Maidstone United 0-1 Dagenham & Redbridge: Jovial Josh Walks the Walk as Daggers snatch late victory

Josh Walker struck a late winner as Dagenham & Redbridge emulated their 1-0 victory over Maidstone United from the previous week, this time having exerted considerably more control under the enhanced spotlight of the BT Sport broadcast cameras.

The wrongful denial of a first-half opener then equally controversial decision not to award a penalty for a foul on Junior Morias, coupled with countless missed opportunities thereafter, suggested it simply wasn't going to be Daggers' day.

However, they dug deep to defiantly avert their forecasted fate and conjured up a moment of exceptional quality that thrusts them right into the play-off mix, while Maidstone conversely lie deep in relegation danger having lost five consecutive games.

Story of the Match

There were a cumulative three changes from the initial meeting a week prior; Dagenham swapped Omar Mussa for Mo Sagaf in central midfield, while Maidstone started Sha'mar Lawson and Hady Ghandour in place of Dominic Odusanya and the injured Reece Greenidge.

As was the case at Victoria Road, the struggling Stones made an encouraging start. Manager Hakan Hayrettin stated his side were fired up by a sense of injustice towards that Boxing Day meeting, and this reflected on the artificial surface where they began well.

Two corners were swung in the distinct direction of Joe Frew-Ellul at the back post, the first prevented from reaching him by David Longe-King at the expense of another that the Maidstone centre-half did manage to connect with but could only head into Elliot Justham's arms.

Goals had been elusive for Hayrettin's side this season, and no better was that demonstrated than the thirteenth minute when they were gifted a golden opportunity yet barely made Justham work, let alone beat him as ought to have been the case given how presentable it was.

Myles Weston's blind pass evaded Dean Rance and, with the Dagenham defence very high up the pitch, home striker Jack Barham nipped in. A strong first touch took the striker into a completely open half of the pitch, where he advanced at an onrushing Justham but saw the subsequent effort thwarted easily.

Jolted into life by this lucky escape, Dagenham slowly grew into the game and unsurprisingly Myles Weston was at the heart of their ascendancy, getting increasing joy with runs down the line. It didn't take long for this enhanced intensity to yield an opener...or so they thought.

A partially-cleared corner - won after Walker drilled wide with the aid of a deflection - was headed back towards goal by Dean Rance and again latched onto by Daggers' number seven whose low effort squirmed underneath Dan Barden after Matt Robinson had initially taken a swipe at it.

That detail proved crucial because, amid the celebrations, the linesman called the referee over to insist that the goal would be offside if Robinson had made a marginal connection. It was interpreted that he had, although retrospective replays showed that not to be the case and, even worse, that Walker still would have been onside anyway.

Undeterred by this moment, Dagenham kept the pressure up before the interval, as Junior Morias saw a vicious piledriver from far outside the area excellently tipped over by Barden, after Maidstone had ill-advisably backed off him.

They took things to the opposite extreme when he next found a few yards of space, as Kodi Lyons-Foster then got far too close to him, clipping the Jamaican striker as he cut inside the area. While most inside the Gallagher Stadium expected a penalty, the referee inexplicably let play carry on.

The Dagenham players celebrate Walker's winner. (Image: Dagenham & Redbridge FC)

As the half-time whistle sounded out moments later, a chorus of vociferous boos sounded out from the away end in response to the two controversial decisions, and several players voiced their discontent.

The second half would bring a different kind of frustration, as Dagenham did everything but score. Walker's sidefoot into the midriff of Barden within mere seconds of the restart after being put through by Morias set the tone.

Moreover, Maidstone then came on strong for a short period, though couldn't convert territory into tangible opportunities. Despite this, the home contingent behind the goal they attacked were significantly fuelled with belief.

However, Dagenham themselves in turn raised their game, particularly with movement in the final third that became extremely problematic. Morias drew the hosts out of position with one driving run before laying to Robinson, who supplied Joel Taylor but the loanee sliced waywardly over instead of delivering into the area.

Two big opportunities in as many minutes came just after the hour mark, with Sagaf rattling just wide from narrowly outside the area before Morias was denied one-on-one after a marvellous cutting pass by substitute George Saunders.

Frew-Ellul punctuated the Daggers pressure with a far-post header that went just over the bar, but would immediately be put on the back foot again for what proved the best opening of all thus far.

Saunders succeeded where Robinson failed in threading through to Morias after the ball ran loose from the latter's attempt to do so. The resulting attempt was saved, but Robinson continued his run to fire the rebound beyond Barden, only for George Fowler to clear on the line.

Just when it seemed like they were destined not to win, Josh Hare hit a raking crossfield diagonal to Morias, who slid to Weston on the overlap. What followed was an inch-perfect cross into the near-post region, where Walker darted to cannon a bullet header home.

After working so hard to establish this advantage, Dagenham protected it ferociously in the face of an inevitable home siege, throwing bodies at every ball to secure a monumentally important three points.

Player of the Match

Myles Weston (Dag & Red) | Maidstone manager Hakan Hayrettin revealed he'd dedicated special attention to Myles Weston in the build-up to this festive double-header - it proved futile. After curling home the winner on Boxing Day, the experienced winger was in unstoppable form again as he terrorised the Stones backline with marauding runs down the flanks, before supplying a dream cross for Josh Walker to head home the winner. Last season's leading assist-maker across the entire division now has six for the current campaign.

Match Details

MAIDSTONE UNITED: Dan Barden; Ryan Galvin (Christie Pattison 70'), Jerome Binnom-Williams (Dom Odusanya 70'), Kodi Lyons-Foster, Joe Frew-Ellul, George Fowler; Sha'mar Lawson (Sam Corne 70'), Regan Booty; Roarie Deacon, Jack Barham, Hady Ghandour

DAGENHAM & REDBRIDGE: Elliot Justham; Joel Taylor (George Saunders 64'), Elliott Johnson, David Longe-King, Josh Hare, Myles Weston; Dean Rance, Mo Sagaf 🟨, Matt Robinson; Junior Morias (Paul McCallum 84'), Josh Walker ⚽ (Omar Mussa 🟨 89')