By Alex O'Loughlin
November 13 2010

Yeovil Town slumped to their fourth defeat in five games in nPower League One, after a 3-1 home defeat to Dagenham & Redbridge. 

A rarity before kick-off was the unchanged team selection, with Terry Skiverton sticking with the team that beat Rushden & Diamonds last weekend in the FA Cup. 

There were changes on the bench however, with trio Gavin Williams, Stefan Stam and Nathan Smith all returning to the match day squad.

A win for the Glovers would see them leap out of the bottom four and put six points between themselves and opponents Dagenham. A welcome boundary. 

That incentive seemed to encourage the Green and Whites initially, as they dominated the opening quarter of an hour.

First to go close was Shaun MacDonald, who blasted his shot over the bar after Sam Williams won the initial flick on from a John Sullivan goal kick. 

That triggered a barrage of Yeovil chances with Sam Williams finding himself inches away from his first goal of the season, as he narrowly missed out on Andy Welsh's low cross. 

Strike partner Dean Bowditch looked to show Williams how its done, when he found space on the right wing. The striker then cut inside Will Antwi before dragging his shot woefully wide of target. 

Coming into the game the Daggers had conceded more goals than any other team, and their defending early on in the game seemed to back that up. 

That weakness was highlighted by Yeovil's next move. Dean Bowditch found acres of space out wide before lashing the ball across goal towards an unmarked Shaun MacDonald. A seemingly definite goal was somehow denied by 'keeper Chris Lewington, who parried MacDonald's shot from just a few yards out. 

A Sam Williams rebound shot was blocked before Owain Tudur Jones saw his curling effort land in the chest of Lewington, ending a flurry of Yeovil shots. 

All of the Glovers huffing and puffing would soon count for nothing when the Daggers took a somewhat undeserved lead on 17 minutes. 

A rare venture into the Yeovil half earned a corner, from which Will Antwi rose above a static Yeovil defence to loop a header over Sullivan and a jumping Nathan Jones on the line. 0-1.

The goal seemed to visibly drain the confidence of the Green and Whites, who could sense the tension in the Huish Park atmosphere.

The goal had an opposite effect on the Daggers, who began to dominate proceedings much to the joy of their following 125 fans who were yet to see their side win away from home. 

Both sides had goal differences well into the negatives, a statistic which was backed up by both sides rocky defence with neither side seemingly comfortable at the back.

As the half-time whistle approached- sure to be accompanied by a chorus of boo's- the Glovers dragged themselves back into the match.

Owain Tudur Jones broke from midfield before finding a surging Andy Williams down the left hand side of the pitch. The ex-Bristol Rovers player drove into the box before lashing the ball into the top corner from a relatively tight angle. 1-1.

Blushes saved, Half Time: Yeovil Town 1-1 Dagenham & Redbridge 

The goal had clearly galvanised the Glovers who began the second half on the front foot, with Dean Bowditch coming inches away from taping in a Sam Williams flick on. 

Dagenham & Redbridge threatened little, but again almost took the lead when the impressive Danny Green had his free-kick tipped round the post by 'keeper Sullivan. 

The turning point in the game turned out to be the Daggers introduction of new loan signing Medy Elito, who would go on to cause Yeovil no end of problems down the left wing.

Yeovil scorer Andy Williams almost turned provider when a last ditch challenge denied Bowditch a tap in, after the busy Williams had stormed past two Daggers players to reach the by-line.

The resultant corner almost brought a goal for captain Paul Huntington, whose looping back post header was headed off the line by Antwi.

A criticism for Yeovil has been their inability to defend set pieces, and that was almost supported when they failed to clear a simple free-kick allowing Solomon Taiwo to fortunately lash over from the edge of the box.

As the clocked reached the 60 minute mark Yeovil stepped up their efforts to snatch the lead, when a Dean Bowditch cross found Sam Williams at the back post whose weak shot trickled into the hands of Lewington. 

The Daggers immediately began to sit back as the Green and Whites began to dominate proceedings and spend almost an infinite amount of time in the Dagenham half. 

As the final fifteen minutes approached Andy Williams almost grabbed his second of the day when he latched on to a loose ball to see his shot be deflected over the bar.

The resultant corner produced a series of Yeovil chances, with Paul Huntington again being denied by Antwi on the goal line before Owain Tudur Jones glanced a header inches wide of the mark.

If the game was to be won it seemed Yeovil would clinch victory, but that was proved wrong when the Daggers took an against the run of play lead on the 80th minute.

Almost a mirror of Yeovil's goal, Medy Elito broke from midfield before finding Abu Ogogo out wide, whose shot went through Sullivan and into the back of the net. 1-2.

But there was no time for the Glovers to feel sorry for themselves and they continued to press with Huntington being denied for the third time this time by the bar, with the rebound being deflected wide from a Sam Williams diving header. 

The clock was now against Yeovil and their situation was made even worse with a third goal for Dagenham & Redbridge. 

The impressive substitute Medy Elito teased Paul Huntington before cutting inside and curling a shot into the bottom right corner of the goal, earning the Daggers a first away league victory.  1-3.

Elito's goal triggered a mass exodus, with the remaining fans voicing their opinions at the end of the game with a series of boo's.

Yeovil now lie in 23rd position with Dagenham swapping places with the Glovers. In addition, Yeovil are now four points away from safety with 20th placed Tranmere earning a 1-0 victory over Plymouth Argyle. Terry Skiverton will be bitterly disappointed with his sides inability to take their chances, recording just one goal despite their countless number of chances.Fixtures now go against Yeovil, who travel to Charlton next Saturday followed by a mid-week trip to Bournemouth, with a win seemingly becoming less and less likely.