HIP, PHIPP HOORAY AS DAGGERS MARCH ON

SECOND-half goals from Josh Rees and Harry Phipps inspired Dagenham & Redbridge to a resounding win over ailing play-off chasers Altrincham at the Chigwell Construction Stadium yesterday.

A tale of two penalties – converted by Dagenham’s Ryan Hill on 42 minutes and Altrincham’s Regan Linney four minutes later – ensured parity at the break, before Ben Strevens’ men upped the ante in the second half to claim a first win in four.

But for Altrincham, it’s now five successive defeats – a run which sees them slip five points off the play-off places.

Strevens was forced to use defender Phipps as a makeshift striker but was full of praise for the former Maidstone man.

“He’s a good, honest professional,” the Daggers boss said. “He normally plays as a centre-half for us. For the last 48 hours, we were missing a lot of players so we could have gone for Ryan [Hill] or Shiloh Remy and I thought we needed the presence up front.

“He’s got good technique and I’m not surprised by his finish. Due to injuries and the lack of forwards, Phipps came on a couple of times late in games to play up front and caused a lot of problems.

“Everyone knew their jobs around him. He made first contact, held the ball up well and got himself a deserved goal.”

Dagenham dominated the early stages with Keenan Appiah-Forson’s low-driving effort from long-range superbly blocked by Altrincham defender Jake Cooper, while Hill’s fierce shot was brilliantly saved by goalkeeper Matt Gould.

Phil Parkinson’s Alty recovered from their slow start but on 42 minutes, Tom Eastman was pulled down in the box, referee Paul Johnson pointed to the spot and Hill coolly converted the spot-kick into the right corner, sending Gould the wrong way.

But just when it looked as though they would go into half-time with a lead, Linney launched a bursting run into the box only to be brought down by Eastman, giving referee Johnson no alternative but to award a second penalty and Linney dusted himself down to place his spot-kick into the bottom left corner to level the match up at 1-1.

That clearly buoyed Altrincham for the start of the second half and they went mighty close to taking the lead themselves when Chris Conn-Clarke’s deflected shot rattled the frame of the woodwork.

Dagenham, however, looked to outmuscle their visitors in attacking areas and on the stroke of the hour it was they who broke through again. Sam Ling’s long-range throw fell to Jake Hessenthaler, who squared to Rees to slot the ball into the bottom corner.

And five minutes later, they had got the two-goal cushion they craved – Rees turning provider by playing a sublime through ball into Phipps, who cut away from a sliding defender and turned the ball past Gould. STAR MAN: Harry Phipps (Dagenham) ATT: 1,449 ENTERTAINMENT: ★★★★★ REFEREE: Paul Johnson