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MATCH PREVIEW: Aldershot Town v Dagenham & Redbridge

Aldershot Town will be looking forward to having fans back at the EBB Stadium for the first time this season with a tough test in the National League against a Dagenham & Redbridge who drew 0-0 with Notts County last Wednesday.

In association with LV BET, Kirshon Wilkins previews the game:

Shots Squad:

Four players are working their way back into contention with the likes of Alex Finney (hamstring), Craig Tanner (TBC), Ross McCormack (Achilles) and Lewis Kinsella (MCL) all pushing to be back as soon as possible. Skipper Jamie Sendles-White has returned from a calf injury and will be in contention to start on Saturday. Mike Fondop has one more game to sit out due to a three-game suspension picked up in the 0-0 home draw with Maidenhead United. Midfielder Alfy Whittingham will miss out due to suspension picked up in the 0-0 away draw with Chesterfield FC.

Opposition:

Name: Dagenham & Redbridge FC

Founded: 1992

Nickname: Daggers

Manager: Daryl McMahon

Stadium: The Chigwell Construction Stadium

2019/20 National League position: 17th

Current National League position: 19th

The Gaffer:

Born in Dublin, Ireland, 37-year-old McMahon is a name that National League fans will know due to spells with Boreham Wood, Eastleigh, Dover Athletic, Ebbsfleet United. McMahon was a midfielder in his playing days and represented his national team from u16-18 level. McMahon retired at the end of the 2014/2015 season.

His management career started with Ebbsfleet United as a caretaker manager in 2014 before being promoted to the manager position from 2015. He won promotion with Ebbsfleet in the National League South play-offs in 2017 before being appointed as manager of Macclesfield Town in 2019. 

In January 2020, McMahon tendered his resignation amidst a financial crisis at Macclesfield who are now known as Macclesfield FC having been expelled from the National League earlier this season. Within 24 hours of leaving Macclesfield, McMahon was appointed as manager of Dagenham & Redbridge.

Departed:

A total of 13 players left permanently over the summer. Liam Gordon was offered a new deal but it was declined and he has left the club for League Two’s Bolton Wanderers. Manny Onariase departed for League Two’s Scunthorpe United after advanced negotiations with the club in the summer. Bagasan Graham, Alex McQueen, Harold Odametey, Will Wood, Will Wright and Gabby Zakuani who retired from professional football. Michael Johnson, Joan Luque, Joe Quigley and Reece Grant who played for Aldershot Town last season have left the club as well. Current Aldershot Town forward Chike Kandi also left the club.

Arrived:

A total of 11 players joined the Daggers with a few players returning from loan spells as well. Kai Brown and Bailey Clements returned from Ipswich Town u23s with Abu Ogogo returning from Bristol Rovers and James Dobson returning from Ebbsfleet United. George Saunders, Elliot Johnson, Callum Reynolds, Paul McCallum, Darren McQueen, Adrian Clifton, Jaden Brissett, Charlee Adams, Joey Jones and Scott Wilson are new acquisitions for Dagenham over the summer. Former Aldershot Town midfielder Dean Rance has also joined the Daggers leaving on a free after the 2019/20 season.

Form:

Dagenham’s form has been mixed since the start of the 20/21 campaign with two wins, three draws and four losses with a few games in hand because of postponements. However, they will feel confident after their FA Cup performances that got them to the second round against League Two’s Mansfield Town. They were agonisingly close to getting to the third round and they will take that into their upcoming league fixtures in a bid to pull away from the relegation zone.

Referee:

Saturday afternoon’s referee is Martin Woods with his assistants Mark Stevens and Benjamin Williamson and the fourth official officiating the game is John Pike.

Match Coverage:

The match will be streamed and available on ‘Shots TV Live’ with Presenter Mark Butler, Match Commentator Rob Worrall and they will be joined by Special Guests: Regan Booty and Lewis Kinsella in the studio at The EBB Stadium from 1:30pm. BBC Radio Surrey will also be covering the match live with live online commentary.

You can watch the match live HERE