Boreham Wood vs Dagenham & Redbridge: Playoff hopefuls look to secure place in National League top seven

Boreham Wood host Dagenham & Redbridge on Saturday looking to cement their place in the National League playoffs.

With six games to go for both teams, a strong end to the season will be key for two clubs with aspirations of reaching the Football League.

You can watch all the action live on BT Sport 1 from 4.30pm.

Can Boreham Wood secure a playoff place?

Luke Garrard’s team are well-placed to finish in the top seven having put together an impressive run of form since the turn of the year.

Boreham Wood went 14 league games unbeaten at the start of 2023 before recent defeats to Solihull Moors and Torquay.

Any fears of a possible dip in form were curtailed by an emphatic 4-0 win over bottom side Maidstone last time out, but there is still work to do for the playoff hopefuls.

The Wood are currently sixth in the National League, four points ahead of eight-placed Bromley.

With a trip to Bromley still to come and a visit to leaders Wrexham on the horizon, beating Dagenham becomes even more important.

Only Wrexham and Notts County have lost fewer games than Boreham Wood this season, but 14 draws have proved a hindrance.

Still, confidence should be high of a first playoff finish since the 2019-20 season.

Can Dagenham finish disappointing season on a high?

Back-to-back defeats have all but ended Dagenham’s slim hopes of a late charge into the playoffs.

That might allow them to play with more freedom given the lack of any jeopardy in the final six games of the season.

It could also lead to a group of players downing tools, something new manager Ben Strevens will be keen to avoid as he looks to begin preparations for next season.

The former Eastleigh boss replaced Daryl McMahon last month and has so far drawn one, won one and lost two of his four games in charge.

Reading into things this early in his tenure is unfair, but the expectation for next season will be to finish in the top seven, given Dagenham’s significant spending power at this level.

After losses to lowly Gateshead and Dorking, beating Boreham Wood would be a sign of resilience and short-term progress.

Will Effiong finish as the best of the rest?

No one is catching Macaulay Langstaff and Paul Mullin as the division’s top scorers this season, with 40 and 34 goals respectively for two of the most prolific forwards in National League history.

There is, though, an unofficial race to finish as the best of the rest, an achievement which won’t be rewarded with a Golden Boot but which would still be worthy of some recognition.

As things stand, Dagenham’s Inih Effiong is the frontrunner having scored 20 goals for both Aldershot and for the Daggers since his January move to East London.

He’s one goal clear of Barnet’s Nicke Kabamba and two ahead of Woking’s Rhys Browne.

With Boreham Wood lacking a goal scorer, Effiong will be the man to watch at Meadow Park on Saturday.