Exeter City0

Dag & Red0

(FA Cup second round)

THE MAGIC of the FA Cup may well have been in the air when Dagenham and Redbridge travelled down to Exeter on Saturday for a 0-0 draw, yet the outcome was more of an end of the pier show than a David Copperfield extravaganza.o

Still, it was mission accomplished for the Daggers, and although the jinx of having the game broadcast live on Sky TV hit again, the Grecians now have to take on the Essex outfit at Victoria Road, which will be no easy task. o

With cup veteran Mark Stein closely marked throughout, it was never going to be easy getting forward for the Daggers, while at the back, Tony Roberts had to find his cup form to pull off a string of superb saves.

The goal-scoring shot stopper was called into action after just 12 seconds when Graeme Tomlinson scuttled into the 18-yard box, shooting from an acute angle which saw Roberts do well to keep it out.

Dagenham's best attempt came when Danny Shipp managed to break down the tight Exeter defence enough to get into the box, only to be stamped out by Campbell's challenge.

After the half time break, Exeter stepped up a gear and the Daggers found it even harder to break down their defence as the difference in training regimes between the two outfits started to show.

The home side had two attempts to score through Watson and Paul Buckle, but with Vickers and Roberts in fine fettle, the travelling non-League side were proving they were made of sterner stuff.

Barlow tested Roberts again, but the agile keeper raced off his line to smother the ball to keep the scoreline deadlocked at full time.

Although the game left a lot to be desired on the excitement scale, manager Garry Hill will gladly take the Greecians back to Victoria Road, where he will be hoping his Daggers can capitalise on their home advantage in what will be a nice sample of what might be a clash between the two sides in next year's third division.

In the draw for the FA Trophy third round, the Daggers will play Eastbourne Borough at home. Eastbourne Borough beat Bedford Town away 2-1 in the replay after drawing 0-0 in Sussex at the weekend

f=Helvetica s=6 DAG & RED: Roberts, Vickers, Rooney, Smith, Janney, Broom (sub: Hazelden 52), Terry (Hill 79), Heffer, Shipp, Stein (McDougald 87), Charlery.