Dagenham and Redbridge 2, Wycombe Wanderers 0.

A CONTROVERSIAL red card for Anthony Stewart condemned Wanderers to another defeat as they were beaten by Dagenham and Redbridge.

Referee Keith Stroud was the only man at Victoria Road who thought the defender’s perfectly timed tackle at the start of the second half was a foul and a sending off, and Rhys Murphy rubbed salt in the wound by converting the resulting penalty.

That moment, which came just as Blues were getting into the ascendency despite already trailing to Afolabi Obefami’s first half strike, effectively killed the game as a contest.

Neither side had impressed as Dagenham went in front with the game’s first real opportunity and Stewart had a goal ruled out as Lady Luck laughed in Wanderers’ faces again.

Midfielder Billy Knott was ill on the morning of the game and was unable to play, meaning manager Gareth Ainsworth had to make another change to go along with the ones he had already planned.

A total of five alterations were made from the side which drew with Exeter City in the week as Blues returned to the scene of Ainsworth’s first match in charge of the club last season.

Paris Cowan-Hall was prominent in a couple of early attacking forays , firing a cross into the side netting after getting a second bite at the cherry once Femi Ilesanmi had blocked his initial attempt at a ball in.

But that proved a false dawn as the game became increasingly scrappy as Dagenham were able to clear away whenever hardworking Blues striker Steven Craig sent dangerous flick ons into the home side’s area, while Daggers’ top scorer Murphy brought an end to any of his team mates’ more promising moves by constantly being flagged offside.

It said much about the quality of the game that a quarter of it had elapsed before the first serious shot came, but it was enough to produce the opening goal. Obafemi had too much strength for Charles Dunne and was able to turn past his opponent after outmuscling him, enabling the forward to fire home a crisp strike to put the Daggers in front.

Giant defender Brian Saah almost doubled the advantage as he sent a header over from a free kick after beating Dunne to the ball, before Murphy miscued his shot wide of the upright after a long ball had sent him clear.

Blues finally managed a shot as Max Kretzschmar’s 25 yard free kick floated harmlessly over the bar, before the off balance goalscorer Obafemi sliced woefully off target after Murphy and Zavon Hines had conspired to open up the visiting defence.

Wanderers thought they had drawn level as Stewart powered home a header from a precise delivery from Cowan-Hall but referee Stroud disallowed it for a push.

The bad luck continued for Wanderers as Craig, who had battled manfully for the little ball he received, failed to recover from an earlier injury and had to be replaced by Dean Morgan.

The mercurial forward almost had a chance straight away but it was snatched away as a superb tackle from Gavin Hoyte took the ball away from him, and skipper Stuart Lewis flashed a half volley wide from the edge of the box.

Morgan’s introduction was making a difference as Wanderers rallied at the end of the first half and his pass deflected into the path of his strike partner Matt McClure, who was also foiled by a great sliding challenge from Scott Doe.

That last flurry of activity gave Wanderers cause of optimism going into the second half but within minutes of the restart they were undone by a terrible refereeing decision. A direct ball sent Murphy free but Stewart was able to make up the ground and made an excellent challenge to take the ball away from him.

Referee Stroud saw things differently however and deemed the challenge to be a foul and worthy of a red card, and to add insult to injury Murphy sent Ingram the wrong way from the spot.

A third Dagenham goal was chalked off for offside as Ingram fumbled a shot into the path of Hines, but the former West Ham man had moved too quickly.

Being a man down inevitably made life tricky for Wanderers and they weren’t able to create a chance that seriously worried the hosts despite plenty of application and endeavour, and Dagenham went into cruise control.

Luke Howell volleyed off target after a jinking run from Medy Elito and Hines had an effort deflected over the bar by Leon Johnson’s block.

Wanderers responded and finally made home keeper Chris Lewington make a save, with the custodian making a great stop to turn away a fizzing volley from Cowan-Hall, and the final indication it wasn’t their day came as Dunne’s header came back off the post.

Wanderers: Ingram, McCoy, Stewart, Johnson, Dunne, Cowan-Hall, Lewis, Scowen, Kretzschmar (sub Doherty), McClure (sub Morias), Craig (sub Morgan). Substitutes not used: Horlock, Arnold, Bloomfield.

Attendance: 1,618 (361 from Wycombe)