Lady Luck smiles on Burnett’s Daggers
DAGENHAM and Redbridge boss Wayne Burnett admitted the Daggers needed luck on their side to end a three-match losing streak with a point at Cheltenham Town.
Jamie Cureton put the Daggers ahead against his old club before substitute Joe Hanks rescued a point for Cheltenham in the 87th minute.
Dagenham were indebted to some fine goalkeeping from Mark Cousins and Cheltenham also hit the woodwork twice before finally ending their three-match goal drought.
“I have never questioned the lads’ work ethic and this group give you everything they have and I can’t fault them for that,” Burnett said.
“We rode our luck a little, but when you come to Cheltenham you are pleased with a point. Would I have taken it before the game? Probably.”
Cureton netted for the fourth time this season against the club he left in the summer and Burnett praised the 39-year-old for his influence.
“Scoring goals is what Jamie Cureton does and he has 262 career goals now I believe,” Burnett said.
“He wants to get to 300 and I’ve had to tell him goals in training don’t count! But he’s a natural scorer and he may be 39 now, but doesn’t play like it. People want to be around him and he is infectious. I also thought Joss Labadie came in and worked incredibly hard and while we haven’t played great, sometimes you need that bit of luck.”
Cheltenham boss Mark Yates was relieved to see his side end their long wait to find the net.
“I am pleased for the team and the supporters, who stuck with us and we really needed to get that goal,” Yates said.
“We had numerous chances, with John Marquis a real threat every time he got into the box. We hit the bar twice and their keeper has made a few saves. “It was frustrating to concede in the way that we did, but their plan was to sit and defend and it was an excellent strike from Jamie.
“The key is the tempo we started with, which was excellent. After they scored for the last 25 minutes we were also decent, but the middle of the game wasn’t as good.”
Cousins denied John Marquis twice in the opening 20 minutes. But Trevor Carson had to be at his best at the other end to keep out Ashley Chambers’ deflected shot.
Ashley Hemming set up Cureton in the 58th minute, with the veteran skipping away from Matt Taylor and firinng in.
Zack Kotwica hit the bar for Cheltenham but when Jordan Wynter’s strike cannoned back off the woodwork with three minutes left, Hanks was on hand to ensure honours finished even.