Diomansy Kamara gets first Fulham goal

The Daggers lost by a single goal to a very strong Fulham side at the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Stadium. John Still’s side competed well during the match but were undone by a Premiership quality strike from new boy Diomansky Kamara.

The game started with Fulham seemingly keen to demonstrate their Premiership credentials. Lawrie Sanchez’s side conjured up a super passing movement early on that resulted in Michael Brown being released inside the Daggers penalty area. The former Spurs man saw his shot go wide.

But the League newcomers gave as good as they got in the opening stages, and Dave Rainford had a great chance to score; his free header from a Sam Saunders corner went narrowly wide.

After 12 minutes Kamara found himself through on goal and earned his side a free-kick after being brought down by Richard Graham. Franck Queudrue forced Ed Thompson into making a good save. That wasn’t the only stop the Daggers keeper had to make. Thompson did well to stop Kamara later in the half while an outstretched fingertip ensured Ross Smith didn’t score his second own goal in the space of a week.

Dagenham’s best chance of the opening half came just after the half hour mark. A mix up in the Fulham defence allowed Jon Nurse to strike at goal. Antti Niemi blocked Nurse’s effort while Saunders could not score from the rebound. But while the Daggers couldn’t find the back of the net, Kamara certainly did. Found by Simon Davies in the penalty area, the signing from West Brom struck with some authority to score just before the break.

Two very different teams emerged after the break although the opportunities were still forthcoming, particularly early on. David Healy had the ball in the back of the net only for his effort to be ruled out for offside. Dagenham once again responded this time through Saunders on the right. His cross found Ben Strevens whose downward header was saved at the second attempt by Tony Warner.

Thompson was given an opportunity to gain further match time in the Daggers goal. The keeper produced a superb stop to save a close range header from Collins John. He then made another decent save minutes later to deny a well struck volley from Alexei Smertin. Having had a good workout, Thompson was replaced on 65 minutes by Jack Morton, who was called into action almost immediately, tipping over an effort from Clint Dempsey.

Dagenham and Redbridge:
First Half: 1. Ed Thompson, 7. Sam Saunders, 8. Glen Southam, 9. Jon Nurse, 10. Richard Graham, 11. Dave Rainford, 12. Scott Griffiths, 15. Anwar Uddin (Capt), 20. Ross Smith, 23. Chris Moore, 24. Warren Goodhind.

Second Half: 1. Ed Thompson (27. Jack Morton, 65 mins), 2. Magnus Okuonghae, 3. Sam Sloma, 5. Jon Boardman, 6. Shane Huke, 7. Sam Saunders (21. Dominic Green, 69 mins), 11. Dave Rainford (17. Bai Mas Lettejallow, 77 mins), 16. Jamie Taylor, 18. Ben Strevens, 24. Warren Goodhind, 25. Marlon Patterson.

Fulham:
First Half: 1. Antti Niemi, 2. Chris Baird, 3. Paul Konchesky, 4. Aaron Hughes, 5. Zat Knight, 6. Steven Davis, 7. Simon Davies, 8. Michael Brown, 9. Diomansky Kamara, 10. Brian McBride, 11. Franck Queudrue.

Second Half: 12. Tony Warner, 14. Papa Boupa Diop, 15. Collins John, 16. Michael Timlin, 17. Alexei Smertin, 18. Carlos Bocanegra, 19. Ian Pearce, 20. David Healy, 21. Clint Dempsey, 22. Liam Rosenior, 23. Moritz Voltz.

Goal Scorer: Kamara 44

Referee: Mr. A D’Urso