Hereford 1  Matthew Baker 2  Matthew Clarke 3  Michael Rose 4  Andrew Tretton 6  Tony James 7  Jamie Pitman 11  Paul Parry 12  Danny Williams 15  Richard Teesdale 18  Steve Guinan 23  Mick Galloway Substitutes 9  Scott Voice 14  Ken Griffiths 16  Rob Sawyers 17  Rob Purdie 22  James Fox

Goals Guinan West Williams   Stats 10 Goal Attempts 5 5 On Target 2 5 Off Target 3 0 Hit Woodwork 0 4 Corners 2 Cards Yellow Teesdale None Red None None

Dag & Red Tony Roberts  1 Mark Smith  5 Paul Terry  8 Mark Stein  10 Steve Perkins  12 Danny Hill  14 Steve West  15 John Keeling  16 Lee Matthews  17 Mark Rooney  20 Steve Potts  24 Substitutes Mark Janney  7 Danny Shipp  9 Paul Bruce  11 Junior  13 Paul Gothard  18

The Daggers changed the team around yet again for this game, as Steve West joined Stein in attack from the start for the first time, and Mark Smith made a welcome comeback to the starting line-up. 3-5-2 was order of the day as Rooney played wing back on one side and John Keeling made an impressive debut on the other side.

The Daggers seemed to be completely in control during the first half, and although Jamie Pitman tried his luck from distance on a few occasions, he barely troubled Roberts at all. Steve Perkins was doing a great job in marking Williams out of the game and this meant that Hereford struggled to get any decent efforts on goal. The only decent chance fell to Parry who got through but the angle was too difficult with his right foot and Roberts had an easy save at his near post.

Steve West was the hero at the other end as he scored a superb goal in a game bereft of real chances. He won the flick after a ball up to him, and Stein chested it back into his path for the big man to slam into the net from 25 yards that gave Matt Baker no chance into the top left corner of his goal. Before the goal Paul Terry had wasted a good chance from Keeling's cross as he put the ball over the bar at the second attempt and Keeling also had a chance of his own where he curler seemed to be heading for the far corner, but it was well blocked by the defender.

Just before half time was the only real scare of the half for the Daggers, as a scramble in the box saw a shot well blocked by the defence and then Roberts blocking the follow-up with his legs.

The Daggers looked good to hold out in the second half after a successful first in which they had been very solid, and had a chance as some good play fed Hill who put it well over from 20 yards as the ball sat right up making it difficult to hit. But it was not to be as two awful defensive howlers gifted the points to the home side who had not looked like scoring. The first goal was a result of three mistakes in the space of a few seconds. First Lee Matthews charged at the oncoming winger and missed his tackle completely. Then another Dagger followed suit allowing the cross to be put in to the back post. Rooney seemed to have it under control as Robbo screamed at him to put it behind for a corner. But for some reason, he allowed the ball to run and Rose smashed it across goal for Guinan to tap in.

Then just a few minutes later, Potts was chasing a long ball back towards goal with Parry in pursuit. Robbo again told the defender to put the ball out of the ground, but for some reason he took a touch which was neither a back-pass nor a control of the ball, and Parry just gratefully accepted the gift. Although Roberts saved his first effort, Parry then drilled it back across goal for Williams, eluding Perkins for the first time, to tap into the net just like the first.

By now Steve West, Keeling, Terry, Hill and Rooney were completely knackered and the game just drifted away from the Daggers as Hereford broke towards a threadbare defence after breaking up each Daggers attack. Some last ditch defending stopped further goals, and although the Daggers made a last effort which saw lots of long balls and a flurry of subs, there was little in the way of chances. The best chance of all though came when Baker came to meet a cross which Perkins beat him to. The ball was knocked back to Hill who blasted goalwards only for a defender on the six yard box to throw himself at it.

The two Hereford goals knocked the stuffing out of the team and it was difficult to create anything as a lack of movement meant Perkins and Hill had little to work with, but there were positives, namely a great Perkins performance and a great first half defensive performance. However, silly mistakes cost the Daggers the game, which they should really have won after taking the lead. If the team keep their concentration for the whole game and keep it as tight as they did in the first half of this game for the whole of future games, you can see them taking leaps up the table, but if the mistakes aren't cut out we could go the other way.