Accrington Stanley were left cursing missed chances at Dagenham as they were held to a goalless draw.

Peter Murphy hit the crossbar in the first half and there were efforts cleared off the line in an extremely frustrating night in front of goal for the Reds, who could not find their way through a stubborn Daggers backline.

James Beattie made one change to his line-up with the Kayode Odejayi recalled to play up front at the expense of Kal Naismith after an impressive cameo against Plymouth on Saturday afternoon.

The hosts started well and had the first efforts on goal as Ashley Chambers’ shot from the edge of the area was spilt by Marcus Bettinelli but the goalkeeper regained his composure and gathered the ball at the second attempt.

Luke Norris then had two shots from outside the box with the first striking Peter Murphy from a free-kick and the second tipped wide by Bettinelli.

James Gray had Stanley’s first clear opportunity as he raced away down the right hand side after being set free by Nicky Hunt’s pass. Unfortunately for the striker his run left him shooting from a tight angle and his effort was saved at the near post by Chris Lewington.

The Reds were defending superbly with Dagenham resorting to shots from range that were easy for Bettinelli to collect. Billy Bingham, Norris and Medy Elito all tried their luck without success.

Stanley almost took the lead into the break as Buxton’s cross was met by Peter Murphy but the midfielder’s header was tipped onto the bar by Lewington and the half ended goalless.

The Reds went close to breaking the deadlock twice in quick succession at the start of the second half as Gray and Lewington came together in a 50/50 with the ball bouncing kindly for Odejayi to lash towards goal but Oluwafemi Ilesanmi blocked the striker’s effort.

From the rebound, Elito was well-placed to clear Will Hatfield’s follow-up off the line and Adam Buxton could only curl over the bar after collecting the clearance.

Gray had another chance after getting on the end of Odejayi’s flick but the striker’s shot didn’t have enough power to squeeze through Lewington’s legs and the goalkeeper made the save.

Dagenham’s threat in the second half was sporadic but they should have made Stanley pay for their missed chances as they passed up a golden opportunity.

Sean Shields sent over an inviting cross for fellow substitute Chris Dickson but the striker somehow contrived to nod the chance wide despite being unmarked.

It was a huge let-off for the Reds, though Lee Molyneux almost won it in injury time as his 20-yard effort was tipped over the bar by Lewington in the final action of the match with neither side able to find a breakthrough.

Stanley: Bettinelli; Hunt, Aldred, Winnard, Buxton; Hatfield, Murphy, Joyce, Molyneux; Gray (Naismith 88), Odejayi.
Substitutes not used: Liddle, Atkinson, Mingoia, Windass, Webber, Bowerman.