Dagenham & Redbridge boss John Still delights in return of winger Fejiri Okenabirhie at North Ferriby United

Fejiri Okenabirhie of Dagenham & Redbridge celebrates scoring the opening goal at North Ferriby United (pic: David Simpson/TGS Photo) ©TGS Photo tgsphoto.co.uk +44 1376 553468

Daggers forward netted opener at Villagers

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

Craig Robson of Dagenham & Redbridge at North Ferriby United (pic: David Simpson/TGS Photo) Craig Robson of Dagenham & Redbridge at North Ferriby United (pic: David Simpson/TGS Photo)

Dagenham & Redbridge boss John Still praised Fejiri Okenabirhie’s return to full action as the winger marked his first start after injury with a goal at North Ferriby United.

The 20-year-old had been out for two-and-a-half months after picking up an ankle injury in the draw with Macclesfield Town in October, but came off the bench against Braintree Town on Monday night.

With Corey Whitely suffering from a slight hamstring tweak, Okenabirhie was thrust back into the starting XI and made the most of his chance, netting the opener in the 15th minute at Grange Lane.

The ex-Arsenal youngster was later joined on the scoresheet by Oliver Hawkins, who nabbed a brace, and Luke Guttridge, who had a hand in all of the goals in a 4-0 triumph at the Villagers.

Though Guttridge was named man of the match, the day belonged to Okenabirhie and Still was delighted to see him back to something approaching his best after so long out.

“Fejiri has been out for three months, as has Craig Robson, so for him to come on, score and look sharp is good,” said the Daggers boss.

“Because we were winning, we were able to leave them on longer than we wanted too.

“We only wanted them to play maybe an hour at the most, but it’s good for Fejiri and Craig as they’ve both been out for a few months.”

Indeed the return of Robson was another huge positive for Daggers, with the defender having also been out injured since the Macclesfield draw.

The defender returned to the starting XI and helped the defence record back-to-back clean sheets for the first time since November.

And Still revealed he had thrown the 25-year-old in at the deep end after recovering from knee injury.

“That was Craig’s first game back, he didn’t even play a reserve game, and he was outstanding. To get some important players back is good for us,” added the Daggers manager.