Luke Howell had the first attempt on goal for the visitors with a smart turn and shot that failed to hit the target. Facey fed Simon Clist with a delicate flick, and he should have done better with his shot. Arquin won possession and laid the ball back for Clist who sent an ambitious crossfield pass just beyond Facey’s reach. Then the French striker robbed Damien McCrory and laid it back for Kenny Lunt whose rising shot cleared the crossbar by some margin.
An episode of the Green and Williams show then took place, as, in rapid succession, their DJ (aka Danny) and Sam had their paths to goal expertly cut off by their home namesakes, Ryan and Danny. Damian Scannell then fired in a low cross which hit Nicky Featherstone’s hand; heart in mouth time for home fans, but Mr Madley clearly saw it as accidental. Shortly afterwards, confusion arose as Danny Williams handled, and then Arquin was penalised for a foul, though the official did not make clear which offence he had punished. The visitors certainly seemed puzzled about where to take their free kick from, though in the end, from the kick, DJ was caught offside.
Facey’s through ball to Arquin beat the offside trap, and Chris Lewington had to be smart to deal with the danger. A hanging cross from Harry Pell was then caught by Lewington at the second attempt. Ryan Green’s tackle on Howell was expertly timed on the edge of the area, but the assistant referee saw it as a penalty and held his flag across his chest to indicate this. After much disbelief, Mr Madley handled the situation fairly, waving aside the arguing factions, before consulting his linesman and then over-ruling him- common sense had prevailed.
As half-time approached, there was time for Lunt and Facey to have shots for the Bulls, and Green and Tomlin to threaten for the Daggers, though the closest we came to breaking the deadlock was when the energetic Featherstone robbed McCrory and passed to Clist who saw his shot deflected crazily onto the top of the bar.
HT HUFC 0 DAGENHAM and REDBRIDGE 0
Will Evans joined the action after the break as a replacement for Danny Williams who had taken a first half knock. A Featherstone run gave Facey the chance to shoot, whilst at the other end, David Cornell, under pressure from Williams, dropped a high ball. Luckily, Michael Townsend was on hand to clear. Uncharacteristically, Pell gave away possession to Oliver lee who stroked his effort past the post.
The match settled down into an all too familiar pattern, as neither side seemed capable of making decisive moves. There was the odd shot at either end, with Facey endangering the personal safety of the Meadow End faithful, and Cornell clawing a swerving cross from Lee out of harm’s way. Speculation turned to such matters as the lack of width in the Bulls build up, the wisdom of watering the pitch so heavily (a number of attempted through balls skidded off the surface beyond the reach of their intended target), falling levels of determination, and such trivia as the diagonal mowing of the hallowed turf, and the luminosity of Ryan Green’s new laces- these last two obsessions a sure sign that another barren afternoon looked on the cards. The crowd were certainly not in full voice, anyway. Pitman introduced Tom Barkhuizen, who had scored on his debut, and the youngster looked keen to repeat the trick, racing onto a through ball and firing into the side netting from a tight angle. Sam Winnall then came on, and he too looked eager to create an impression.
Featherstone kept up the energy levels, constantly harrying opponents and regaining possession. One such intervention allowed Winnall to win a corner, and Featherstone’s flag kick went beyond the far post to Arquin who headed wide. With just five minutes remaining, Our Nicky was once more instrumental in getting the ball to Winall. The Wolves man, successful last term with Burton, picked it up on half way, and headed goalward. Checking and shielding expertly, he sought overlapping colleagues two or three times. Unable to find the right pass, and finding himself fast approaching the eighteen yard box, he tried his luck and sent a scorching low shot beyond Lewington’s despairing fingertips and into the corner of the net. Hallelujah.
FT: HUFC 1 DAG and RED 0
Attendance: 1885, (with 124 evenly split between the two visiting towns’ supporters.)
HUFC: Cornell, Heath, Green, Townsend, Williams (Evans 45), Pell, Featherstone, Lunt (Barkhuizen 61), Clist, Arquin, Facey (Winnall67).
DAG and RED: Lewington, McCrory, Walsh, Doe, Green (Reed 70), Howell (Gain 51), Lee, Scannell, Williams, Ogogo, Tomlin.