Dagenham & Redbridge continue woeful form with defeat to strugglers Solihull Moors

Dagenham & Redbridge continued their woeful form as they slipped to a third straight National League defeat with a 3-1 defeat against strugglers Solihull Moors.

Daggers now just have one win in their last nine matches in all competitions after two early goals from The Moors new signing Adi Yussuf and a second-half goal from substitute Oladapo Afolayan sealed the three points despite a goal from Fejiri Okenabirhie at Victoria Road.

Manager John Still made three changes from their 2-1 defeat to Sutton United last weekend, with Ben Nunn, Corey Whitely and Bondz N’Gala, who returned from his loan spell at Leyton Orient this week.

With Scott Doe dropping out of the squad, Sam Ling missing out through injury and Michael Cheek dropping to the bench for the club’s ninth annual Against Racism Day.

The first chance of the game came in the fourth minute when Whitely got hold of the ball on the edge of the box and fired a shot, but it was deflected clear.

The hosts continue to put the pressure on and Fejiri Okenabirhie had the next chance as he missed a golden opportunity from six yards as the ball dropped over his shoulder but he couldn’t connect after an incoming free-kick from Daniel Sparkes in the eighth minute.

Three minutes later against a run of play the Moors new signing Adi Yussuf fired a shot into the bottom right corner to score on his debut after Kristian Green’s throw in was flicked on for the striker.

The Moors doubled their lead in the 13th minute when Yussuf continued his dream debut with a second as he tapped home a Green cross from close range to make it 0-2.

The next twenty minutes were fairly quiet with neither side creating too much until the 35th minute when a Solihull corner found Liam Daly at the back post but he headed it wide.

Dagenham’s Okenabirhie clawed one back as he scored a stunning goal as he turned sharp on the edge of the box and powered a shot into the bottom right corner after Nunn crossed the ball into the box and scrambled out to find the winger in the 39th minute.

The goal gave the hosts confidence as they pushed forward in search of an equaliser and it almost came in the dying stages of the first-half as Ferrier drilled a shot well over the goal after his original shot was blocked.

Then just before the whistle Whitley whipped in a corner and found defender N’Gala, whose header hit the post and was cleared.

Neither side started the second-half at the races, but in the 49th minute Jamie Reckford broke down the left but his cross bypassed everyone in the box, although Yussuf almost got on the end of it.

Three minutes later Nunn tried to clear the ball but his clearance went straight into the path of Solihull’s danger man Yussuf, who fired a shot straight at keeper Cousins.

It wasn’t until the 63rd minute when the next chance came as Okenabirhie is found just outside the box, but his effort went wide.

Solihull extened their lead to 1-3 as Andre Boucaud gave the ball away, which Fiacre Kelleher then played over the top for Jermaine Hylton, who turned inside and out, before passing it across the goal for Oladapo Afolayan who fired the ball home a minute after being brought off the bench.

The hosts didn’t give up and a scramble in the box lead to Ferrier drilling a low cross into the box but no one was able to get on the end of it in the 85th minute.

A minute later Whitely curled a free-kick from 25 yards past the post in the 86th minute, before the attacker also controlled the ball in the box but his effort was blocked and cleared out for a corner.

Dagenham & Redbridge: Cousins, Nunn, N’Gala, Lokko, Howells, Robson, Boucaud, Sparkes (Kandi 62), Okenabirhie (Cheek 75), Whitely, Ferrier.

Unused subs: Moore, Pennell, Howell.

Solihull Moors: O’Leary, Green, Carter, Storer, Yussuf (Afolayan 69), Hylton (Edwards 81), Rockford, Daly, Kelleher, Osborne (Green 90), Thomas.

Unused subs: Frempah and Carline.