Kingstonian 0,

Dagenham & Redbridge 2

Only a brilliant display by Dagenham's England international goalkeeper, Paul Gothard, kept the visitors in front at Kingsmeadow and increased their lead at the top of the Ryman League Premier Division.

The home side, without the injured David Leworthy whose knee injury has flared up again, might have got away to a flyer when Cherry Red Records' Man-of-the-Match Dean Hooper turned the ball back for Eddie Akuamoah to tuck wide after just two minutes.

However, they had a scare when Paul Cobb's low cross fizzed across the goalmouth with no one on hand to get a touch after 12 minutes. And two minutes later Dagenham were in front as Ks' defence was caught by a quick break through the middle, keeper Jerome John being stranded in no-man's land as David Pratt's perfect lob sailed into the net. Ks made great efforts to get back on terms. After 21 minutes Colin Luckett crossed and Gary Patterson nudged a header down which Gothard took. Three minutes later the keeper tipped over Matt Crossley's header from a Hooper cross and four minutes after that, he saved a low shot from Ks liveliest forward, Akuamoah, with his feet.

Mini-storm

But Dagenham weathered the mini-storm and showed just why they are league leaders with a breakaway strike in the 37th minute that set the 1411 crowd buzzing. Dean Parratt sent Cobb away on the right and his cross was met perfectly as Matthew Bird's shot whistled into the top corner of the net. Gothard smothered a Lenny Dennis effort straight after the restart, then after Bird headed another Cobb cross wide, Ks dominated the second half, but had nothing to show for it.

Akuamoah saw a fierce shot deflect for a corner while Crossley's shot from a Luckett corner was well taken by Gothard. The visiting keeper was also down quickly to take a low effort from Geoff Pitcher, while Terry Evans was way over with a header following an overhead kick by Dennis.

In the final 20 minutes Ks tried everything to unlock the Daggers' defence. Jamie Ndah had a shot deflect for a corner, taken by Luckett, from which Dennis had a header pushed away.

A minute later Gothard clawed away an Ndah header and then in the 84th minute Ndah set up Luckett whose shot hit a defender.

Two minutes later Gothard tipped over a point-blank Ndah header and from the corner a defender headed against his own bar before the ball was scrambled away for yet another corner.

A last gasp chance saw Luckett put Akuamoah in but he missed his kick and Gothard cleared. Ks deserved a draw but couldn't find the power when they needed it.

Had they pulled one back late in the first half or early in the second, it might have been a different story, but you can't give a side like Dagenham a two-goal start and expect to come away with a result.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000.Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.