Dagenham 3 FC Halifax Town 0 - Shaymen out of play-off places

Goals from Mauro Vilhete, Paul McCallum and Angelo Balanta consigned The Shaymen to their heaviest away defeat since the 5-1 thrashing at Stockport on Boxing Day, 2019 – and deservedly so.

Once hosts Dagenham & Redbridge got into their stride, they were too good for Halifax who slipped to ninth.

Jeff King curled a shot across goal midway through the first-half for the visitors before McCallum headed wide for the hosts.

A cross-shot by George Saunders was then just too far ahead of McCallum as Dagenham’s threat began to increase.

Then Matthew Robinson’s cross from the left was converted smartly by Vilhete with the game’s first shot on target.

Halifax should have levelled when a great cross by King found Green at the far post, but he could only glance it wide.

A super header by McCallum from a lofted free-kick gave him his ninth goal in eight games in first-half stoppage time.

Neill Byrne fired over the bar after a foray forward shortly after the interval, but any hopes a comeback were extinguished when Balanta tapped home Vilhete’s low cross from the left.

Substitute Myles Weston twice brought a good save from Sam Johnson, who prevented a heavier defeat, with Halifax’s only threatening moment coming when King’s shot was turned behind from a left-wing cross.

The game petered out as the Shaymen dropped out of the top seven.

Dagenham & Redbridge: Justham, Wright, Reynolds, Johnson, Saunders, Jones (Weston 72), Khan, Robinson, Vilhete (Smith 81), Balanta (McQueen 77), McCallum. Unused substitutes: Eleftheriou, Wilson.

FC Halifax Town: Johnson, Byrne, Clarke, Maher, Bradbury, King, Summerfield, Woods, Green (Spence 65), Senior (Tear 59), Campbell (Stephenson 59). Unused substitutes: Davison-Hale, Benn.

Referee: M Russell.