The Fleet’s winning run in the league continued as Josh Wright’s squad made it three doubles to add to three more points and a clean sheet. Another excellent goal from the reliable Dominic Samuel in the first-half was the difference as an intense final quarter saw the visitors kept at bay and Ben Coker hit the post from a penalty.
It was Dagenham who claimed the first chance of the afternoon from a set peice. A ball was worked well into the box from Joe Haigh to pick out the head of Christian Maghoma who sent it off target.
Coker stepped up next for the Fleet when his free-kick from 30 yards out was deflected for a Fleet corner and Jake Hessenthaler put a close-range header just wide.
Samuel found himself one-on-one with Sam Howes and looked to be going for the right side of the goal before switching and firing low to the left but the goalkeeper got his fingertips to it to push it away for a corner.
Samuel did get the better of Howes with his next chance on 23 minutes. Once again he brought down Josh Passley’s fantastic 60-yard pass and timed his run to perfection to stay ahead of the Dagenham defender and confidently fire towards the bottom corner for his 11th league goal of the season.
Dagenham were snuffed out well by a busy Fleet midfield and the one time they did get a sight of goal, Matt Hall was out to clear as Dylan Stephenson looked set to break through. That kept the home side with their noses in front and more than satisfied with the performance at the break.
Dagenham picked up the pace in the second half although Fleet started well when Gene Kennedy struck a great shot through the middle that Howes just about turned round the post.
Haigh had two free-kicks from promising angles that he hit well but both just cleared the bar. Another effort over the bar came from Dermi Lusala as a cross made its way to him at the far post but he took it first time and really should have hit the target.
Lusala then almost lost the game for the visitors at the other end when he pulled Coker inside the box as the Fleet’s No.3 tried to go the other side of him. Coker took the penalty himself but hit it off the near post and couldn’t get to the rebound in time.
Kwesi Appiah floated a header narrowly over with his first touch on 73 minutes and Kennedy had another good shot charged down. Fleet managed to contain the visitors after they threatened to camp around the home box for a spell although Dagenham pushed right to the end and Kayden Harrack saw an efffort come back off the crossbar in the dying minutes and it was a nervous end-to-end last few minutes before the final whistle saw the Fleet into the play-off positions.
EUFC: Hall, Passley, Coker, Olagunju, Nelson, Hessenthaler, Edser (Appiah 73), Kennedy, Seaman (Coley 63), Chapman, Samuel (Cosgrave 82). Subs: Ehmer, Barnes, Manktelow, Macaulay
DRFC: Howes, Lusala (Scott 72), Maghoma, Graham, N’Guessan (Marsh 81), Dieng, Harrack, Broad (Wellens 90), Lawless (Khaleel 81), Haigh, Stephenson. Subs: Williams, Nightingale
Attendance: 1,540
Photos: ©EUFC – Dave Plumb/Tom Harris
