Rot goes on for Oxford’s Appleton
A SPECTACULAR strike from Dagenham & Redbridge captain Abu Ogogo denied Oxford their first win of the season – and U’s manager Michael Appleton was unhappy with how open his side were.
Oxford, having lost their first four games, are at least off the mark after a thrilling end-to-end contest at the Kassam Stadium that will leave both defences with sleepless nights.
Attackers were on top from the off but, just when it looked like two goals by Danny Hylton were guiding Oxford to victory, Ogogo stepped up with arguably the shot of his life.
Appleton said: “Obviously it was a good game of football for both sets of fans and we all want to play free-flowing football, but it was more like a game of basketball today.
“I’ve just said to the players to make sure we manage our game a bit better.
“We want to play, pass the ball and be an attacking threat, but we need to know when to do it and when not to do it – and we were a little too open today.
“We’ve been trying to find the first goal for five or six games – and we got that today – but a lack of concentration cost us.”
Oxford got off to a wonderful start when Joe Riley’s low cross from the right was bundled in by Alex Jakubiak at the back post in the third minute.
But the U’s celebrations were quickly snuffed out when Jamie Cureton was put through and he squared the ball to give Ashley Hemmings a tap-in.
It was Dagenham who hit the front in the first minute of the second half when Luke Howell found Cureton, who took aim before finding the bottom corner.
Hylton then turned the game on its head for Oxford, first by heading in Tom Newey’s fine cross, before slotting in a penalty when Scott Doe was judged to have bundled over Jakubiak.
But the Daggers hit back sensationally when Ogogo let fly from 30 yards and hit a shot that dipped so viciously into the net even the home fans were forced to applaud.
Dagenham boss Wayne Burnett said:“I think it’s a very good point to be honest because we’ve come to an Oxford team who move the ball around nicely.
“They’ve got some very good players and I’m delighted we’ve managed to pick up a point.
“We’ve shown great character and great spirit to come back from 3-2 down with a fantastic goal from our captain.
“Abu is a perfect player for me because he drives the team forward.
“He’s competitive, he can pass it and he gets forward as well as he defends. He’s the complete midfield player.”