YORK City failed to blunt the daggers of Dagenham & Redbridge as the spoils were shared in a 1-1 draw at the LNER Community Stadium.

An early goal from Jake Hessenthaler put Dagenham & Redbridge ahead after the midfielder found himself unmarked on a corner, before powering his header past George Sykes-Kenworthy.

York pulled level on the brink of half-time through wing-back Ryan Fallowfield, arrowing a strike into the bottom left corner after meeting a pinpoint cross fellow defender Danny Amos.

Adam Crookes went on to have an effort cleared off of the line, whilst Dagenham’s Nik Tavares was unfortunate to rattle the woodwork in a tight contest that City will feel frustrated to have not won.

It continues an unwanted record for the Minstermen, who are yet to win a match on home soil in a game in which they have conceded.

Neal Ardley’s side have firmly remained in 19th position after accumulating 38 points, three points clear of an Ebbsfleet United side that defeated Eastleigh 3-0.

Assistant manager Neil Cox had hinted towards changes before kick-off, but Ardley opted to make just two, with Lenell John-Lewis and Paddy McLaughlin being introduced in place of Dan Batty and Billy Chadwick.

Finlay Barnes retained his place in midfield for his second consecutive Vanarama National League start, with City sticking to their five at the back formation.

Dagenham were forced into one change of their own, with top scorer Inih Effiong suffering an injury in the Daggers’ impressive 7-1 victory over Oxford City last weekend.

Former Ipswich Town forward Freddie Sears replaced Effiong, with the visitors lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation.

Dagenham were quickly on it from kick-off, with Dion Pereira’s cross finding Josh Rees in the area, who could only prod narrowly wide of the target.

Dipo Akinyemi had an effort tamely turned wide, before Barnes swung at a loose ball from a corner, but couldn’t direct his strike on target.

But it would be Dagenham to strike first blood, with the visitors taking advantage of some dreary defending.

Ryan Hill’s corner was met by an unmarked Hessenthaler in the area, who powered his header past a helpless George Sykes-Kenworthy to put the Daggers ahead.

It was almost immediately two for Dagenham, who broke forward with Hill pulling a low cross back into the path of Sears, with the utility forward somehow missing the target from eight-yards out.

Callum Howe was then called into action to make an important block as City weathered the storm, before York came within inches of an equaliser.

Following some tricky footwork from Barnes, the youngster delivered a floating cross onto the head of the onrushing Crookes, who was unfortunate to see his effort cleared off of the line by a retreating defender.

Akinyemi saw a soft effort held by Justham, before the striker was forced off of the pitch as an early substitute after going down off-of-the-ball.

But City would head into the break level, thanks to the persistency of Fallowfield.

A pinpoint cross from Amos was met by Fallowfield, who slotted an effort into the bottom left corner from the centre of the box.

Heading into the second forty-five, City began the contest with some early pressure, before John-Lewis dragged wide from the edge of the area.

Back-to-back corners from the Minstermen saw Howe’s initial header deflected wide, before Will Smith guided his header narrowly over the visitors crossbar.

With  just over 15 minutes remaining, Dagenham began to apply some pressure of their own with Hill’s strike from the edge of the area deflecting wide for a Daggers corner.

The resulting set-piece saw Tavares find space, again unmarked, at the back post with the defender rattling the York woodwork from close-range.

City hoped to produce another late winner as Howe won his header inside the Dagenham area, with the ball dropping to a lurking Smith, but the York centre-halve couldn’t direct his half-volley on target.

A late challenge from Sykes-Kenworthy saw Dagenham awarded a free-kick deep into stoppage time in a frightening area, but the City shot-stopper stood tall to claim the effort, signalling the full-time whistle from the referee.

A frustrating performance from York who miss out on an important three points against an in-form Dagenham outfit, with the Minstermen retaining their position in 18th position after accumulating 38 points.

York will be back at the LNER Community Stadium on Tuesday, February 20 (7.45pm) as Oldham Athletic make the trip up to North Yorkshire.

York City: Sykes-Kenworthy 6, Fallowfield 7, Howe 7, Smith 6, Crookes 6, Amos 7, McLaughlin 6, Woodyard 6 (Batty 6, 74), Barnes 7 (Chadwick 6, 74), John-Lewis 6, Akinyemi 6 (Davies 6, 42)

Subs not used: Duckworth, Kennedy

Goals: Fallowfield (43)

Yellow cards: Barnes (8), John-Lewis (32), Sykes-Kenworthy (90+5)

Dagenham & Redbridge: Justham, Tavares, Eastman (Phipps, 66), Ling, Appiah-Forson, Vincent, Rees, Hessenthaler, Hill, Pereira (Johnson, 82), Sears (Kedwell, 66)

Subs not used: Remy, Lawless

Goals: Hessenthaler (11)

York’s star man: Finlay Barnes. A promising performance with plenty of energy, an eagerness to create and finding good positions consistently.

Referee: Stuart Morland

Attendance: 4177 (104)

Shots (on target): 7 (4) | 4 (1)

Corners:  5 | 1

Offsides: 5 | 6

Fouls committed: 13 | 8