MORECAMBE lost a scrappy game to two farcical goals.

Shwan Jalal let a soft shot from 30 yards through his legs after 20 minutes when it looked an easy job to to collect Peter Gain's effort.

Then David Artell played a silly back pass beyond his keeper in the dying minutes to let in Ben Strevens for an easy tap in.

Morecambe never really got into their flowing football but the nature of the goals was pretty hard to take.

Until the first goal it had been a pretty even affair with neither side playing much football on a rough pitch.

Henry McStay, replacing absent Jim Bentley, was called into action after just two minutes, nipping in to clear when Ben Strevens threatened to burst into the Morecambe area.

A minute later Gary Thompson powered past two home defenders but his shot wasn't powerful enough to beat veteran keepr Tony Roberts.

Danny Adams hit a cracking 20-yarder after eight minutes that was heading goalwards until it was deflected off a defender's head for a corner.

At the other end Glen Southam came close after 10 minutes with a chip that caught Jalal slightly off his line but floated over.

Then, after 20 minutes Dagenham went ahead in bizarre fashion when Peter Gain hit a hopeful shot from 30 yards.

Jalal stooped to gather it but it rolled between his legs and trickled over the line with the hapless keeper scrambling in vain to claw it out.

In the five minutes that followed, Daggers had another couple of chances as they tried to take advantage of a period of panic in the Morecambe defence.

But the Shrimps managed to clear their lines and could have snatched an equaliser when Matty Blinkhorn hit a shot on the turn which Roberts just managed to cling onto.

Sammy McIlroy changed it about a bit in the second half pushing Wayne Curtis up front to be replaced on the left by Carl Baker.

They had the better of the opening exchanges after the interval with Baker getting on the ball more and Curtis's presence up front making a few openings for strike partner Blinkhorn.

Gain had another strike from distance which was heading in but this time Jalal managed to get across for a fine diving save.

The resultant corner was cleared off the line when it looked as if it may drift into the net but the ref blew for a foul on Jalal in any case.

From the free-kick the ball was played upfield to Baker but he fluffed his shot from 12 yards and it spun wide of the post.

Blinkhorn had a chance to equalise after 81 minutes when played through by Drummond but his snap volley flew over the bar.

Shrimps skipper, Bentley, missed today's League Two game at Dagenham with a sickness bug.

Otherwise Sammy McIlroy named an unchanged side - Henry McStay making his full debut in place of Bentley.

Dagenham: Roberts, Southam, Nurse, Rainford, Griffiths, Uddin, Strevens, Foster, Smith, Gain (Sloma 80), Arber. Subs Hogan, Sloma, Saunders, Taiwo, Baidoo.

Morecambe: Jalal, Yates, Artell, Stanley, Curtis (Twiss, 72) , Baker (Newby 88), Thompson, Drummond, Blinkhorn, McStay, Adams. Subs: Davies, Twiss, Hunter, Burns, Newby.