Moore critical of Hartlepool

Hartlepool manager Ronnie Moore blasted his side after they lost at Dagenham & Redbridge following a stunning Billy Bingham goal.

Pools started strongly and Jack Compton had a volley deflected over the crossbar with seven minutes played before the hosts were forced to bring on substitute goalkeeper Liam O'Brien following an injury to Mark Cousins. Daggers number one Cousins suffered a nasty cut after colliding with the post and was replaced in the 21st minute. A minute later and Wayne Burnett's side took the lead when Ashley Hemmings' wonderful cross into the box was sliced into his own net by Hartlepool's Scott Harrison. Pools pushed for an equaliser but it was the Daggers that came closest to adding to the scoreline on the stroke of half-time when Hemmings met Andre Boucaud's corner, with his header crashing against the crossbar. Once again Moore's team started strongly in the second half, but a wonderful free-kick settled the match at Victoria Road. Bingham curled the set-piece into the top corner of the net and past Scott Flinders to make it 2-0 with 66 minutes gone and that was how it finished. Moore criticised the display from his team and called for more effort. "You can't perform the way we have performed and the injury (to Cousins) has killed us really," said Moore. "The keeper is walking around and next minute we fell asleep and from being in full control of the game we found ourselves a goal down. "We have allowed the lad Hemmings to cross the ball in and Scott is facing his own goal and gets a toe-poke on it, but I said at half-time to them this game is there to be won. "If ever there was an opportunity to win back-to-back games then this was it and the players are just so inconsistent it is just unbelievable. "Give us a little bit of effort, a little bit of sweat and be organised. We have got 100-odd people come all the way down to watch that. "I said to the players the supporters will stand by you if they see you running about, challenging and closing people down but we had none of that." Daggers assistant manager Darren Currie felt it was crucial his team picked up the three points. "The game plan is always to try and start on the front foot and ask questions of their back foot as quick as we can, but unfortunately it didn't quite work like that," admitted Currie. "We found ourselves on the back foot and having to defend. That is part and parcel of the game for the back five. "But certainly from the dead balls we stood up and that is what we have to do when we have to do it. "We knew they were going to come and have a go. They have got nothing to lose, they are fighting for their lives and we are not in the clear yet so we realised the importance of the game ourselves. "It was a very important. The lads had been fully aware of the importance of the game off the back of two defeats and that just heightened the pressure."