West Ham step in to help Dagenham and Redbridge in friendly fundraiser as Jordan Hugill scores in 3-1 win

West Ham’s return to action following the chaotic scenes which marred their last Premier League outing was a much happier occasion, as the Hammers stepped in to help neighbours Dagenham and Redbridge.

The National League Daggers are facing financial ruin after investor Glyn Hopkin walked away from the club earlier this season, and reached out to David Moyes’ side for help.

With a three-week break between games, Moyes and co-owner David Sullivan - who stayed away from the game while David Gold represented the board - acted quickly to arrange the fixture, with every penny going to the fifth tier side.

A near sell-out crowd of 4,515 watched on as a strong Hammers side, who boasted seven Premier League winners' medals among them, as well as one Champions League winner in Patrice Evra, went toe-to-toe with their hosts.

There was plenty to watch, too, with Adrian busier than he would have liked in goal, as the Daggers - managed for the night by Gary Singh, who paid for the privilege to replace manager John Still in the dugout for the night - testing their Premier League visitors on the break.

Michail Antonio, though, showed a touch of class either side of half time, first dinking over Daggers goalkeeper Mark Cousins before, just after the restart, charging through the back line in typical fashion before powering a low shot home in front of the away end.

Things were less comfortable for Moyes - who watched on from the stands alongside assistant Alan Irvine and West Ham royalty in Sir Trevor Brooking - minutes later as, following a dizzying goalmouth scramble, the Daggers had one back through Mason Bloomfield.

The goal gave the home fans something to cheer but had little impact on the result, with January signing Jordan Hugill putting a tough evening behind him with a first goal for the club to secure the result late on.

The club had hoped Wednesday night's encounter would raise £40,000 of the £300,000 needed to survive beyond the end of the season, and were more than grateful for the support shown by their local Premier League side.

For the Hammers, a chance to build match fitness during the international break will have done some of the squad well, with Arthur Masuaku getting his first minutes following a six-match ban.

However, there will be concern surrounding James Collins, who hobbled off with a hamstring injury midway through the first half.