Dagenham and Forest Green could not be separated as they played out a draw in the first leg of their National League play-off semi-final at Victoria Road. Corey Whitely and Fejiri Okenabirhie's pace were constant threats in a dominant opening period for the Daggers but it was the visitors who took the lead under controversial circumstances just before the 30-minute mark.

Omar Bugiel worked his way into the Dagenham box with some wonderful trickery before being felled by the challenge of Mark Cousins - the German forward drawing contact with the on-rushing goalkeeper - to earn his side a penalty, which captain Liam Noble drilled into the bottom corner to put Rovers ahead. But the hosts went into the break level as Jordan Maguire-Drew pounced onto a flicked header from Paul Benson to fire in an equaliser in first half stoppage-time for his 15th league goal of the season. Okenabirhie spurned a decent opportunity after the restart but clear-cut chances were at a premium with both sides happy to remain all-square ahead of the second leg.