TOWN CUT DOWN BY DAGGERS’ LATE SHOW
CONOR WILKINSON’S stoppage-time equaliser denied Harrogate Town a fourth win from five and left Peter Taylor the happier of the two managers after Dagenham and Redbridge’s first visit to The CNG Stadium.
“I’m delighted that the boys kept going, I’ve got a lot of respect for Harrogate and think they are one of the best teams we have played in the division, so for us to keep going and get a point late on is very pleasing,” he said.
“I was pleased the ball dropped to Wilkinson when it did because I knew he would be calm, for us to come here and get a draw is a great result.”
The late goal denied Harrogate a first home clean sheet since October and saw them drop out of the play-off places, leaving Simon Weaver to rue his side’s missed chances.
“It’s disappointing, they are a good team but I thought we deserved the victory and they thought that too,” he said. “We conceded the late goal because in that last 15 minutes we dropped off deeper than we needed to.
“If you don’t score that second goal when you are on top, and we did have the chances to do so, then it’s human nature to be a little more worried and go into survival mode like we did.”
The home side were limited to only glimpses of goal early on, with Mark Beck first to test Elliot Justham with guided header 15 minutes in.
Weaver’s side conjured up a number of early shots from range as they pressed for an opening, with Jack Muldoon’s effort looking the most dangerous when, five minutes before the break, Town’s top scorer’s low shot hit the upright. Dagenham fans were almost given something to cheer about in stoppage time, after a half in which their side didn’t test the opposition keeper, when Alex McQueen went down inside the box, though referee Simeon Lucas deemed Warren Burrell’s challenge a fair one. Town deservedly took the lead ten minutes after the restart when Muldoon’s shot was spilled by Justham, allowing Howe the chance to expertly guide his eighth goal of the season into the bottomright corner. It took until the 65th minute for the visitors to trouble James Belshaw’s goal when the Harrogate stopper was equal to Wilkinson’s well struck attempt. While Town threatened to add a second on the counter-attack, Daggers were able to limit the deficit to the one goal and invite the possibility of a late equaliser. With the match in stoppage time, substitute Olly Harfield managed to get a cross in from the left that evaded the Town defence and fell to the feet of Wilkinson, who gladly powered into the roof of the net to snatch a valuable point for his side.