Dagenham & Redbridge suffered late heartbreak as Billy Clifford’s late header snatched a 1-1 draw for Ebbsfleet United at the Chigwell Construction Stadium on Easter Monday.

The Daggers, who had impressively swept aside Boreham Wood on Good Friday with a 4-1 away victory, went into this game with little to consider ahead of the run-in.

Ben Strevens’ side sat 12th in the National League with four games to go, simply looking to consolidate a place in the mid-table.

And in a game lacking quality, the first chance fell to Dagenham striker Inih Effiong after half an hour.

The lively Dion Pereira exchanged passes with Sam Ling down the right flank, finding space in front and flashing a good ball across the box. But as Effiong arrived for the finish, he fluffed his lines from just three yards out when it looked easier to score.

Midfielder Josh Rees pulled the strings to control proceedings, and Ryan Hill threatened on the left with the support of full-back Lewis Page overlapping, but neither side seemed to create any proper chances.

The first half finished with a flurry of opportunities for the home side, however, as Pereira and Hill had efforts cleared off the line seconds before referee Farai Hallam blew his whistle for the break.

Just seven minutes after the restart, Ebbsfleet were awarded a penalty as Daggers defender Tom Eastman handled the ball in an attempt to block a pull-back in the box.

Rakish Bingham stepped up to take the spot-kick, but his effort was expertly kept out by Elliot Justham in the Dagenham net, moving across goal swiftly to palm the ball away from danger.

Bingham had another penalty appeal waved away, before Effiong had a chance to put the Daggers ahead at the other end of the pitch.

As the game looked to be petering out into a drab 0-0 draw, a moment of quality from Ebbsfleet shifted the momentum in the away side’s favour.

Ben Chapman’s excellent pull-back found the feet of Bingham, whose volleyed effort skimmed the top of the crossbar.

Ebbsfleet continued to push and should have been ahead as substitute Dominic Poleon found himself one-on-one with Eastham, but the onrushing Daggers stopper parried the ball away to save his side once again.

In a real smash-and-grab raid, the Daggers found themselves ahead after 78 minutes.

Effiong’s brilliant hold-up play saw Rees find space in the Ebbsfleet box to cut inside before curling an excellent effort into the top corner to give the hosts the lead.

And it looked like being enough until Ebbsfleet grabbed a stunning equaliser in the 95th minute as Clifford got on the end of a corner to send an excellent header from close range beyond Justham to break Daggers hearts.

With just three games left of the National League season, the Daggers will look to finish their campaign as strong as possible and continue their fine form, starting with a trip to Woking this Saturday.