Crawley ensured Saturday's defeat against Accrington was quickly forgotten with a comprehensive win but manager Francis Vines is not yet prepared to forgive his players.

Reds responded to the embarrassing 4-0 drubbing in Lancashire by dominating a Dagenham side who were unbeaten and top of the league.

Charlie MacDonald scored his fourth goal in five games and Ryan Palmer headed home his first for the club to take Reds to seventh in the Conference.

However, Vines is still smarting from the Accrington game. He left out three key members of last season's Dr Martens League championship winning team - goalkeeper Andy Little, captain Kevin Hemsley and Robert Traynor - and has warned the other players this result does not mean they can relax.

He said: "I did not see the Accrington performance coming. It was one of those days and I wish it hadn't happened.

"I could not change all 11 players at once, which I probably would have done, so I made a couple of changes.

"It was a wake-up call for a few players because they have to realise they cannot play one or two good games and then rest on that.

"You need to be consistent and that goes for everyone. The guys who were out there knew they had to give me a performance otherwise they will be left out for the next game."

Vines was unhappy with the number of chances Crawley wasted against Dagenham before they finally broke the deadlock three minutes after half-time.

That was perhaps harsh as Reds produced some of their best football this season but Vines knows his side could be punished by more potent teams if they do not turn their dominance into goals.

Danny Davidson shot over after 22 minutes when he should have hit the target following a cross from Adrian Deane and Neil Jenkins was guilty of missing an even better opportunity nine minutes before the interval.

MacDonald was sent clear down the right by a through ball from Charlie Mapes and crossed for the unmarked former Southend winger, who missed the ball completely as he tried to volley.

Vines said: "I'm pleased with the performance but I'm disappointed that we didn't hit the target more often.

"Danny Davidson could have had a hat-trick and Neil Jenkins should have scored in the first half, so I was not too happy with our finishing."

Dagenham almost made Reds pay on the stroke of half-time when a header from Ashley Vickers looped over home keeper Phil Smith and onto the top of the crossbar.

The visitors also hit the woodwork on 56 minutes when Glen Southam's free kick eluded everyone in a crowded penalty area and struck a post.

But other than that, Dagenham did not live up to their good start to the campaign and rarely threatened.

Once MacDonald put Reds ahead there was only ever going to be one winner.

The former Charlton striker appeared to have wasted the chance when he mis-controlled a square ball by Charlie Mapes, but managed to cut back a left foot shot which crept under Daggers keeper Tony Roberts.

Mapes almost added to the lead soon after when he was sent clear, but this time Roberts did well to block with his legs.

Palmer ended any hopes Dagenham had of getting back in the game just past the hour mark. He was left unmarked at a corner by Mapes to head home powerfully, despite a desperate dive from Roberts who got a hand to the ball but could not stop it finding the top corner.

Davidson should have sealed an impressive performance with what would have been the goal of the game, beating three defenders and then the goalkeeper before somehow slotting wide with an empty net in front of him.

Palmer believes the performance proves the players learnt their lesson from the Accrington game.

He said: "I don't know what happened on Saturday. Every team has a slip-up and that was ours.

"It taught us a lesson and we have responded to it.

"We now know that if we are prepared to fight and win tackles then we will do well, but if we don't we will get smashed.

"This sort of performance is what we are aiming to produce every week and, with the quality of players in the squad, we should be able to do that.

"It's down to us. If we make sure we perform the way we want to play then we will win games, no matter who it is against."

Crawley: Smith, Palmer, Hankin, Rees, Simpemba, Mapes, Deane (Marney 83), Kember, Davidson (Tait 83), MacDonald, Jenkins. Subs not used: Little, Judge, Manuella
Dagenham & Redbridge: Roberts, Goodwin (Hill 78), Uddin, Vickers, Blackett, Janney, Southam, Le Berl (Boot 85), Flynn (Taylor 61), Moore, Mackail-Smith. Subs not used: Buruwa, Midson
Attendance: 2,177