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Nottingham Post
Nottingham Post
Sport
Oliver King

Notts County player ratings vs Dagenham as unbeaten run comes to an end

Notts County's 25-game unbeaten run came to an end at the hands of managerless Dagenham and Redbridge on a frustrating night at Meadow Lane.

The Magpies had taken the lead through Ruben Rodrigues' 14th goal of the season, only for Angelo Balanta to level the scores ten minutes later.

But after several chances falling to the home side, they were undone by another counter-attack - this time Inih Effiong was on hand to fire the Daggers in front to give Steve Gritt and Dave Jupp the perfect start as caretaker manager as the title race swung back into the hands of Wrexham.

READ MORE: Notts County team news vs Dagenham as surprise change made from Southend win

Ahead of kick-off, Williams made two changes from the win over Southend in midweek, with Aaron Nemane and Jim O'Brien replacing Jodi Jones and Sam Austin.

And both of those changes were involved in the first chance of the game with just 20 seconds on the clock as O'Brien's clipped ball found Nemane in behind, however, his shot was unable to trouble Elliot Justham as it crashed into the side-netting.

The hosts continued to dominate the early proceedings but were almost undone by a mistake in midfield, with Connell Rawlinson's misplaced pass allowing Junior Morias the opportunity to run at the Magpies defence and winning a corner, with the resulting set-piece finding the head of Dean Rance who glanced his header narrowly wide of the far post.

However, Notts found the opener their patient possession deserved just after the 20-minute mark. Having threatened on the edge of the area, Rodrigues took aim after manoeuvring the ball onto his right-foot, sending a low drive into the bottom corner with Justham getting a fingertip to the effort.

Despite threatening to add to their lead, the visitors equalised just ten minutes later as Rodrigues was caught in possession allowing the Daggers to counter - with neat link-up between Matt Robinson and Sam Ling eventually seeing the ball find Balanta to silence the fans inside Meadow Lane.

Williams' side almost found themselves immediately back in front when Nemane's low cross found Macaulay Langstaff inside the area, only to see his effort cleared off the line by a Daggers defender with O'Brien also going close after following up Rodrigues' initial effort but just couldn't quite stretch enough to guide the ball goalwards.

With no changes at the break, it took the Magpies chief just over ten minutes to freshen up his side with Austin and Jones replacing John Bostock and O'Brien in midfield in looking to steer the contest back in their favour.

And their introduction seemed to provide that injection of energy the home side needed, with the Oxford loanee's first involvement two minutes after coming on seeing him curl an effort agonisingly wide of the far post, while Austin was involved minutes later, seeing his low cross into the area just evading the onrushing Langstaff and Nemane.

Having had an effort cleared off the line in the first half, the Daggers once again repelled Notts at the final hurdle, as Jones' goal-bound effort was cleared away with the pressure continuing to mount on Justham's net.

And it was Jones again who looked to fire Williams' side in front, cutting in from the right-hand side before unleashing a strike towards goal only to see the ball glance off the post and behind.

But the visitors, just like they did in the first half, sprung a counter-attack after Robinson won possession again in midfield - sending through Effiong to fire beyond Sam Slocombe at his near post in front of the travelling Daggers fans.

There was one final chance however, with Langstaff breaking in behind only to smash his effort against the post, with the ball pinballing around the area as two further efforts were blocked off the line.

And following the full-time whistle, Aden Baldwin was shown a red card by referee Lewis Smith following an altercation at the end of the match, meaning he will miss next week's trip to Bromley.

Here is how we rated the Magpies players this evening.

Sam Slocombe - 6

Could do nothing about the two finishes - was good coming off his line to sweep up overhit balls and get them back on the attack.

Kyle Cameron - 6

Was keen to provide that attacking threat from defence and provided some good crosses from wide areas.

Aden Baldwin - 6

Looked defensively sound and produced a number of important interceptions when the visitors looked to counter attack.

Connell Rawlinson - 6

Defended well during the first half but struggled with the pace of Effiong when introduced - evident in the second goal.

Adam Chicksen - 6

Became a growing threat in the contest, but his deliveries from wide positions were disappointing.

Aaron Nemane - 7

Created several opportunities, with his pace and directness causing a lot of problems for the Dagenham defence.

Matty Palmer - 7

Controlled the game in midfield as he looked to create opportunities going forward.

John Bostock - 6

Maintained possession well in midfield and controlled the midfield - his substitution was needed to provide that extra energy going forward.

Jim O'Brien - 6

Similar to Bostock, ran well and looked to affect the game going forward but energy was required for the final half an hour.

Ruben Rodrigues - 6

Took his goal brilliantly, creating space to manoeuvre the ball on to his favoured right foot, but was at fault for the equaliser after taking too long on the ball.

Macaulay Langstaff - 6

Was kept quiet for the majority of the evening, but had several golden opportunities including hitting the post late on.

SUBS:

Sam Austin - 6.5

Provided that energy needed in the final third, creating several opportunities with no reward.

Jodi Jones - 6.5

Another influential performance from the number ten, looking to create from the right-hand side, seeing an effort hit the post late on.

Connor Lemonheigh-Evans - 6

Looked lively during his appearance and was quick to get forward when in possession.

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