The home side went in level at half-time but the game ran away from them within a few minutes of the interval as Daggers hit two in a few minutes.

Substitue Diarmuid O'Carroll got one back but it was too little, too late.

In the first half, Rene Howe was a constant threat, with good support from Blinkhorn, Wainwright and Curtis.

But at the other end Sam Saunders was pulling the strings for the Daggers, with Benson and Strevens always a danger.

Morecambe had the first chance of the game after eight minutes when Neil Wainwright won a corner on the right which he took himself, delivering a deep ball that Tony Roberts missed and Jim Bentley rose at the back post to head just wide.

Dagenham's first effort was a speculative 25-yarder from Ben Strevens after 15 minutes which Barry Roche collected comfortably.

A couple of minutes later, Howe linked well with strike partner Matty Blinkhorn before unleashing a wicked shot from 20 yards that flew just wide.

Blinkhorn himself got a shot in a minute later but it lacked power and Roberts was able to crouch to smother it.

Midway through the half, Howe and Blinkhorn started to put some moves together up front and Wayne Curtis began to find space to threaten on the left.

But Daggers always looked dangerous on the break and they should have taken the lead just after the half hour when Sam Saunders broke into the right hand side of the box before clipping the ball back to Paul Benson who volleyed well wide with the goal gaping before him.

At the other end, Morecambe came close when Howe headed down a Curtis cross and Blinkhorn stooped for a header that the Daggers' defence had to scramble to block and clear.

Ryan McCann looked busy in the middle for Morecambe making plenty of timely interceptions before setting up attacks for his team-mates.

But the second half started disastrously for the home side when Henry McStay gave away a silly free-kick on the right edge of the box with a clumsy challenge.

Saunders shaped to cross from the free-kick but, instead, whipped it in to the near post and Roche could only flap a despairing hand at it as it flew into the net to gave the visitors the lead after 49 minutes.

And it got worse just a few minutes later as the home defence blocked a shot from Benson but then didn't recover quickly enough and could only stand and watch as Solomon Taiwo whacked it into the top of the net to make it 2-0.

Michael Carr had struggled again to get into the game and, on 62 minutes he made way for Garry Hunter, with Stewart Drummond also replacing McCann as Sammy McIlroy attempted to rescue the game.

Morecambe showed more urgency and made a couple of chances with Wainwright putting in crosses from the right.

From one, Drummond just failed to connect and then Blinkhorn delayed his shot too long and ended up blazing it over the bar when he should at least have hit the target.

With Blinkhorn struggling to make any impact up front, the crowd yelled for the introduction of Diarmuid O'Carroll.

After 74 minutes, there was at last something for the home crowd to smile about as their mascot, Christie the Cat, was sent to the sidelines by the referee following an exchange of words with Daggers' keeper Roberts.

O'Carroll made it onto the field with just 14 minutes to go as McIlroy threw caution to the wind, taking off defender McStay.

And the substitute brought his side back into the game with his second touch.

His first won the Shrimps a corner and his next headed the ball into the net to make it 2-1 when Curtis flicked on Hunter's corner kick.

But Roche needed to make a great double save at the other end as Dagger's man of the match Saunders broke forward before unleashing a shot.

Roche parried then got up again brilliantly to block Strevens' follow-up.

At the other end, O'Carroll had a chance to equalise after Howe broke superbly down the right before cutting a pass back to the former Celtic man but his shot was blocked and his second effort flew over.

Morecambe: Roche, McStay, Bentley, Artell, Adams; Wainwright, Curtis, Carr (hunter 62), McCann (Drummond 62), Howe, Blinkhorn (O'Carroll 74). Subs: Davies, McLachlan.

Dagenham: Roberts, Okunghae, Uddin, Arber, Griffiths; Saunders, Taiwo, Gain, Nurse; Benson (Nwokeji 88), Strevens. Subs: Thompson, Boardman, Southam, Graham.

Att: 1,571 (65 from Dagenham)