionel Ainsworth who was enjoying the seventh loan spell of his seven year career to date.

Just over five minutes later and we had a near carbon copy of John Akinde's blocked shot, except this time Scott Doe was denied by a Brewers defender as the home side pushed for an important equaliser. The away side then made their second change bringing on Calvin Zola who scored the Brewers goal in the 1-1 draw between the sides back in December. He replaced the lacklustre Justin Richards as Zola received a warm ripple of applause from the visiting supporters.

John Still's sluggish home side continued to press for a goal and they should have tested Atkins on 64 minutes but Mickey Spillane was crowded out after failing to make a decision between passing the ball to Doe on the right hand side or taking the shot on. Ultimately he done neither and the danger was cleared. Josh Scott was then brought on for the out of sorts Akinde as Jimmy Phillips went into the referee's book for petulance.

The substitution brought new life into Elito as the tricky winger cut inside and beat two men before firing over the bar and into an unsuspecting supporter below myself in the TB Stand. Some good initiative from Elito even though it didn't actually pay off. We then saw two more changes, one for either side as the woeful Dom Green was replaced by Josh Parker for Daggers, whilst the Brewers saw former Redbridge FC defender Patrick Ada come on in place of the rather anonymous Greg Pearson.

Burton then began to exploit the various holes being left in the Daggers' back line with Ryan Austin having a shot blocked by Baudry from a free kick. Ainsworth nearly scored via a cross come shot which eventually nestled on the top of Lewington’s net, whilst Maghoma unselfishly teed up Ainsworth who fired a low shot at Lewington's body which the 'keeper gathered safely; anywhere else and I have a feeling we would have been in trouble.

Burton continued to press home their apparent dominance as Zola held off the previously untouchable Baudry before playing in Bolder whose low shot was tipped round the post by an unsure Lewington. With seven minutes remaining John Still decided to make his final change of the match, bringing off Damien McCrory for Billy Bingham in a move which saw the Daggers revert to a 3-5-2 formation.

Almost instantaneously Bingham made an impact, getting around the park as well as playing some neat balls over the top for Elito to run onto. As it was beginning to look hopeless for the home side, Brian Woodall who had been anonymous all afternoon stepped up to the plate and delivered a sensational lower league version of Peter Crouch's stunner two weeks ago. He hit a glorious 25 yard strike past Atkins into the far corner of the net to send the home fans delirious. That was the former Gresley mans' 7th league goal of the season and his 9th in all competitions, I'm pretty sure it’s the best he's scored to date as well.

It was now focus time as either side could win this in the final 10 minutes that remained (including injury time.) It was Burton who went to try and nab the winner as a partially cleared corner fell to Ainsworth after good work from Zola to keep it in play. Ainsworth's shot was saved well by Lewington as it threatened to bobble up and over the 'keeper, a stop that really calmed the nerves.

That was really the final action of the game, unless you count Medy Elito not jumping high enough to get on the end of a Parker ball in, as action. I have to admit I feel it was an undeserved point and I wouldn't have begrudged Burton had they gone home with all 3 points in the bag as we really were off the pace this afternoon.

I was extremely disappointed with Nathan Stanton's actions after the final whistle as well. As he went to walk down the tunnel several Daggers fans chanted at him and he didn't take kindly to it at all, calling a section of our supporters a few derogatory terms. You may think the abuse towards him was out of order, but as a professional footballer one thing you don’t do is lash out and swear at supporters. He then continued this as he resumed to the field to warm down and was apparently taken aside by John Still and given a few words. Not something you like to see really.

Medy gets some treatment.

Back to the game anyways and it was an extremely abject and disappointing performance, however it may be the point that saves us from relegation, if it is, what a way to get it! No players really stand out for me, Abu was as consistent as ever and sometimes that unfairly goes unnoticed. Mickey Spillane put a lot of effort in even if it gave no real reward, whilst Woodall deserves plenty of praise for a simply amazing strike. I also thought that Medy had a decent enough game going on a couple of good runs that nearly opened up Albions resolute defence.

Some players weren't up to their best today like Baudry who was uncharacteristically sloppy, whilst Doe was quite poor and extremely lucky not to get a yellow card midway through the second half for a poor challenge. John Akinde was very sluggish and I have no idea how Dominic Green got in the team at all, it was a surprise inclusion considering our four match unbeaten run and I was really disappointed that he was played even if I can see why.

As for Burton, I have to say well done to the 123 fans that made the trip down to this part of Essex, even if some of you made an arse out of yourselves. If I had to pick a player that impressed me from your side it would be Phillips, he caused a fair few problems and managed to get a couple of decent shots away.  At the back though Andy Corbett was rock solid and looks generally to be a good ball player as well, an impressive attribute to have if you’re a defender.

My final word is on the idiot supporters that were situated behind me in the TB Stand this afternoon who clearly have no comprehension of appropriate behaviour and support at a football match. One of them started shouting abuse which I don't particularly want to mention about Mark Arber, whilst another continually slammed Scott Doe. I don't have words to express how thoroughly dismayed I was at this and how annoyed it made me, these are probably people that watch us six times a season and think it’s fun to criticise players when we’re losing. I was not at all impressed by their actions.

This result now leaves us six points clear of the relegation zone with fifteen points left to play for. I personally think another win will do it and two victories will almost certainly see us to safety. I’m not counting my chickens just yet though as everyone who we come up against from now until the end of the season will want to contribute to our possible downfall.

We now move on to Gillingham on Easter Monday where we can all but guarantee survival with three points and then it's Aldershot away in just over a week’s time.

Until then, have a good Bank Holiday weekend and I'll speak to you all again on Monday or Tuesday!

Remember to follow me on Twitter, @NickDRFCMurphy.