Dagenham & Redbridge 1 Guiseley 2: Daggers fail in bid to tame Lions as Corey Whitely sees red

Jordan Preston of Guiseley and Andre Boucaud of Dagenham & Redbridge (pic: David Simpson/TGS Photo) ©TGS Photo tgsphoto.co.uk +44 1376 553468

National League: Dagenham & Redbridge 1 (Hawkins 90+2) Guiseley 2 (Preston 12, 52)

Share Email this article to a friend To send a link to this page you must be logged in.

Corey Whitely (middle) of Dagenham & Redbridge is sent off by referee Antony Coggins against Guiseley (pic: David Simpson/TGS Photo) Corey Whitely (middle) of Dagenham & Redbridge is sent off by referee Antony Coggins against Guiseley (pic: David Simpson/TGS Photo)

Dagenham & Redbridge saw their five game winning run in the National League come to an end with a surprise defeat at home to relegation threatened Guiseley.

A disastrous first half for the Victoria Road club saw them fall behind early on, have Corey Whitely sent off and miss a hatful of chances, including a penalty.

The second half wasn’t much better as the Lions doubled their lead shortly after the interval, and from there the match petered out.

The hosts did snatch a goal in stoppage time, but it proved little more than a consolation strike as John Still’s men failed to make ground at the top of the table.

Oliver Hawkins of Dagenham & Redbridge and John Rooney of Guiseley (pic: David Simpson/TGS Photo) Oliver Hawkins of Dagenham & Redbridge and John Rooney of Guiseley (pic: David Simpson/TGS Photo)

Daggers made just one change for the clash, with Ray Grant coming in for a debut after joining on loan from Championship club Norwich City until the end of the season.

Grant took the place of Frankie Raymond, with the midfielder dropping out of the starting XI altogether.

Skipper Scott Doe was again on the bench, where he was joined by Jake Howells, who was still looking to make his home debut after joining from Eastleigh in January.

Less than three minutes were on the clock when the Victoria Road outfit were given an early warning sign by Guiseley.

Connor Brown of Guiseley and Joe Widdowson of Dagenham & Redbridge (pic: David Simpson/TGS Photo) Connor Brown of Guiseley and Joe Widdowson of Dagenham & Redbridge (pic: David Simpson/TGS Photo)

Derek Asamoah weaved his way past Daggers defender Joe Widdowson on the right and whipped a dangerous ball across the face of goal, but no team mate was on hand to tap in.

Daggers continue to struggle in the opening exchanges and eventually fell behind in the 12th minute.

A goal kick deep into the Daggers half found Jordan Preston on the left flank, who beat Jake Sheppard and Shaun Donnellan before calmly slotting past Elliot Justham from the edge of the area.

Thing went from bad to worse for Daggers just three minutes later when Whitely saw red.

The ex-Enfield Town forward reacted angrily to not getting a penalty and appeared to shove Lions right-back Connor Brown in the face, leaving referee Antony Coggins with little option but to send him off.

Daggers were struggling to impose themselves on the game, though did fashion a good chance in the 23rd minute.

Fejiri Okenabirhie found space on the edge of the box and dinked the ball in towards Oliver Hawkins, but his left-footed volley from the penalty spot was off target.

The former Hemel Hempstead Town attacker was involved again a minute later, nodding over a cross from Jordan Maguire-Drew at the back post.

It was looking to be one of those days fro Daggers, with both Okenabirhie and Hawkins inches away from connecting to good passes that surely would have led to goals.

With nine minutes remaining in the half, Maguire-Drew slipped the ball to Sheppard inside the box, but the Daggers full-back’s shot was blocked at close range.

Guiseley, though, nearly added a second before half-time after Will Hatfield was played in inside the box, but Justham made himself big to deny the midfielder.

Daggers looked to have been given a golden opportunity to draw level in stoppage time at the end of the first half when Marcus Williams handled a Grant cross in the box.

Maguire-Drew stepped up to take the resulting spot-kick, but it was poor and easy for Lions stopper Jonathan Maxted to keep out, with the Essex club still behind at the break.

Daggers’ hopes of a comeback were dealt a blow just seven minutes into the second half when Guiseley doubled their lead.

In a near carbon copy of their first, Preston cut inside Sheppard before firing past Justham to the delight of the away support.

From there, the match petered out with neither side creating much in the way of chances.

Daggers allowed the Lions too much time and space on the ball, which gave the Yorkshire side the chance to see the match out.

As the match ticked into stoppage time, Daggers gave hope of another late show with a goal.

Left-back Joe Widdowson delivered a cross which was turned in by Hawkins 12 yards out to set up a grandstand finale.

Sadly no comeback came to fruition, and Daggers will hope to return to winning ways at home to Bromley on Tuesday.

Daggers (4-2-3-1): Justham; Sheppard, Robson, Donnellan, Widdowson; Boucaud, Grant (Doe 46); Maguire-Drew (Howells 67), Whitely, Okenabirhie (Benson 61); Hawkins

Subs: Cousins, Staunton

Sent off: Whitely 14 (violent conduct)

Guiseley (4-3-3): Maxted; Brown, Lowe, Lawlor, Williams; Hatfield, Walton, Rooney; Asamoah (Logan 90+4), Cassidy (Rankine 75), Preston (Boyes 83)

Subs: Vidal, Green

Attendance: 2,055 (including 32 Guiseley fans)

Referee: Antony Coggins