SOUTHEND UTD 1
Waldron 49
DAGENHAM & R 1
Hill 14
SOUTHEND United moved into the National League’s top ten following this derby draw with Dagenham & Redbridge at Roots Hall.
Dagenham dominated the first half and took the lead after 14 minutes through Ryan Hill.
The Shrimpers fought back after the break to secure a share of the spoils with Danny Waldron firing home from close range.
And Southend boss Kevin Maher felt there a big improvement from his side in the second 45 minutes.
“It was a game of two halves,” said Maher. “The first half was really poor from our point of view.
“We didn’t settle into the game and we got a lot of the basics wrong. We were too open and too easy to play against.
“We spoke about that yesterday but it seemed to happen again.”
The Shrimpers rallied after the break and Maher was pleased to get back on level terms.
“We knew we couldn’t perform like that again and credit to the players,” said Maher.
“It was hurting them we were behind and it could have been more in all honesty.
“Thankfully it was just 1-0 and we’ve been there before. We had to up the tempo and the quality.
“We made sure we were organised behind the ball better and we felt like we could score.”
Dagenham, who are 12th in the table, threatened first with makeshift striker Harry Phipps having a well struck shot smartly saved by Southend goalkeeper Collin Andeng Ndi to his left hand side.
However, the visitors remained on top and broke the dea
