WE’RE STILL IN! RIVALS IN A DEADLOCK
DAGENHAM & Redbridge boss John Still was satisfied to have earned a replay on Tuesday night despite having enough chances to beat East London rivals Leyton Orient.
In a frantic derby, Still’s Daggers had 14 shots in total – double that of rivals Orient.
However, it was the O’s who came closest to forcing a winner with Macauley Bonne and David Mooney heading onto the bar in quick succession midway through the first half.
As a result, the two sides will do it all again at Brisbane Road in midweek and Still has no qualms about being taken to a replay.
“I’m not disappointed at having a replay because it’s cup football and a local derby, which makes it interesting, and you get what you get,” the wily boss said.
“I would liked to have won, but we haven’t lost. I was okay with how we played and I was happy with most aspects of the game.
“The referee could have been kinder to us, there were too many fouls in the game and it broke down too often.
“I’d like to see the foul count for both teams. So many of their players fouled; I don’t think it was a tactic, but it slowed the game down for us. “We’ve been playing really well. We were free scoring, but all of a sudden the ball’s not been going in for us – that’s football.” Corey Whitely squandered the best three chances for Daggers with O’s keeper Charlie Grainger equal to the second, leaving Orient manager Steve Davis satisfied to get a second crack of the whip. “It was a good cup game and both teams had a go at trying to win it,” he commented. “It was quite end to end at times; it lacked a bit of quality then saw a bit of quality – it had everything. “It was a really competitive derby, we gave away a few fouls – probably a few more than I would have liked, but that’s what the game is about. We want to try to compete and win the game.” With a replay to come on Tuesday, both sides will eagerly watch tomorrow night’s draw, and see which ball No.64 pulls out.