TORQUAY UNITED v DAGENHAM & REDBRIDGE
Football – England – League Two
Tuesday 24th January 2012 – Kickoff: 1945hrs

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Hosts Torquay United will be aiming for their fourth successive League Two win when they entertain joint bottom club Dagenham & Redbridge at Plainmoor on Tuesday night.

Torquay United

The home side will have high hopes of securing another three points on home turf following three straight away wins (all by 2-1 margins) at Plymouth Argyle, Macclesfield Town and Morecambe which has seen them jump into the play-off zone.

The Gulls’ home record stands at 6-5-2 25/17, and along with currently being on a six match unbeaten run at home, they’ve also kept six clean sheets into the bargain too. Recent wins over Hereford, Plymouth, Barnet and Swindon Town have harvested 7 goals while only conceding just 1 – they also drew 0-0 with Oxford United before their three-match road trip.

Torquay’s key players are forward Rene Howe (7 goals, 3 assists) and midfielder Lee Mansell (7 goals, 3 assists), along with striker Eunan O’Kane (4 goals, 6 assists) and Kevin Nicholson (4 goals, 2 assists), but what is encouraging is that midfielders Danny Stevens (4 goals, 2 assists) and Mark Ellis (2 goals, 2 assists) both notched in their 2-1 win at Morecambe on Saturday which suggests they don’t always have to rely on their key attacking personnel.

Dagenham & Redbridge

Dagenham & Redbridge make the trip west on the back of a heavy 1-4 defeat at Crewe Alexandra on the weekend which has left them in the bottom two with only goal difference separating them from bottom club Northampton Town.

The Daggers are winless in their last three in League Two with a 1-1 draw at Southend United (good result) and two losses which were at home to Hereford United (not a good result) and the recent defeat at Crewe. Their away form has been poor all season with a record of 2-2-8 9/22, and are now ten matches on the road without a win; indeed, their last win was at Bradford City back in August which was back-to-back wins following a win at Macclesfield Town.

But the wheels have seemingly come off since then and a three-horse race between Plymouth, Dagenham and Northampton now exists with two of the three ultimately having to be relegated. It will also be interesting to see how they fare at Torquay following two heavy defeats (0-5 at Millwall in the FA Cup third round replay, and Crewe 1-4).

Midfielder Brian Woodall (5 goals, 2 assists) leads their scoring, along with striker Jon Nurse (4 goals, 2 assists) and Cristian Montano (3 goals, 2 assists), while defender Damien McCrory has chipped in with 4 assists.

The Betting Verdict :

This really should be a straight-forward home win here and I’ll suggest a scoreline of 3-1 to Torquay United and cover the -1 handicap on offer.

The Pick :

Torquay United 3-1 Dagenham

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Pick :

HANDICAP BETTING :

Take Torquay United AH-1 @ 2.18 at Pinnacle