With a busy Easter period in
terms of matches, Dagenham & Redbridge were the visitors to Underhill on
Good Friday. Daggers’ fan Nick gives his views in this instalment of ‘two
minutes with...’
Pre-match
Had you been to Underhill before?
Yes, I came last season when we
drew 2-2 in the midweek match. Mickey Spillane and Scott Doe were the
goalscorers for us that day.
How did you get to the game?
We left on the District Line from
Barking before changing onto the Northern Line at Embankment. When there we had
a quick pint in the Old Red Lion before heading into the ground.
The match
Whereabouts in the ground did you sit/stand?
We were stood on the East Terrace
which we were allocated alongside the Barnet fans. Despite not being associated
with the one game a seasoners who turn up for an imaginary tear up at Barnet,
we stood at the back towards the netted segregation line where the atmosphere
was. You could say we sat as well, although most of the time one of the Barnet
stewards gave us a glare to tell us to get off of the railing. He gave up in
the second half though!
What did you make of the game?
It was poor from start to finish
really. In the first half I think Barnet edged it without creating too many
clear cut opportunities, Jake Hyde’s marginally offside effort being the one I
remember clearly. We were definitely the better side in the second half and
were unlucky not to take the lead through Elito’s rasping strike. Despite our
heavier forward presence in the second half, I’d still say a point apiece was
the fair outcome.
Who (from either side) do you think deserved to be man
of the match?
No one really stands out in my
mind from either side. If I had to pick I’d probably say our centre half Scott
Doe who made a number of superb last ditch challenges to deny the Barnet
forwards. Although you could argue that for his one world class stop to deny
Elito, Graham Stack deserves the award.
Post-match
Was the score line a fair reflection on the game?
I’d say it was fair, yes. Despite
playing better in the second half as I alluded to earlier, I don’t think we
created enough to warrant the three points. The closest we came was from a 30
yard strike which tells its own story really – both sides really lacked going
forward.
Who do you play next, and how do you think you’ll get
on?
Next up for us is Exeter away on
Saturday at St James’ Park, a ground that we traditionally never do well at.
Taking into account our poor form and the fact we’ve never won at Exeter, I can
only see a defeat which will drag us even further into the relegation mire.
Ratings
Cost of match day ticket – £13 for me which I thought was reasonable for a
concession in the terrace. Certainly a lot better than some grounds in this
league –––8/10
Purchases made at ground – I didn’t buy anything in the ground, although I’m
informed the programme was of decent quality. The food looked nice enough but
again the Barnet caterers ran out of stock before the start of the second half
which marks it down somewhat ––– 7/10
View –
Apart from the several poles that restricted our view of part of the goals at
either end, it was ok. Being a terraced stand which is somewhat old fashioned,
it’s to be expected. Although I wasn’t too pleased with the three rather large gentlemen
who decided to stand in front of me at the end of the first half ––– 5/10
Quality of football – It wasn’t a particularly
good match, played on a tough surface with both sides giving very little away.
It was gritty but with flashes of quality throughout ––– 6/10
Overall experience – Taking everything into
account, including the fact it’s the last time we’ll ever visit Underhill, I
think it was pretty decent. The atmosphere was largely good, the pub before
hand was filled with Daggers supporters and I’m more than happy to take a point
from the match ––– 7/10
Total ––– 33/50
You can follow Nick on Twitter @NickMurphyDRFC
and be sure to check out his blog for Dagenham match
reports and more, ‘The Daggers Scale’.
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