Southend United v Dagenham & Redbridge
The FA Cup sponsored by E.ON
Third Round Proper
3pm, Saturday 5 January 2008
Winning clubs receive £40,000
Click here for fixtures

Dagenham & Redbridge, who face a short trip to Southend in The FA Cup Third Round tomorrow, have a particularly interesting history.

Three different "Dagenham" teams have actually featured in the Competition Proper. Dagenham Town FC was formed in 1929 from Lombardians, a London Midweek League club, and in the same year they were drawn away to Southern League Barry Town in the First Round. They drew 0-0 and lost by the only goal at a home replay played at Upton Park. The club folded in 1940.

Dagenham FC was formed in 1949 and first entered The Cup two years later, drawing their first tie in the First Round Qualifying 2-2 at Harwich & Parkeston. They won the replay 2-1 but went out to Brentwood & Warley in the next round. They reached the Competition Proper for the first time in 1967 as an Athenian League side, beating Southern League Tonbridge 1-0 at home.

They held Third Division Reading to a 1-1 draw at Elm Park in Round Two, then lost the replay to John Sainty's strike at Victoria Road, but went on to achieve Cup victories against three League clubs - Swindon in '84, Cambridge United in '85 and Peterborough in the same year.

In their only appearance in the Third Round they lost 1-0 at Carlisle.

The present club, Dagenham & Redbridge FC, was formed in 1992 by a merger between Dagenham and Redbridge Forest. Effectively this completed a process started in 1979 which saw four leading non-League clubs from the same area merging into just one club.

Isthmian League stalwarts Leytonstone and Ilford merged to form Leytonstone-Ilford. Leytonstone had made it through to The Cup's Second Round Proper twice, knocking out Watford and Shrewsbury. Ilford had reached the same stage three times, but eight ties against League clubs had all ended in defeat.

Leytonstone-Ilford and Walthamstow Avenue, who famously held Manchester United to a draw in the Fourth Round in 1953, merged to form Redbridge Forest. The latter then merged with Dagenham to form the present club.

Dagenham & Redbridge under Garry Hill made their mark in The Cup by reaching at least the Third Round in three consecutive seasons - losing to Premiership Charlton in a replay in 2001, Premiership Ipswich in 2002 and First Division Norwich in Round Four in 2003.

The Daggers will turn out at Roots Hall tomorrow with a fascinating history behind them.