(Swifts win 7-6 on penalties)

Swifts ended a 20-year barren spell when they won a penalty shoot out at Dagenham on Monday evening.

Heybridge have been unsuccessful in penalty shoot outs for both first team and reserves for as long as many can remember, but that ghost was finally put to rest with a 5-4 Essex Senior cup quarter-final shoot out win that sets up a semi-final with Nationwide side Leyton Orient.

Dagenham took the lead through Shipp with a low strike in the 12th minute. The home side nearly in-creased their lead just before the break when a long range effort skidded on the snowy surface nearly deceiving the Swifts keeper Kingsley Banks, but he got down well and the shot ballooned off him and over the bar.

A great goal from Alex Fiddes in the 57th minute brought the sides level.

The Swifts player cut in from the left and curled a shoot beyond the Daggers 'keeper just inside the far post.

Chris Heasman replaced Dean Caldon with 10 minutes to go in normal time and three minutes into the first period of extra time looked to have se-cured Swifts win.

A long pass out of the Swifts defence saw Dagenham unable to cope with the ball in the air. It headed into the path of Heasman who beat 'keeper Paul Gothard to the ball and rounded him to score.

Three minutes before the extra time interval Broom brought the sides level again with a long range effort.

With the snow still falling and the small brave crowd frozen, the dreaded the penalty shoot out arrived.

Dagenham were first to go and opened the scoring and Colin Wall responded for Swifts.

Dagenham scored again and Swifts assistant manager English saw his shot saved by Gothard. Daggers scored again and now the pressure was on. Fiddes converted for Swifts before Banks saved Daggers' fourth to put Swifts back in it.

The remaining three penalties were scored with Christian McClean and Heasman scoring for Swifts.

It was now down to sudden death and up stepped former Swifts player Kirk Game for the Eastenders and he fired his spot kick against the bar. Young Ashley Bond held his nerve to stroke home his spot kick to send Swifts through.

A great win and it sets up a visit to Leyton Orient but manager Robbie Nihill would have still swapped it for league points dropped to Dagenham at Scraley Road nine days ago.

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.