Hammers Visit Gives Battling Daggers Reason For Hope

Despite both clubs being in the midst of important League matches, they both named strong teams for a special evening of football.

Top level clubs and organisations may get a bad rap from those in Non-League but the Hammers responded to Dagenham’s pleas for help.

For David Moyes’ men, it was probably a nice change of pace after the recent drama at the London Stadium.

The #SaveTheDaggers campaign has already received plenty of backing and the National League club are hoping Wednesday night’s exhibition match could end up raising £40,000.

A bumper crowd of 4,515 crammed into the Chigwell Construction Stadium as West Ham, featuring a side with seven Premier League titles amongst them, rolled into town.

Former Non-League winger Michail Antonio netted twice for the Hammers before Mason Bloomfield gave the Daggers, being managed by fan Gary Singh for the night, something to shout about.

Jordan Hugill, a deadline day signing by Moyes for a reported £10million, put the result beyond doubt but the Daggers did themselves proud.

The atmosphere inside the Chigwell Construction Stadium was special and you could feel a sense of optimism around the club in what are testing times.

With all proceeds from the evening going to the home side, it could well be a historic night for the Daggers.

“When you play a local team, whether it’s a friendly or not, it’s always a good occasion,” Dagenham boss John Still told the Evening Standard. “For the reason we’re doing it, it was an even bigger occasion.

“The club has worked extremely hard to try and get through the season. We need every bit of help we can get and this game has played a big part in that.”

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