Dagenham & Redbridge boss Ben Strevens glad to start again

Dagenham & Redbridge boss Ben Strevens admitted it was good to get back to matchday action after starting pre-season with a 3-0 win at Aveley.

New signing Ryan Hill opened the scoring with a superb solo effort in the first half and Josh Strizovic saved a penalty after the restart, before Josh Hare headed home Sydney Ibie’s cross to double the advantage.

A trialist completed the scoring at Parkside with a 30-yard shot into the top corner late on.

“Been chomping at the bit all summer, especially since we went back with them for this last week, seeing how hard they worked, how well they’ve looked after themselves over the summer,” Strevens told the club website.

“You bring them back and you do tests and give them tough runs the first week, but fitness levels where they’re at has been really pleasing to see and I didn’t expect anything other than that.

“They’ve had a really tough week and we was a little bit unsure what they’d be like, but the attitude from both XIs in both halves was excellent.

“Getting a clean sheet was the first thing, but getting the minutes into the boys. It wasn’t an easy game. They’ve had two promotions, they’re a really good team, well managed, so all in all a real pleasing day.”

Strevens was particularly pleased to see how his players worked together, in and out of possession, having not put too much focus on that in the initial stages of training.

“We haven’t done loads of tactical stuff with them really, so the fact good bits come out in the game, bits of play with the ball and without the ball we were really pleased with,” he added.

“We’ve been working quite a lot all week in terms of our reaction if we do give the ball away or something doesn’t go quite right.

“The reaction time of how we can win it back, how quickly we can be on the front foot, trying to work in combinations that if one goes and presses, the other one goes back behind them.

“So all in all, more important than anything, it’s minutes in their legs, hopefully no injuries come out of the game, everyone seems to be good, some good moments in the game is pleasing for us and the people here watching.”

However, Strevens did reveal some of his post-match team-talk was focused on negative aspects of his side’s display against the National League South new boys.

“I was saying I wasn’t happy with giving a penalty away early in the second half and I wasn’t happy with giving them two attempts at our goal in the last four or five minutes,” he said.

“We want to drive the standards in terms of getting more clean sheets. Striz has pulled off a brilliant save, but we don’t want to give teams those moments.

“I know they’re going to happen because that’s football, but of all the good stuff they were doing I just wanted to hammer home that we’d given two or three chances away.

“I understand it, especially the late chances because you’re a little bit tired. It’s really difficult for boys coming on at half-time. You do these early games to get 45 minutes into them but to do a less warm-up, go out and try to get things going, is quite difficult.

“We gave a couple of chances away but then I spoke about the good bits. One wing-back scoring with a brilliant run and shot into the top corner, then the next goal, using Syd, a cross in and Josh Hare scoring the other. So some real good points to go with it as well.”