It was goals, goals, and goals during the first half at the Glyn Hopkin Stadium. Four of them to be precise in a pulsating opening 16 minutes.
Stevenage scored the first two goals, the opening goal came so early supporters would have only just switched on their stopwatches. Adam Miller provided the goal after just 32 seconds with a cross that found Jon Nurse, who duly scored with his first touch.
A shocked Dagenham found themselves two down five minutes later. Nurse was again involved as Tony Roberts brought him down in the area. Dino Maamria scored from the spot.
Far from feeling sorry for themselves, the Daggers dusted themselves down and forced their way back into the game. A magnificently flighted free-kick from Sam Saunders found Tim Cole at the far post, who headed past Alan Julian.
The scoreline became 2-2 after 16 minutes. Saunders was again the architect with another free-kick that flicked off the top of Rob Quinn's head and bounced into the back of the net for an own goal.
That was where the scoring finished but both sides could reflect on missed chances that could have earned either team a victory.
A magnificent acrobatic fingertip save from Roberts prevented Dannie Bulman from scoring with a shot from the edge of the area.
At the other end an equally good stop from Julian prevented Anwar Uddin from finding the net before the interval.
Both defences tightened up during the second half that restricted both attacks.
Certainly the best chance of the half fell to the home side 20 minutes before the end. Chris Moore sent over a dangerous low cross that beat Julian, but Danny Foster was unable to convert the ball towards goal despite being only six yards out.
The final chance of the game fell to Stevenage's highly-rated midfielder George Boyd. He hit a free-kick from 20 yards that flew inches wide.