Defender Damien McCrory felt Daggers were good value for their 1-0 win at Macclesfield on Saturday, after battling for the final 10 minutes a man light.

Medy Elito’s second-half strike proved the difference between the two sides, but Daggers were made to resist heavy pressure in the final 20 minutes to gain three points.

Their cause was not helped with the dismissal of keeper Chris Lewington for supposedly handling the ball outside of the penalty area on 79 minutes, but the Irish full-back was part of a resilient back four able to soak up the pressure and keep a match-winning clean sheet.

“All in all I thought everyone got their heads down and we worked really hard in the second half. I thought definitely on our second half performance we deserved something,” said McCrory.

“Fair play to Chris Lewington, I thought he was man of the match today until he got sent off, he made some really good saves.

“He’s done well, he’s come in, he’s a young keeper and he took his chance. Even when James Shea came on, he did really well as well, so it’s good to have two keepers that can come in and do a good job.

“It’s a great start to get three points and I think we hung on really well at the end, we defended really well with 10 men and under a lot of pressure.

“The back four that played today is very familiar, we know each other well and we cover each other well.But I thought in the whole 90 minutes, as a group and as a defence we did really well and we’ve come away with three points and we’re really pleased with that.”

McCrory endured a stop-start 2010-11 campaign, making 23 league appearances as he shared left-back duties with Femi Ilesanmi.

But with Ilesanmi only fit enough for a place on the substitute’s bench at Macclesfield, the Irishman took his chance to impress and hopes to retain his starting berth for as long as possible, as Daggers bid for an immediate return to League One.

“I came back in pre-season and got my head down, because I want to play consistently throughout the season and I hope, if I can do that, I’ll remain in the starting 11, that’s my aim for the whole season,” said the former Plymouth trainee.

“I think we can definitely go back up again, whether it’s automatic or through the play-offs. I think we’ve got a good group of lads and a lot of talent.

“It’s not something we talk about necessarily with the manager, but amongst ourselves we think that we can go back up again, that’s always the aim and I think we’ve got a really good chance.”