Daggers v Bees

On Friday, Barnet travel across London to Dagenham for the second time this season to meet Dagenham & Redbridge. Last month, the two sides met in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy, 1^st round and the Daggers won 4-2, both Barnet goals coming from Adam Birchall.

The two sides have met each other 10 times, 8 in the Conference and twice in League Two. Barnet have also played the Daggers when they were just plain Dagenham. For a look at the evolution of Dagenham & Redbridge, see the article, 'A Short History of Dagenham & Redbridge' elsewhere on this site.

In this article, we will be looking at the games at Dagenham's Victoria Road. There will be an article on the games at Underhill for the return fixture at Barnet on 17^th January.

Following Barnet's relegation to the Conference in 2001, the two sides met early in the season and drew 1-1. Barnet went ahead after 6 minutes when Neil Midgley hooked a shot past Tony Roberts after Ben Strevens had headed down a Frazer Toms shot. Heffer equalised for Dagenham in the 43rd minute.

The Barnet side that day was; Harrison, Goodhind, Sawyers, Bell, Heald, Arber, Niven, Strevens, Doolan, Midgley, Toms (Flynn).

The following season, Barnet met Dagenham on a Tuesday in January that coincided with a fire brigade strike and the closure of much of the underground. Many of the Barnet fans who got there must have wished they hadn't bothered as Barnet were thrashed 5-1. The daggers goals were scored by McDougald, Shipp, West and two from current Barnet physio, Mark Stein. Junior Agogo scored the only Barnet goal.

Barnet; Naisbitt, Heald, Yakubu, Pluck (Oshitola), Pope (Purser), Midgley, Gower, Soloman, Flynn, Toms (Brown), Agogo.

Season 2003-04 didn't get any better as Martin Allen's new look side travelled to East London in August and were hammered 5-2. Dagenham were 4-0 up before the Bees managed to score, with goals from two goals apiece for Mark Bentley and Mark Stein. Giuliano Grazioli scored twice to make the score a little better at 4-2, but then Stein completed his hat trick in injury time.

Barnet; Naisbitt, Hendon, Plummer (Yakubu), Maddix, King, Taggart, Rooney (Williams), Gamble, Hogg (Lopez), Strevens, Grazioli.

In 2004/05, Barnet were promoted as champions at the end of the season and promoted to League Two. They ended the season with a tepid 2-0 defeat at Victoria Road. The Barnet side was; Gore, Hendon (Ada), Yakubu, King, Charles, Bailey, Lee (Batt), Sinclair, Graham, Roache, Grazioli (Strevens).

Last season, the two sides met for the first time since Dagenham were promoted from the Conference in 2007. A spectacular Anthony Thomas shot which burst the net gained the Bees a point after former Underhill favourite, Ben Strevens had put the Daggers ahead following a horrific defensive mix up.

Barnet; Harrison, Devera, Yakubu, Burton, Gillet, Carew (Wright), Bishop, Porter, Puncheon, Thomas (Hatch), Birchall.