FIXTURE DETAILS

 Dagenham & Redbridge vs Oxford City

Vanarama National League

Victoria Road Stadium | Saturday 10th February, 15:00

Referee: Alan Dale   Assistants: Richard Carter & Christopher Myatt   Fourth Official: Nicholas Dunn

RECENT FORM

Oxford City - L L W L L

After securing an impressive victory over Ebbsfleet.United, two defeats to Kidderminster & Woking have brought City back down to earth.

Two defeats last week were compounded by an injury to Canice Carroll, as the Hoops' defender had to come off at half-time during Tuesday's 2-0 defeat to Woking.

Although, the new trio of Harry Birtwistle, Harvey Greenslade and Giles Phillips have all now made impressive starts to their City careers.

City may prop up the table, but it's a case of being down and not out. However, Saturday's fixture with the Daggers looks like it will fall under the 'must-win' category.

Dagenham & Redbridge - W L D W L

Dagenham & Redbridge currently occupy fifteenth spot in the league table, and although their recent form looks a little inconsistent, they've picked up some solid results.

The two wins came at home to Dorking Wanderers & away to Rochdale, which is no mean feat! Furthermore a solid point away at Solihull Moors has put Ben Strevens' side in charge of their own destiny after previous form threatened to drag them into the bottom four.

Innih Effiong has been the star of the show in recent weeks. The big striker is one of the divisions most accomplished strikers, and four goals in his last five games goes some way to back that up.

THE GAFFER'S THOUGHTS

Oxford City Manager Ross Jenkins spoke to the media ahead of Saturday's match.

"Just competing in this league is an accomplishment as it is. Yes, that's not enough and yes we want to kick-on and do well, but we face some really strong competition in this league.

"We are still a part-time club, but it's important to look to where we want to be, and that's winning games of football in the Naitonal League.

"The players will have to raise their standards to get a win in these games, but the belief is still there.

"We have to make sure we get back on the horse, train properly on Saturday we have to be better at Dagenham."

ONE TO WATCH - Inih Effiong

A talismanic striker in the National League, Inih Effiong is most definitely the one to watch from Dagenham's squad on Saturday due to his hot-streak in front of goal.

Four goals in his last five games have helped the Daggers steer themselves further away from the bottom four, but perhaps more impressive is his track record in the division.

The 6ft 4in target man has been prolific with the likes of Dover Athletic, Woking, Aldershot Town to name a few. Furthermore, after joining the Daggers in February from Aldershot, he's going some way in improving his goalscoring record.

Effiong has twelve goals to his name this season.



HAVE WE MET BEFORE?

The last game between the two sides ended in a 0-0 draw. An impressive Chris Haigh save was perhaps the most memorable moment in a  tightly-fought contest.

THE MANAGER - Ben Strevens

Ben Strevens made his return to the Daggers as he was appointed as the successor to Daryl McMahon on the 10th of March 2023.

Strevens, made 125 appearances for the Daggers, scoring 35 goals as a player, and returns to the club following a rigorous interview process.

Strevens, who was a part of the Daggers' 2006/07 Conference National promotion side, started his managerial career at Eastleigh, originally taking on the Assistant Manager role.

In 2018, he went on to become the Manager of the Spitfires which featured an impressive 7th placed finish for the Hampshire club.

HOW TO FOLLOW

FOLLOW THE ACTION:

Stay tuned to our official Twitter page for all the build-up, regular updates and post-match action.

LIVE COMMENTARY ON BBC SOUNDS

This match will have LIVE commentary on BBC Sounds curtesy of BBC Radio Oxford. Simply tune in to BBC Radio Oxford on the BBC Sounds app, or head to the non-league commentary page HERE.