OPPOSITION
The 'Posh' are currently justifying their status as one of the Pre Season favourites for promotion from League Two. Following Tuesday night's 2-0 win at Barnet, are currently top on 71 points.
Last Saturday they did the Daggers a favour with a narrow victory against struggling Bury, and their previous game before that saw them win 2-0 at rock bottom Wrexham, another result which helped out John Still's side.
Many of the Peterborough side will be familiar to the Daggers faithful. Likely to start upfront for the visitors is ex Daggers favourite, Craig Mackail-Smith. Craig made a massive contribution to the Daggers title charge last season and is sure to get a warm reception. Also likely to be in the squad is Shane Blackett, although he may not start the game. Shane was also a star performer for much of the first half of last season, before joining Craig at Peterborough at the end of January 2007.
There are other faces formerly from the non league game to look out for as well. Aaron Mclean will more than likely start the game upfront, and will be up to his normal antics which make him so easy to dislike! The former Grays and Aldershot man is not that popular at Victoria Road, but is a quality performer. Also offering an attacking threat will be ex Stevenage player George Boyd, and ex Billericay winger Chris Whelpdale, while ex Barnet man Liam Hatch means the Posh have plenty of options going forward.
Of course, deciding who does what for the Posh at the moment is manager Darren Ferguson. Darren is son of Man Yoo's legendary Sir Alex, and this is his first job in the managerial game. Things are going well for Darren (who seems nearly as quick to moan about everything as his Old Man!), but part of that has been due to the financial backing he has been given by Darragh MacAnthony. MacAnthony's millions have enabled Ferguson to assemble his squad of non league All Stars, and also add the experience of people such as Micah Hyde, to ensure the Posh push for promotion. Of course, keeping his eye on things from his role as Director of Football is another ex non league legend, Barry Fry, who is a former manager and owner of the Club.
PAST MEETINGS
The Clubs have met twice before in competitive games. The first of these was a thrilling encounter in December 1997, in the FA Cup Second Round. Goals from Paul Cobb and a screamer from Danny Shipp had given the Daggers a 2-1 lead midway through the second half. But two late goals from Jimmy Quinn meant the Posh moved into the Third Round.
The other meeting was the league game between the two sides earlier this season at London Road. Paul Benson gave Dagenham a half time lead, and as the game wore on, it looked like the visitors might take something from the game. However, Dean Keates and that man Maclean (2) scored in the last 22 minutes to give the home side a deserved 3-1 victory, and plunge the Daggers nearer the bottom of the table.
The sides have also met several times in Pre-Season friendly games over the years.
CROWD
This looks like it could be the Daggers highest gate of the season. The League newcomers recent good form will be sure to boost the home attendance, especially with West Ham not being at home!! The Posh are also currently taking good away support with them to games, and with this being a fairly easy
journey, many Posh fans think they will take at least 1,000 travelling fans, and maybe even more than this. The total crowd should therefore be near the
2,500 mark (Mr Thompson will be pleased!)
UD ATTENDANCE
Numbers look like being a bit thin on the ground for this one. 4 of the regulars are away on cricket tour. Others should be in attendance, but with recent reliability issues affecting Gobless and Winkle it is difficult to know exactly how many will be there!!!
PREDICTION
Once again, a tough one to call! Peterborough are flying high, and obviously in good form. However, nobody in League Two is in better form than the Daggers at present, and so it should be a tight one . Dagenham struggled against the better opposition at the start of the season, but in recent weeks their performances against Wycombe, Morecambe and Hereford have shown they can mix it with the best sides. Posh have struggled at times against the lower sides, with a defeat at home to Macclesfield, as well as being held at home by Wrexham. Therefore, the UD prediction is for a 1-1 draw. PREVIOUS MATCHES |
