Daggers' number one Elliot Justham talks facing Championship opposition as the lowest ranked side still in the tournament.
When Dagenham & Redbridge captain and goalkeeper Elliot Justham leads his teammates out at the New Den to face Championship side Millwall in the FA Cup on Monday night it will be a memorable evening for several reasons.
It will be the Daggers' first third round appearance since 2016 when they faced Everton. For Justham, it is fresh territory as he has never played at this stage of the famous competition, and he also comes up against the team his partner’s family supports.
The club’s longest-serving player explained to Goalkeeper.com: “It is going to be a hard game, we are fully respectful of Millwall.
“To play at the New Den will be a special occasion.
“My partner’s family are all Millwall fans as well so they will all be there. I am sure it will be a hostile atmosphere, but it is something I’m looking forward to.
“I went to Millwall as a young Crystal Palace fan and I always thought ‘I would love to play here' so to tick that off my list now as a 34-year-old, turning 35 in July, for me and my family it is going to be a special night.”
More than 1,200 fans will make the 13-mile journey across the capital to cheer on Justham and his teammates.
Among those supporting the visitors will be most of his family.
He said: “My partner's family lives right by the ground so they will all be there. My mum, dad and brother will be there as well.
“So, it’s going to be a lovely occasion.
“We’ve got that hope, it’s the FA Cup, anything can happen, so if we can start the game right you just never know. We live in that hope.”
He also added that despite the two sides meeting, he hasn’t had any stick from his partner’s family.
“They have been good as gold to me to be fair,” he explained, before adding: “I think they just want to enjoy the occasion.
“Like I say it’s probably a surreal moment for them watching me play at the New Den.
“I hope we can all come out winners. Hopefully Dagenham win and they will be happy for me. That is what I’m hoping for.”
Whatever happens for Dagenham on Monday night it has been a fantastic cup run as they have defeated not one but two clubs from League Two.
Both of those sides are looking to make a break for promotion to League One.
The goalkeeper, who has played more than 300 times for the Daggers, said: “As a club, it is a massive achievement. We have beaten two exceptionally good League Two teams along the way. I think now they are both in the top seven, so that shows what a big achievement that is in itself.
“We also got past Leiston, with respect to them, the two hardest ties were Crewe and AFC Wimbledon.
“We have just embraced it and believed we could win both games and that is not just me saying it. There was no talk about drawing and taking it to extra time. It was all literally ‘We could win this game.’
“We just had serious belief in ourselves and both nights for the football club were special, and for me, I have never been to the third round. So, to get there, with this club that I love, against Millwall is a great tie.
“Everyone at the football club is excited now and we will see what happens on Monday night.”
Dagenham head into Monday night’s game as the underdogs with everyone expecting the Lions to roar into round four.
However, Justham believes that he and his teammates have a good chance of causing an upset.
He said: “Everyone is expecting Millwall to turn us over.
“In our own dressing room, we’re going to have a game plan, hopefully, if we stick to that and we fulfil what is asked of us.
“It’s 11 v 11 at the end of the day so I respect them and they’re three leagues above us. Their quality is unbelievable, and I fully respect that. However, as a player, you will never go into a game thinking you’re going to lose no matter who you’re playing.
“So the main thing is we go in with a positive attitude and go from there.”
Millwall do have some good pedigree in the competition. They were runners-up 21 years ago as they made the final against Manchester United.
They also made the semi-finals in 2013 only to lose to eventual winners Wigan Athletic.
“I remember them getting to the final in 2004,” he recalls.
“Dennis Wise was playing for them at the time and Ronaldo was playing for Manchester United. It was at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff that one because Wembley was under construction.
“Millwall have always done well in competitions and it’s always a tough place to go, so we’re not fearful but we’re excited.”
For a long time now, the famous old competition has been devalued by those at the top of the English game.
That is due to clubs in the Premier League and the Championship rotating their side as they focus on other prizes. Also, the changing of the kick off time for the final certainly doesn’t help.
However, venture below the EFL, the competition still has an important part to play for non-league clubs.
Having played for the likes of Waltham Forest, Leyton, and Brentwood Town before joining Luton Town in 2013, Justham knows what a good cup run can do for a non-league club.
He said: “I will generalise for non-league clubs. I think the income that it can provide, it can be a special day, and it can set clubs up for seasons to come, especially even lower down than our level.
“I think if they can have a good cup run it can sort their finances out and that is what it is all about. It gives you the hope that you could get a real plum tie.
“Ultimately football clubs lose money all the time and, in the lower leagues, it’s full of volunteers, full of good people. No one gets to see them because there is no limelight on them unless there is an FA Cup run.
“I feel like an FA Cup run can sort of bring out the best in showing off a club. That is what Monday night will do for us. Whatever the result it will show off Dagenham in a good light to the country.”
In recent years, the FA Cup has shone the limelight on the likes of Luton Town, Maidstone United, Chorley, Boreham Wood and Sutton United for their extended FA Cup runs to the 4th and 5th round, while Lincoln City made it to the quarterfinals in 2017, eventually losing to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
Justham has always looked on a bit wistfully at these sides enjoying the moment. He is now hoping that 2025 is Dagenham’s year.
He said: “I hope so.
“I remember watching them and you look at it and go ‘I wish that could be me one day.’
“So as captain and a long-serving player of this football club, if we were to win at the New Den, I think no matter whatever I do in football nothing will top that.
“I live in that hope of celebrating after Monday night and dream of being in the fourth round because that would be some achievement.”
