Sheffield Wednesday 2-0 Daggers

THE scoreline may suggest a predictable walk in the park for Sheffield Wednesday, but in reality it could quite easily have been Dagenham that were taking their first three League One points back down the M1.

An unfortunate own goal from defender Scott Doe and a clinical Clinton Morrison finish, following another lapse in concentration, before 15 minutes were on the clock proved to be the Daggers' undoing at Hillsborough. But from that moment forth it was the visitors who looked more at home than their hosts.

Dagenham's opening game in League One was always going to be a difficult one. But this was something of a baptism of fire for John Still's men, coming to the home of the early-season favourites, Sheffield Wednesday.

However, if this performance is anything to go by, the team's goal of beating the drop back into League Two will be achieved with considerable ease.

That they have plenty to learn at this level is in no doubt. The early errors that led to Wednesday's two goals were entirely avoidable and, against such strong opposition, are always going to be punished.

The first was a skewed effort by Doe to clear his lines, after Giles Coke had got his head to a corner. But the defender, who just last week signed a new three-year deal with the club, inexplicably found the top corner of Tony Roberts' net, rather than row Z.

Just two minutes later and Dagenham had conceded again. This time a heavy touch that a rhinoceros would have been disappointed with from Abu Ogogo gifted the Owls the chance to swoop. And they did so with pace and efficiency. The lively Gary Teale was released down the left flank and his cross was not dealt with by the Daggers' defence.

The ball fell to Morrison, who still had plenty to do with his back to goal six yards out, but he cleverly swivelled and thumped a shot beneath Roberts.

It seemed as if Dagenham would fall to pieces after that double blow. Roberts had to be at his acrobatic best to claw Marcus Tudgay's header out of the top corner.

But then they started to come to life.

First, Romain Vincelot attempted a dipping volley that sailed just over the bar. Then the Frenchman went even closer, getting his toe to the ball to prod it past Nicky Weaver, only to see the effort drift agonisingly wide of the far post.

Despite the scoreline at the break, the performance was everything John Still would have wished for from his players.

And that momentum carried on into the second period.

The Wednesday attacks were becoming more and more irregular, while the Daggers began to threaten when they poured forward.

Midfielder Stewart Lewis, a combative presence in the middle of the park, twice saw long-range shots miss the target.

He was dominant in the midfield alongside Vincelot and Peter Gain, while Paul Benson was all heart and energy up front.

Danny Green, Dagenham's most potent attacking threat during their promotion year last season, was taken off as a precaution after the hour mark after seeming to pick up a knock to his ankle, with Jon Nurse replacing him.

And the substitute almost made an immediate impact, firing wide from the edge of the box. He was guilty of missing perhaps his team's best chance of the match on 74 minutes when he headed a Gain corner into the turf, only for the ball to bounce over Weaver's crossbar.

There was little doubting that Dagenham were the better team in the second half, but Sheffield's defence held firm, despite Still trying to mix things up by introducing Josh Scott and new signing Damian Scannell into the fold.

The result was what many people had expected before kick-off. But the performance will have surprised fans and pundits alike. After this evidence, there will be few in League One that will dismiss Dagenham & Redbridge as pushovers now.