Solitary goal but what a spectacle!
THE only game in the National League proved to be one of the best of the season so far, certainly for the football purist.
I know it sounds odd, with a single, solitary goal, but what a game!
County looked much more settled than they did the previous week against Woking.
With Keane and Osborne replacing Turnbull and Sam Walker we took charge of the midfield straight from the kick off.
Elliot was much more creative in pushing forward while Jordan broke up any attacking play from the visitors which just freed up the wide men to fly up the wings.
Devante Rodney had his best game yet in a County shirt, the only thing lacking from his performance was a goal but his creative play was exceptional and time and again he provided a cross that on another day would have resulted in goals.
Possibly the highlight of the half though was an absolute world class save from Ben Hinchliffe, a very well worked corner routine had our defence totally confused but Ben leapt, cat like, to his left and managed to turn the shot around the post but County were dominant in the first half and the intensity went up another couple of notches in the second.
County pressed and pressed and pressed; how the Dagenham and Redbridge net didn’t bulge earlier than it eventually did I’ll never know.
Frank missed a sitter from six yards after another brilliant run and cross from Devante.
There were several chances during a spell of penalty box pin ball when a whole host of chances could have been put away, then Ben Jackson, on as a substitute hit a peach of a shot that ricocheted off the cross bar, it was starting to feel like one of those days!
But then Nyal Bell, the much maligned Nyal Bell, pops up to head in a corner deep into injury time to send the whole of EP into raptures.
There is no better feeling for a supporter than a last minute winner, no time for the opposition to answer back.
A magnificent performance by the whole team.
The real hero of the afternoon though was 12-year-old Christopher who before kick-off played the Last Post faultlessly and I think the spontaneous applause was as much for him as it was for the remembrance ceremony; it took nerve and well done to him.