Altrincham's play-off quest blew up in spectacular fashion at Victoria Road, Dagenham, with four first-half goals conceded.

Needing to win and others to lose to secure a play-off place, Altrincham made a lamentable start to the game and they went on to produce a performance which simply got worse and worse as the afternoon proceeded. They fell behind in just the sixth minute through an error by loanee keeper Ansen, as Rees scored from 18 yards.

A misheader by Umerah and a shot from Hessenthaler which hit the post meant that Alty were fortunate not to be three goals behind as early as the seventeenth minute. But it soon was, indeed, 3-0...

It became 2-0 to the hosts following a freekick conceded by Olson. Rees was again the scorer, this time from close range (22 mins) as Alty rocked.

A third goal arrived in the 25th minute when a corner by Pereira was turned in from close range by Phipps. So, by the half-hour mark, Altrincham had conceded three times and the Daggers had also hit the post twice.

In first-half added time Ansen stopped, but failed to hold, a shot from Loupalo-Bi, inducing Banks to commit a foul and concede a penalty. Pereira converted the spot kick to make it 4-0 at half-time (45+2 mins).

Phil Parkinson made four half-time changes as Ansen was replaced in goal by Harvey Randle; James Jones replaced Tylor Golden as Alty went to a back three; Joe Nuttall replaced Bickerstaff up top; and Matt Penney came on for Marriott in midfield.

The first part of the second half was largely a non-event as the Daggers took their foot of the pressure and Alty failed to produce anything like a comeback. In the final quarter of the game, the Daggers hit the post again before they made it 5-0 after 73 minutes when Rees completed his hat-trick against a lacklustre Altrincham.

The afternoon got even worse as Charlie Olson chipped his own keeper from 25 yards to make it 6-0 (84 mins).

In added time Joe Nuttall scored a simple consolation goal after a Linney effort had been pushed onto the bar (90+2 mins).

SCORERS:

• 6 mins: Josh REES (Dagenham & Redbridge 1 ALTRINCHAM 0)
• 22 mins: Josh REES (Dagenham & Redbridge 2 ALTRINCHAM 0)
• 25 mins: Harry PHIPPS (Dagenham & Redbridge 3 ALTRINCHAM 0)
• 45(+2) mins: Dion PEREIRA (Dagenham & Redbridge 4 ALTRINCHAM 0)
• 73 mins: Josh REES (Dagenham & Redbridge 5 ALTRINCHAM 0)
• 84 mins: Charlie OLSON (own goal) (Dagenham & Redbridge 6 ALTRINCHAM 0)
• 90(+2) mins: Joe NUTTALL (Dagenham & Redbridge 6 ALTRINCHAM 1)

REFEREE: Mr Richard Eley

ATTENDANCE: 2,002 (126 in away section)

TEAM NEWS:

Altrincham were unchanged for the match, initially, the club issued a line-up showing the return from injury of Tom Crawford at the expense of Jake Bickerstaff. However, that was soon superseded by an amended line-up replicating the starting eleven that faced and beat FC Halifax Town on Easter Monday.

On the bench Lucas Weaver dropped out and Joe Nuttall returned from injury. There was no place for Matty Kosylo who had also been omitted from the squad that faced the Shaymen.

For the Daggers, Shiloh Remy replaced Hill in the starting eleven whilst on the bench Rafiq Khaleel replaced Remy.

LINE-UPS:

DAGENHAM & REDBRIDGE (Red & blue hooped shirts, blue: 35. Jake Turner, 2. Chris Francis, 6. Harry Phipps, 30. Paul Kalambayi, 16. Shiloh Remy, 8. Josh Rees (c), 4. Jake Hessenthaler, 21. Oscar Rutherford, 7. Dion Pereira, 15. Aaron Loupalo-Bi, 9. Josh Umerah. Subs: 20. Kayden Harrack, 12. Nathan Harvey, 23. Conor Lawless, 17. Trent Mahorn Rendell, 11. Christian N'Guessan, 28. Rafiq Khaleel, 29. Marcus Wyllie.

ALTRINCHAM (Aquamarine shorts and socks, red shorts and socks): 21. Caleb ANSEN (gk), 2. Lewis BANKS, 31. Charlie OLSON, 4. Lewis BAINES (c), 23. Tylor GOLDEN, 6. Elliot OSBORNE, 19. George WILSON, 8. Isaac MARRIOTT, 10. Alex NEWBY, 9. Regan LINNEY, 29. Jake BICKERSTAFF. Subs: 7. Ollie CRANKSHAW, 16. James JONES, 24. Joe NUTTALL, 20. Kahrel REDDIN, 30. Harvey RANDLE (gk), 42. Matt PENNEY, 77. Callum DOLAN

The sides met with contrasting aspirations. Dagenham started the afternoon two points from safety at the bottom end of the league table whilst Altrincham were three points from the play-ff places. For both teams this was their penultimate fixture of the season.

REPORT:

The opening few minutes, punctuated by petty fouls, gave little indication of what was to follow in this clash between hosts seeking to avoid relegation and visitors with play-off aspirations.

But once the hosts had taken a sixth-minute lead, which owed more to Alty failings than Dagenham quality, it was to be downhill all the way for an Altrincham side which was identical to that which had won impressively 3-0 at Halifax just six days earlier.

The goal arrived after a clearance from Linney only arrived at the feet of the home captain, Rees, whose shot from outside the box somehow eluded keeper Ansen and found the back of the net.

It could easily have become 3-0 inside the next ten minutes or so as, firstly, Umerah misheaded a good chance off target (14 mins), shortly before Hessenthaler's shot was deflected onto the post for a corner (17 mins).

Then a threatening cut-back by Phipps went unfinished by any of his team-mates. At last, Alty stuttered into life as Newby gained a corner for his side (19 mins).

Following this, Wilson got forward on the left, a move which led to an Olson shot which, in turn, induced a fine save from Turner, a corner rather than a goal being the outcome... which Osborne overhit.

Next, Olson was penalised after pulling an opponent's shirt and, following the resulting freekick, a cross found Rees who netted for the second time to make it 2-0 (22 mins).

Alty's suffering continued as Umerah forced a decent save, made by Ansen's legs (24 mins). More disappointing defending then gave the Daggers another corner which Alty failed to defend adequately as Ansen remained on his line and Phipps netted at the back post with a close-range header, making it 3-0 after just 25 minutes.

For the second time in the game Dagenham now hit the post through Pereira, so it could easily have been 5-0 after just 29 minutes. Remy then landed an effort on the roof of the Alty net as the visitors' woeful performance continued.

At last Alty produced something more positive when Linney forced a corner off Rutherford.

This came out to Wilson who forced a save from Turner and a blocked effort from Banks followed (36 mins). After this, Linney forced Turner into action again but Bickerstaff's follow-up was saved, though a corner resulted (38 mins).

Before half time, good covering by Banks halted Rutherford at the cost of a corner which ended with Rees poking the ball over the bar from close range (40 mins).

Baines then picked up his first league booking of the season (42 mins). After this Dagenham headed barrowly wide following the freekick for Baines's offence.

Just when it looked that Alty might reach the interval without further punishment, they conceded a penalty.

A Loupalo-Bi effort was stopped but not held by Ansen and, in seeking to prevent a goal from the loose ball, Banks was deemed to have fouled an opponent to concede a penalty.

Pereira duly converted the spot-kick despite Ansen getting a hand to the ball (45+2 mins). So the break arrived with Alty already four goals adrift.

Phil Parkinson took decisive action for the second half, withdrawing goalkeeper Ansen, midfielder Marriott and striker Bickerstaff as well as changing to a back three faciitated by the substitution of Golden. In their places, respectively, Randle, Penney, Nuttall and James Jones were introduced (46 mins).

Initially, the second half drifted uneventfully as Dagenham took their foot of the pedal whilst the personnel changes failed to galvanise an Altrincham recovery.

Just after the hour Reddin, making his 25th appearance in the National League from the bench, replaced the booked Baines (61 mins).

Things did not improve as Wilson's late challenge earned him a yellow card (65 mins).

Dagenham belatedly came to second-half life and won a corner from which Pereira struck the upright (67 mins).

Dagenham made a change now, as Pereira gave way to N'Guessen (71 mins). And it was not long before 4-0 became 5-0 when a smart backheel by Umerah allowed Rees to convert the chance for his hat-trick (73 mins).

With Alty still labouring, Wyllie replaced Umerah for the Daggers (76 mins). Moments later the newly introduced Wyllie missed a good chance to make it 6-0 after which a promising Reddin cross found no team-mate had reacted to latch onto it.

Soon afterwards, a foul on Reddin earned Francis a caution (79 mins). From a Newby freekick Alty now won a rare corner, off Wyllie, from which Osborne and Newby conspired to create anything (82 mins).

With the game again drifting, Alty scored out of nothing (84 mins). Sadly, the twenty-five yard effort from near the touchline was put into his own net by Alty's Olson for a quite bizarre own goal (84 mins).

6-0 made it Alty's worse deficit of the season after the 5-0 reverse at Sutton. Ironically that was in the second match of the season and this was the second-last fixture of the campaign.

Two late Daggers' changes meant that Loupalo-Bi was replaced by Lawless and Rees gave way to Khaleel (86 mins).

Belatedly Alty recorded a consolation goal, which arrived in the second minute of added time. Turner had saved well from Linney only for Nuttall to put the loose ball into the net.

Altrincham's poor showing was all the more disappointing when news arrived of Gateshead's defeat, a result that would have kept alive Alty's playoff hopes had they managed to beat Dagenham.

Instead Altrincham trudged home needing to restore some pride in the final match of the season at home to Tamworth after this abject performance.