5:28pm Wednesday 26th December 2007
By Paul Wreyford
Barnet manager Paul Fairclough hailed his players after today's battling 3-1 win over Dagenham & Redbridge at Underhill.
Fairclough said: "It was a fantastic performance."
He was particularly pleased with the way his team played following the dismissal of captain Ismail Yakubu at the end of first-half stoppage time.
"We showed tremendous character. There was no panic when we went down to ten men. The players did exactly what we wanted them to do."
And he had particular praise for hat-trick hero Jason Puncheon.
"We know Jason has that in his locker. He had a good game and deserves the praise."
Fairclough added: "I thought we could have scored more in the second half, even with ten men."
It was Barnet's first home win in the league since October and Fairclough admitted: "It's been a long time coming. We have to beat the teams below us in the table. There's still a long way to go and we want to get promoted. That's currently my motivation and desire."
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