| Wrexham entertain Dagenham & Redbridge at the
Racecourse on Easter Monday in a game we must be looking to collect
three points in after the defeat to Brentford on Saturday.
The trip to Griffin Park was a performance to forget and
we have again dropped six points behind Macclesfield and safety after
Notts County collected three points on the weekend.
Whilst Wrexham were struggling on the west side of
London, Dagenham were being held to a 1-1 draw by Shrewsbury on the east
side and this point has left the Daggers eight points clear of the
relegation zone on forty-one points.
Dagenham looked to be heading for their fourth
straight defeat until striker Paul Benson, playing his first game since
Boxing day, marked his comeback with the equaliser with twenty minutes
left to cancel out the opening goal from Andrew Cooke in the first half.
Prior to the three straight defeats, Dagenham had won
their previous five games and these fifteen points pulled themselves
clear of the bottom four after hovering over the relegation zone for
the majority of the season.
Since then, defeats against the top two teams,
Peterborough and MK Dons, along with a surprising loss against
Macclesfield were brought to an end with the point against the Shrews.
Top scorer for Dagenham this season is striker Ben
Strevens with seventeen goals.
Strevens previously had Football League experience
with his six and half seasons with Barnet before he joined Crawley Town
and later joining Dagenham after only five months with Crawley.
Keeping goals out has been Dagenham's main problem
this season with Shrewsbury's goal on the weekend the sixty-first they
have shipped in the league and this means they are in twentieth position
in the defensive table with over 1.5 goals per game conceded on average.
The man in charge of Dagenham is John Still and he
has recently celebrated four years as manager and steered
the Daggers to the
Conference Championship last season after mid table finishes in his previous
campaigns in charge.
Still is in his fourth job as manager after spending
one year with Peterborough during the 1990s and he also had two spells
in charge of Barnet before joining his present employers in 2004.
Recent Encounters:
The only previous meeting between the two sides came
at Dagenham & Redbridge in December with the home side running out
comfortable 3-0 winners.
It was another performance to forget for Wrexham fans
with a Steve Evans own goal gifting the home side a first half lead and
the Daggers went on to score two late goals to secure the three points.
Team News:
Carl Tremarco and Neil Taylor have both been included
in the matchday squad but they will have late fitness tests on their
ankle and leg injuries respectively.
Stuart Nicholson is hoping to be available after
missing the trip to Barnet with a virus but Mike Williams is missing due
to being away on international duty with Wales Under 21s in midweek.
Dagenham striker Jon Nurse is also away on
international duty with Barbados so Paul Benson is set to replace him
and make his first start in three months.
Richard Graham could also return after a hernia operation.
Elsewhere in League Two:
Mansfield's trip to Bury would have been viewed as a
six pointer a few weeks a go but the Shakers' form has resulted in them
moving clear of the relegation zone and three points over Mansfield will
more or less make them safe this season.
Third bottom Macclesfield entertain Barnet in
fifteenth position and the Bees will also know that three points for
them will also preserve their league status for next season.
Notts County ended a run of five games without victory
against Rochdale on Saturday and the fourth bottom team travel to
Shrewsbury who are only four points ahead of the Magpies in the table. |
