Dagenham & Redbridge forward Paul Benson hopes to get first goal back at Victoria Road against Worthing in FA Trophy

Paul Benson of Dagenham & Redbridge celebrates the second goal at Dover Athletic (pic: David Simpson/TGS Photo) ©TGS Photo tgsphoto.co.uk +44 1376 553468

Daggers forward grabbed first goal of second spell last weekend and now has another target in sight

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Paul Benson celebrates scoring his last Dagenham & Redbridge goal at Victoria Road against Morecambe in 2010 with Anwar Uddin (pic: Dave Simpson/TGSPHOTO Paul Benson celebrates scoring his last Dagenham & Redbridge goal at Victoria Road against Morecambe in 2010 with Anwar Uddin (pic: Dave Simpson/TGSPHOTO

After grabbing his first goal for Dagenham & Redbridge in six-and-a-half years, Paul Benson has another target on his mind — to score again at Victoria Road.

Benson scored the decisive goal in a 2-1 victory for Daggers at Dover Athletic at the weekend – his first goal for the club since returning for a second spell in the summer.

The 37-year-old will hope to keep his starting spot for the visit of Worthing in the FA Trophy on Saturday, and if he does it will be his first start at Victoria Road since May 2010.

And should Benson be given the nod from the off against the Ryman Premier outfit, he hopes he can crown it with a goal.

“I haven’t started at home yet since I’ve been back, so if I get the chance to start, that would be nice and again I’ll look to carry on scoring and helping the team win games,” he said.

“That’s the main thing for me. I always love scoring goals, but I love this team winning more than anything.”

The joy was clear to see on Benson’s face on Saturday as he netted for Daggers for the first time since the 2010 League Two play-off final win over Rotherham United at Wembley.

The cult hero immediately made a beeline for the Daggers fans to celebrate the goal and it was obvious to all present how much the strike meant to him.

But Benson, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, was a little sad he had scored, partly because of where his previous goal had come.

“It would have been nice if my final goal for Dagenham had been the one at Wembley, but that’s gone now and I’m moving forward,” he added.

“I want to keep playing and scoring as many goals as I can for this club because it is my club, it’s where I made my name and who I have the most affection for.

“Every time I score, and even every time I pull on the shirt, I’m so proud to do it – just scoring goals is a bonus.”

Should Benson start against Worthing this Saturday, he will hope to help Daggers improve on a dreadful recent record at home that has seen the Essex club lose each of their last three games at Victoria Road.

And the evergreen attacker says he is at a loss to explain why Daggers have struggled at home recently, but is determined to help the club put things right.

“The gaffer made a point after the Dover game that our away performances are going well, but at home we’re not quite on it and we need to get back on it. I don’t know why it’s not clicking at home, maybe we relax a bit more because we think we’re going to win the game.

“If we can have the same mentality playing at home as we do away, then we’ll be fine.”