John Still's Dagenham & Redbridge lost 1-0 to Coventry City in the Capital One Cup first round. Pic: Dave Simpson/TGSPhoto

Dagenham & Redbridge manager John Still was happy with his players’ efforts

Daggers boss John Still could not fault his players’ performance against League One opposition, despite their Capital One Cup first round exit on Tuesday night.

Having matched two-time League Cup semi-finalists Coventry City for long periods in the game, a 90th-minute Kevin Kilbane penalty was enough to seal the tie.

Despite the disappointment at failing to break the unwanted record of never having won a League Cup tie, Still was full of praise for his young team’s efforts.

“I was pleased with the players, it was a first class performance,” he said.

“There wasn’t a lot between both teams – both were hard to break down.

“I thought we looked in control of their forwards and they probably felt the same way about our forwards.

“It was disappointing to lose in the manner we did, but I was delighted with the way we played.

“I was satisfied with how we defended in the whole game. Our players said it wasn’t a penalty, but we can’t see from the bench. It felt harsh for us to lose the game on that because we had lots of good performers.

“We had great energy, good legs in the team and we gave a more than good account of ourselves.”