FA Cup 4Q: Bracknell Town 1 Dagenham & Redbridge 0

Substitute Kam English was the home side’s hero, sidefooting home a low cross from Ashley Lodge as Ben Strevens’ National League side – 54 places higher in the football pyramid – were left without a win in nine matches in all competitions.

Bracknell had reached the first round last season before losing 3-0 to Ipswich, while Daggers made it to the second round in two of past three years.

And Strevens named an unchanged side from the previous weekend’s draw at Oldham Athletic, with Tom Eastman and Elliott Johnson included among their seven substitutes on an enlarged substitutes bench.

Conor Lawless fired the first shot in anger over the crossbar on four minutes, as Daggers settled on the 3G surface at the SB Stadium.
And patient build-up play by the visitors led to Josh Hare seeing an angled effort deflected behind two minutes later.

Frank Vincent was the next Dagger to let fly, with his left-footed effort flicking off a defender’s head for another corner on eight minutes.
And Inih Effiong headed just wide of the far post when Hare received a short corner on the left and curled in a deep cross.

Tom Jackson forced Elliot Justham into his first routine save of the day with a low shot that was comfortably smothered in the 13th minute as the home side started to enjoy more possession.
 
Harry Phipps was booked midway through the first half, with Justham holding onto a header from George Knight on 24 minutes.

But Daggers had their best chance of the tie three minutes later as Vincent’s reverse pass put Freddie Sears into space in the box, only to be denied by the legs of home keeper Simon Grant.

The marauding Lewis Page flashed a teasing cross in from the left, just beyond Sears, on 33 minutes as Bracknell breathed a sigh of relief once more. But Jordan Esprit lifted the hosts with a wriggling run in from the left before firing well over.

Hare whipped a right-wing cross just over the head of Effiong late in the half, but Elliot Legg almost found Esprit with a similar delivery for the Robins during stoppage time as the scoreline remained blank at the break.

The start of the second half was fairly scrappy, with Daggers struggling to find their passing rhythm and Bracknell emboldened by still being on level terms. And Justham did well to hold onto an inswinging corner from Gabe George under pressure on 54 minutes.

Bracknell captain Lodge had a good chance just before the hour, but couldn’t get as clean a strike as he would have liked, allowing Justham to field the ball comfortably.

But it was a warning nonetheless for Daggers, and they responded with Effiong seeing a shot blocked by Olukayode Osu from Vincent’s cutback.

Esprit’s shot on the turn from the edge of the box was saved by Justham seconds later, before Vincent brought down Nana Owusu as the hosts looked to counter from a Daggers corner.

Owusu made way for Kam English in the first change of the tie, while Vincent and Conor Lawless made way for Charley Kendall and Omar Mussa in a double switch for Daggers a minute later.

A foul on Mussa by Lodge saw the home skipper cautioned on 71 minutes, but Mussa lifted the subsequent free-kick high over the bar and into the trees in Sandhurst Memorial Park.

Long-serving club captain Max Herbert replaced Jackson for the final quarter of an hour, with Kendall forcing a diving save from Grant seconds later after Mussa’s forward pass was touched into his path by Sears.

But Justham had to fly to his left to push a well-struck shot from English behind, after a lay-off from Esprit, to save his side on 78 minutes, with English glancing the resulting corner from George beyond the far post.

Mussa’s excellent long-range strike then forced Grant into a great save five minutes from time, with Phipps heading just wide after Hare’s inswinging corner from the left.

But Daggers were dumped out in the fourth minute of stoppage time when Lodge played a low ball across the face of goal to find English, who kept his composure to take a touch and sidefoot home from six yards.

Bracknell Town: Grant, Legg, George, Harrison, Olukayode Osu, Knight, Grant, Jackson (Herbert 74), Esprit (Ferdinand 86), Lodge, Owusu (English 65). Unused subs: Ben Harris, Liam Tack, Sean Fraser, Ethan Burden.

Dagenham & Redbridge: Justham, Hare, Hessenthaler, Vincent (Kendall 67), Rees, Effiong, Francis-Clarke (Eastman 85), Page, Phipps, Lawless (Mussa 67), Sears. Unused subs: Johnson, Appiah-Forson, Longe-King, Ibie.

Referee: Ruebyn Ricardo.