A tense National League encounter at Huish Park saw Yeovil Town secure a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Dagenham & Redbridge, extending their 100% winning record against the Daggers. The first half was a cagey affair, with both sides struggling to carve out clear openings. Chances were few and far between as the two teams cancelled each other out in a tight midfield battle.
Yeovil manager Mark Cooper opted for a tactical switch at the break, introducing Dominic Bernard for Michael Smith. The change, seemingly designed to increase Yeovil’s attacking threat down the flanks, ultimately paid dividends.
The deadlock was broken ten minutes into the second half. A flowing Yeovil move culminated in James Plant delivering a perfectly weighted pass to Ciaran McGuckin, who coolly slotted the ball past the Dagenham goalkeeper to give the Glovers a 1-0 lead.
McGuckin’s relief and elation were evident, but his exuberance boiled over just four minutes later, earning him a yellow card for dissent as tensions on the pitch began to rise.
Dagenham responded to going behind with a double substitution. Christian N’Guessan replaced Frank Vincent, followed by Dylan Stephenson coming on for Jake Hessenthaler as the visitors sought to inject some much-needed pace and creativity into their attack. However, their attempts to find an equaliser were hampered by bookings for Ryan Hill and Josh Rees, disrupting their flow and momentum.
Sensing an opportunity to capitalise on Dagenham’s growing frustration, Yeovil manager Mark Cooper made further changes. Raphael Araoye replaced Dylan Morgan, bolstering the midfield and aiming to stifle any potential Dagenham resurgence. As the clock wound down, and with the three points seemingly secure, Cooper made two final substitutions to see out the victory. Goalscorer McGuckin made way for Matthew Worthington, and Jordan Young was replaced by Josh Sims.
The 1-0 victory moved Yeovil up to 10th in the National League table with 18 points, while Dagenham slipped to 13th on 17 points. While a low-scoring game compared to some of Dagenham’s recent fixtures, the solitary goal proved enough to extend Yeovil’s impressive run against them, having now won all three of their meetings, scoring three goals and conceding none.