Dag & Red 1  Tony Roberts 3  Ashley Vickers 6  Steve Heffer 9  Danny Shipp 10  Mark Stein 12  Steve Perkins 14  Danny Hill 15  Steve West 16  Steve McGavin 19  Danny Hayzelden 23  Ross Johnson Substitutes 4  Lee Goodwin 8  Paul Terry 13  Junior 18  Paul Gothard 20  Mark Rooney

Goals Stein Jones   Harris Stats 7 Goal Attempts 5 5 On Target 3 2 Off Target 2 0 Hit Woodwork 0 13 Corners 2 Cards Yellow Heffer Angus Vickers Thackeray   Peake Red None None

Nuneaton Chris MacKenzie  1 Jason Peake  4 Richard Lavery  6 John Turner  8 Gary Jones  9 Mark Quayle  10 Terry Angus  14 Jamie Squires  15 Barry Williams  17 Andy Thackeray  18 Ian Clarkson  22 Substitutes Michael Love  3 Craig Woodley  7 Jamie Lenton  16 Jason Harris  19 Steve Hodgson  20

The Daggers changed it around a bit for this game, with McGavin playing on the right and Hayzelden replacing Paul Bruce. With Perkins and Hill completing the midfield it was never going to be strong enough against a hard-working Nuneaton side. The first action of the game was Shipp closing down the keeper and the ball almost curled into the top corner but went just wide. You could see that it wasn't going to be the Daggers' day.

At the other end, Roberts had little to do, he had two shots that whizzed past his goal-frame without troubling him, although he did hold one long drive well to his right. Steve West had a go for the Daggers from long-range but that was just wide. He had to be replaced soon after as Angus hit him so hard that it broke his shin-pad in half and tore his sock. A red-card offence if ever I saw one. Apart from this, there was very little action at all in the first half and it seemed to be going in at a blank scoreline. Nuneaton had other ideas though. A goal mouth scramble where the ball seemed to pinball around forever was finally ended by Jones who prodded it past Roberts.

The second half was much better from a Daggers point of view, although the ball just wouldn't go past MacKenzie. He made some good saves to keep the Daggers at bay during a 20 minute purple-patch. However, there was still the worry of the visitors running through the Dagger's midfield, the lack of bite and movment. When the crosses, superbly provided by Hayzelden who was great all night, came in, Perkins was nowhere to be seen and this meant they were mostly cleared.

However, Hayzelden nearly created a goal as he skinned his full-back for the umpteenth time and put a low ball across to Stein who side-footed firmly towards the bottom corner. MacKenzie was there to save with his studs. Next came a penalty. The defender tried to push the ball awaywith his hand, but the referee was on hand to not shirk the decision. McGavin stepped up, and the rather powerless kick was saved low to his right by MacKenzie. Perkins then had a free-header at the back post which he inexplicably put wide from about 10 yards.

The ball finally went into the net for the Daggers through Stein. Shipp was fighting over the loose ball and when his shot was blocked, Stein picked up the rebound to fire it high into the net. However, the Daggers seemed to die a bit after the goal and it all seemed very flat and heading for the draw. But just as had happened in the first half, a last-minute goal sealed it. Harris, off the bench, was put through and rounded Roberts and cooly slotted the ball into the net.