FA Cup 1st round: Braintree Town VS Chesterfield match report 9-11-14

Braintree Town Vs Chesterfield FA Cup First round 09-11-14

A great FA Cup occasion at Cressing road saw a very good League One Chesterfield side prove too difficult for the Iron to overcome in order to progress to the second round proper. Six goals was the difference between the two sides who sat 52 positions apart in the football tier at the start of the game, but Iron created some good chances in the game. Though well beaten on the day, Iron showed glimpses of promise in their performance in some areas against what they knew would be a massive test at Cressing road on Remembrance Sunday.

Iron had the early chance with Sean Marks played through by James Mulley in the centre of the pitch. Mulley beat the Chesterfield back line with a single ball, which Marks controlled well and fired hard and low towards the bottom right hand corner. Goalkeeper Tommy Lee had to be on top form to palm the ball behind five minutes in.

From the early chance, Chesterfield responded with a ten minute spell of pressure, the majority of play taking place deep inside the Iron half. Braintree coped well, looking solid defensively and dealing with any test that the Spirites gave in the initial quarter of an hour. However, following a free kick into the visitor’s box where a foul was given on Sean Marks against Tommy Lee, Chesterfield created the necessary chance to open the scoring. Beaten down the right hand side, Iron allowed Eoin Doyle space in the centre of the goal to reach a pass played along the six yard line from Clucas. The ball was squeezed beyond the outstretched Hamann, which Doyle tapped in unchallenged and with ease to put Braintree a goal behind 20 minutes in.

The breakthrough signalled the end of Braintree’s good defensive performance, and the floodgates were to open in this match, with Chesterfield contining to threaten through Doyle who narrowly missed a pacey ball in from Morsy, which would have been certain to double the lead. The second did come just ten minutes after the first with a great strike from Jay O’Shea just outside the Iron box. Turning with his right, O’Shea turned in a curling effort, which found the top corner giving Hamann no chance and the Iron a mountain to climb within half an hour if they were to progress to the 2^nd round.

Just before half time, Akinola turned Ian Evatt, and looked to be through on goal. Having been beaten by Akinola’s acceleration, Evatt went to ground, pulling down Akinola in the process and escaped with a yellow due to a covering defender being available on the far side. The free kick in was nodded down by Sowunmi to Alan Massey, whose shot was scooped up by Lee. Straight down the other end, some sloppy defending allowed Sam Clucas to scuff a shot in from close range, being on his own again inside the 6 yard box. Similar to the first, simple football played around the Iron defence allowed a ball across, which this time Hamann got to but could not prevent, and Clucas was the man presented with the opportunity to tap in unchallenged.

Devonshire made a double substitution at the break, with Marks and Brundle making way for Cox and Strutton. Strutton had an immediate impact, catching a great shot with his right which was palmed away by Tommy Lee. The goalkeeper was the centre of controversy moments later, when outside the box he charged down Jordan Cox who appeared to be through on goal. As Cox went to ground, the referee immediately blew the whistle for a free kick just outside the area, but strangely no word was said to the goalkeeper, nor a card shown for the challenge.

Down the other end, and against the run of play since the break, a Gary Roberts solo effort from outside the area extended the lead to four in the 53^rd minute. Tandayi Darikwa ran at the Iron defence, and through a challenge found a looping ball to Roberts. Roberts looked up and nestled the ball into the top left hand corner with a great attempt from outside the area, showing the quality that the League One club has. The Spirites were to have the ball in the back of the net yet again when Jay O’Shea thumped a Gary Roberts through ball past Nick Hamann, but O’Shea was ruled offside and it remained 4-0 with half an hour to play.

The Iron never gave up, with Jordan Cox looking lively up front with Strutton, coming back to receive the ball when possible. Cox did just that, playing the ball out to the right hand side and getting himself into a good position looking for the return. Iron played the ball across the box searching for the opening, and it was eventually Akinola on the other side that found the space required to pull the trigger; a shot fired at Tommy Lee that was palmed away. Cox met the return with his head, which flew over the bar and behind for a goal kick.

On the counter, Chesterfield punished Braintree yet again in the crulest of ways with fifteen minutes remaining when Remi Clerima turned in an own goal when trying to meet a cross in from the left. Gary Roberts tore down the left hand side and provided the cross, but as Remy slid to turn the ball behind, he instead deflected it past the ‘keeper Hamann to further extend the lead.

Iron fans held their breath as Akinola cut in to shoot down the left had side, only to be denied by the head of the Chesterfield man on the line. But the day was finished with a final goal from the league side, when Eoin Doyle bagged another just before full time, slotting past Hamann with ease. Moments before the full time whistle, Doyle was put through on the right, and took his chance well, side footing into the bottom corner to wrap up the day which saw Chesterfield ease past Braintree with six goals and no reply.

Iron boss Alan Devonshire showed his discontent on the result, which did see his side match up against a far superior league side. In terms of positioning, the distance between the two is the same as that of Chesterfield and Manchester City at the start of the game. However, Devonshire pulled no punches following the game stating that he was “bitterly disappointed” with his side.

“We did alright for five minutes, started well and then after that we were poor. I’m bitterly disappointed, I feel that the players have let the club down. They are better than that, you know that, you see them week in week out and I’m trying to put my finger on it… I don’t know. I am bitterly disappointed with that performance, and all we can do is move on.”

“We didn’t go with runners and sloppy mistakes, we couldn’t clear the ball. How many times did we scuff it ten yards to them? It’s just poor. I don’t know what they want. It’s the first round of the FA Cup, the TV cameras are here, have a go lads and show them how good you are. I’ve got to apologise to the fans because I feel they were brilliant today and we were poor.”

“I said to them in there that they were playing against League One players, but we made them look like Championship or Premier League players today. We need to roll our sleeves up now because we have a game against Dover on Tuesday who had a great win yesterday.”

“At the end of the day we have had enough chances to score. Charlie (Strutton) had a chance and Jordan (Cox) had a chance that should have been in the back of the net like it was at the other end. There finishing was good but at the end of the day we also gifted them some goals as well. Especially the third one which I just felt at half time had killed the game, it was so sloppy. We’ve got to learn quickly.”

“I don’t know if the confidence is low, but we can’t feel sorry for ourselves. We’ve got to roll our sleeves up and make sure we get another thirty points in this league to make sure that we stay in it. There are a few people coming back now, so I will have a choice to make. I could probably drop them all after today, but there will be a few changes after today because that was poor.”

Braintree Town: Hamann, Peters, Habergham, Sowunmi (Clerima), Massey, Isaac, Davis, Mulley, Brundle (Strutton), Marks (Cox), Akinola

Unused subs: Sparkes, Paine, Walker, Pentney

Chesterfield: Lee, Darikwa, Evatt, Ryan, Morsy, Clucas, Jones (Humphreys), O’Shea (Gardner), Raglan, Roberts (Boco), Doyle

Subs: Wright, Ariyibi, Banks

Referee: Brendan Malone

Assistants: Ian Fissenden and Chris O’Donnell

Fourth Official: Darren Blunden

Attendance: 1206

 

Match Report by Chris Pargin

Braintree Town Vs Norwich City pre-season friendly match report 15-07-14

Braintree Town Vs Norwich City match report.

Braintree Town: Hamann, Case, Habergham, Isaac, Paine, Massey, Mulley, Davis, Marks, Walker, Hawkins

Norwich City: Ruddy, Johnson, Martin, Turner, Howson, Lafferty, Hooper, Hoolahan, Bennett, Olsson, Surman

Braintree kicked off their home pre-season campaign in a changed white strip, unfamiliar to Cressing Road, with Norwich’s away strip yet to arrive in time for the fixture. A strong side was fielded by the Canaries, who ran out 6-1 winners on the night. Both sides made the most of the squads at their disposal, making mass changes in the second half with Alan Devonshire introducing some trialists in the fold against the Championship opposition.

Wes Hoolahan won free-kick just outside the 18 yard box, which was fired straight into the arms of Nick Hamann by Bradley Johnson early on. At the other end, Chez isaac’s free kick was deflected over for a corner, which he delivered near post to the head of Alan Massey. A stooping Massey could not test the keeper, turning the ball over for a goal kick.

The next Norwich attack was to lead to the opener, as Hoolahan was played in from the right just in front of goal. Looking like he was going to shoot, Hoolahan coolly found Andrew Surman to his left unchallenged, who had enough time to open his body and slot the ball into Hamann’s bottom left corner.

Sean Marks came close to equalising just two minutes later for the Iron, receiving a ball deep inside the Canaries’ half. Marks beat the keeper with his right footed effort, but could not beat the post as his shot bounced off the woodwork and out to safety.

On the 26^th minute Kyle Lafferty extended the lead for the away side with a fine free-kick from 25yards out. Lafferty curled the ball around the Iron wall, sending Hamann scrambling across goal, but unable to meet the shot which found the side netting.

Some great build up play from Norwich led to a cross in from the right by Elliott Bennett. A towering Kyle Lafferty directed his header from inside the Iron box onto the crossbar, leaving the trailing by just the two goals going into the second half.

Norwich City second half: Dunn, Whittaker, Bennett, Turner, Garrido, Redmond, Howson, Johnson, Murphy, Van Wolfswinkel, Grabban

With mass changes at half time from Canaries manager Neil Adams, second half introduction Ricky Van Wolfswinkel needed just one touch to open his account, passing the ball into an empty net with Hamann committed out of his box from the off.

Nathan Redmond added another ten minutes later with a thunderous strike from outside the Iron box. Just past the hour mark, Norwich added a fifth through Bradley Johnson after making another two substitutions. Norwich’s fresh legs began to run away with the tie, with the home side introducing only Jordan Cox and Michael Bakare until this point.

Jordan Cox was played through from the left hand side, and looked likely to open the scoring for the Iron but appeared to be held back by the covering Norwich defender. However, the referee waved away appeals to leave the home side searching again with Norwich introducing an eleventh change minutes later.

But the Iron wasn’t to search for their opener for too much longer when Sean Marks found the net with a header. An Isaac free-kick delivery across goal was headed back to Marks, who glanced across goal to guide the ball past Dunn to the delight of the home support.

Norwich added a sixth minutes from the end, with the Iron now a much changed side also as Devonshire took the opportunity to take a look at what was on offer for the season ahead. Josh Murphy whipped in a ball from the left, reaching Van Wolfswinkel at the back post who added a tap in to his tally for the night.

A decent game by both sides pleased a good turnout at Cressing road, with the strong Norfolk following taking a 6-1 win on the night.

Match report by Chris Pargin

The hidden world of non-league football

Just a few leagues below the £300,000 per week earning, champagne sipping poster boys of the Premier league live the stars of the non-league. The jugglers of the part-time football career receive little by comparison in the way of financial rewards, so much so that the vast majority work a second job to pay the bills. Though low paid in comparison, anyone that’s been to a standing terrace with hundreds rather than thousands of spectators in attendance will know that the effort that the lower league players put into performances equals, if not exceeds that of many of at the top of the football tree. If this is the case, is money really a motivator?

Footballers are always in the media for how much money they earn from the game, and don’t get me wrong, in my opinion the majority are majorly overpaid. “The average wage for a top flight player being around £30,000 per week”[1]. This is more in a week than a fully qualified nurse with the NHS would earn in a year. The NHS website shows the starting band for nurses as between £21,478 and £27,901[2], in what is surely a much more important role in the world. Sticking to the profession of football, if money were the main motivator, those at the top of the football pyramid would be by far the most motivated, putting in the most effort and making the greatest sacrifices.

Herzberg suggests that money has an ability to demotivate, but as long as the minimum requirement is achieved, will not be a great motivator.[3] As displayed in “Braintree Town’s marathon week in the conference”[4], Braintree captain Dean Wells travels 1374 miles playing the game he loves in conditions that Herzberg may even see sufficient to demotivate. However, Dean Wells states within this article “The work rate of the lads, considering the number of games we've had and the travelling, is superb. If we were in mid-table and just going through the motions, you could be disheartened. But the position we're in, we can't afford to have those thoughts.” This would back up Herzberg’s theory of achievement, recognition, advancement, work itself and even personal growth as being greater motivators. Personal growth in particular here is relevant with Dean Wells making the step up to full time football following the season in which he was selected in conference team of the year.

 

For three out of four weeks, Braintree played three matches a week last season. It is hard to imagine this being enforced in the Premier League, such is the difference between league and non-league football. Many would see the reason for this difference comes back to power. The power of one of the top clubs in the highest tier in English football is far greater than one of those much further down, and this is not just because of the financial influence that one of these clubs has. Braintree Town manager Alan Devonshire seems to believe that other clubs in the same division would not have been treated in the same way.[5] Though not stated, it is suggested that there is an imbalance of power in the Conference, with the better known ‘larger clubs’ favoured over those perhaps historically lesser known. Perhaps these sides that bring in more spectators, spread the word of the league further and are more recognisable by Football League follower’s uses personal influences against the authorities.

Though so many differences can be seen between league and non-league clubs, the players are still there to play the game that they love, putting their all into performing for reasons other than the widely mediated financial gains, and creating the game that we love from top to bottom of the pyramid.

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[1] Sky news (2013) available at http://news.sky.com/story/1100132/football-finance-premier-league-wages-up-9-percent (accessed 16/06/2014)

[2] NHS Careers agenda for pay April 2014 available at http://www.nhscareers.nhs.uk/explore-by-career/nursing/pay-for-nurses/ (accessed 16/06/2014)

[3] NetMBNA.com (2002-2010) available at http://www.netmba.com/mgmt/ob/motivation/herzberg/ (accessed 21/06/2014)

[4] BBC football (2014) available at http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/26818712 (accessed 21/06/2014)

[5] BBC football (2014) available at http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/26785223 (accessed 21/06/2014)

Braintree Town Vs Concord Rangers Match report 29-4-14 Essex Senior cup final

Essex Senior cup final

Though the scene was set for Braintree to add some silverware to a successful season, the opportunity passed Iron by when they went down by two goals to one in the Essex Senior cup final. An impressive team goal finished by Sam Collins was capped off with a cool strike from James White for Concord Rangers, sending Braintree back up the A12 empty handed in their last competitive game of the campaign, with James Mulley adding a consolation in injury time.

Braintree showed their intent from kick off, striking the woodwork in the opening minutes with some nice play down the left hand side. Marks and Holman linked up well, switching the play to James Mulley in an advanced position just outside the box. It was an opportunity possibly too early for James Mulley, who scuffed his shot across goal and onto the opposing post. Down the other end, Gary Ogilvie picked up the ball from a throw on the left wing for Concord Rangers, running at Ryan Peters and cutting in at the by-line. Penalty appeals on mass from the men in blue with Ogilvie going to ground in the area were waved away and the ball collected by Hamann.

However, Concord made the next chance count and opened the scoring through Sam Collins on 17 minutes. Gary Ogilvie was to thank for a fantastic ball across field from the Rangers left hand side, floating into space for Collins to attack. Latching onto the cross and in plenty of space, Collins struck across goal, finishing well past Nick Hamann to put the Conference South side ahead at Victoria road.

Jamie Butler did well on the stroke of half time to retain the hard fought lead, reacting well with a double save to force Devonshire’s men to face a tough team talk as Barry Holderness blew the whistle.

Ten minutes after the break, the Beach boys were screaming for a penalty again when Matt Paine stuck out a leg on the edge of the area. But with the referee ignoring the calls for the second time, Braintree broke down the left, providing Jordan Cox with possession inside the opposition box. Cox looped a ball into the middle of the box, which was met by James Mulley who nodded over.

Davis went into the book on the 65^th minute for a stamp on the grounded Toby Stokes, leading to a dangerous looking free kick from 25 yards out. It was Collins who struck, demanding the most from the outstretched Nick Hamann who prevented a wonder goal from the scorer of the first. However, Hamann could parry only as far as James White, who put the ball in the back of the net to double the lead for Concord Rangers.

With fifteen minutes to go, Bradley Quinton delivered from a corner into a mass of shirts, who watched helplessly as the ball trickled past the post for another corner which was put clear. Iron could not create in the game as they had all season in the league, but added a consolation through James Mulley moments before the referee’s whistle. A corner in by Bradley Quinton fell to Mulley, who this time headed home, but it was far too late for a comeback with the referee blowing the signalling an end to the tie from the restart.

Braintree Town: Hamann, Peters, Habergham, Isaac, Paine (Daley), Davis, Marks (Cox), Holman, Sparkes (Quinton), Massey, Mulley

Unused Subs: McDonald, Wells

Concord Rangers: Butler, Gordon, Glozier, Cawley (Lampe), King, Goodacre, Cawley, White, Ogilvie (Easterford), Collins, Stokes

Unused Subs: Alzapiedi,Taaffe, Amole

 
Referee: Barry Holderness
Assistants: Wade Norcott and Thomas Ramsey
Fourth Official: Stuart Cheek

Attendance: 448

 

Braintree Town Vs Dartford Match report 18-04-12

A Kenny Davis wonder strike claimed all three points for the Iron who kept their playoff dreams alive against Dartford. Braintree are now just one point from the playoff place with two matches remaining, the next coming on Easter Monday in the televised fixture at Barnet before the final home game against Grimsby Town next weekend.

The game started fairly evenly, with both sides struggling to put passes together early on and a scrappy beginning to a match with so much riding on it for both sides. Going into the fixture, Dartford sat third from bottom, inside the relegation places by just one point. Hoping that results would go their way, a win at the Amlin could go a long way to saving their Conference Premier league status. The Iron came out with the opposite objective, sitting one place outside the playoff positions, three points shy of their midweek opponents Gateshead. All as still to play for with two games to play following this tie, in what has already been a fantastic season for Alan Devonshire’s side.

With nerves on show early on, a foul on Stevenson thirty yards out presented the hosts a chance to put a ball into a dangerous position with just ten minutes played from the resulting free-kick. However, Noble and Stevenson where clearly unsure of what to do, trying to trick the Iron but looking more like fooling each other with both players running past the dead ball. The resulting ball in was easily cleared.

From a corner at the other end, Isaac put in a spinning ball which made its way to Marks with his back to goal. Just yards from the goal line, Marks laid off Davis rather than attempting a shot on the turn, but the ball escaped the Iron skipper and was played clear by the Darts.

Peters had a let off on the twenty minute mark when he controlled a ball played across his own box. Finding himself hounded by Noble, Peters lost possession with Noble finding himself through on goal down the left hand side. Opening his body well, Noble did everything right but lost composure and scuffed his shot well wide to spare the blushes of the Braintree right back.

The breakthrough came on twenty five minutes when Dean Wells headed long to the chest of Sean Marks. Receiving possession with his back to goal once more, Marks decided again to lay off Davis just outside the visitor’s area. Davis made no mistakes this time, striking to the ball sweetly from just outside the box. Alan Julian could get nowhere near the save, as he dived to his left to see Davis’ sweet strike nestle in the back of the orange net.

Braintree looked to double their lead five minutes later with two corners in succession on the left hand side. Marks turned to shoot having found the ball at his feet from the first, with the ball being put behind through a Dartford defensive header. The second looked dangerous also but found its way clear in a period of pressure for the Darts.

With Dan Sparkes running alone at the Dartford defence, Lee Noble was drawn into bringing Sparkes to ground, finding the referee’s book in the process. A floating lob by Isaac caused the away goalkeeper problems, who flapped at the ball to put it over the bar in the last effort before half time.

Dean Wells picked up a booking in the second half for blocking a ball through with his arm, resulting in a Dartford free kick. The ball was played in from deep by Lee Noble towards Mikel Suarez, who looked to connect with a diving header but came up just short of turning the ball in. Hamann was called into action just minutes after with a drilled shot from outside the area, but got down low well to scoop up the effort heading to his bottom left hand corner.

James Mulley ran half of the length of the field to set up substitute Jordan Cox with a chance from eight yards out. Mulley cut in from the right hand side, knocking a ball along the floor into Cox’s path who couldn’t control or turn the ball in, scuffing one of his first touches without threatening the visitors.

Alan Julian pulled off a great save with little more than fifteen minutes on the clock to give his side a chance of taking something back to Kent. Jordan Cox was the man to test the ‘keeper, getting onto the end of a corner played in from the right, meeting with his head from just ten yards out. Julian flung out and arm diving to his left to turn the ball away keeping the deficit to a single goal.

Braintree sat deep with five minutes of added time, and Nick Hamann could have singlehandedly rescued Braintree’s playoff hopes just before the final whistle. The Darts played the ball into Mikel Suarez, who saw his shot kept out by Hamann diving to his right. The rebound was played straight into Jim Stevenson who forced the second of a treble save from the Iron stopper, who could breathe again when the ball could not be bundled over the line. With the referee blowing for full time on the goal kick, Hamann’s treble save could be vital in sending the Iron into the playoff mix in the final game.

Straight after that impressive run of stops, Nick Hamann reflected on the performance. “I think we did really well today. We wasn’t at our best, but I think we defended well all game. I didn’t have a lot to do. It’s important for the goalkeeper to always keep their concentration and never switch off. Playoffs would be unbelievable and we have given ourselves the best chance. A great team performance.”

Alan Devonshire also spoke “I tell you what, no wonder I’ve gone grey being the manager of this team, but I’m delighted. It’s about getting the result today. Nick’s pulled off two great saves but to be fair I don’t think he had a lot to do. It was a quality goal and we needed that for the game. It was a scrappy game, we knew it would be that. The pitch isn’t the best and we know the way Dartford play. It was just about getting the result today. We had chances to get the second goal, but listen we’ve won and we roll on Monday. It’s nice to be in there. With Gateshead drawing, we’re a point behind them with two games to go and what an achievement to be in there with two games to go. Hopefully with one game there might be something on there on the last game which would be fantastic.”

Braintree Town: Hamann, Peters, Habergham, Massey, Wells, Isaac (Daley), Paine, Davis, Sparkes (Cox), Mulley, Marks

Unused Subs: McDonald, Holman, Laurent

Dartford: Julian, Cornhill, Noble (Bradbrook), Collier (Swallow), Mitchel-King, Burns, Harris, Stevenson, Suarez, Sterling, McAuley

Unused Subs: Holloway, Woodyard, Clark

Referee: Declan Ford
Assistants: Andrew Tonks and Ian Smedley
Fourth Official: Lee Forester
 
Attendance: 1200

Braintree Town Vs Gateshead Match report 15-4-14

The Iron failed to capitalise on a dominant performance against Gateshead at the Amlin that would have seen them leapfrog the visitor’s into the last playoff position with Halifax beating Grimsby on the road. Dan Holman had the chance of the evening with ten minutes to play, winning a penalty for his side, but failing to convert with Bartlett palming onto the bar to protect his clean sheet. With three games to play, the result was pivotal for both sides, but it was to be Gateshead who went home the happier, with Alan Devonshire bitterly disappointed having felt that his side deserved all three points at full time.

 Almost directly from kick off, an early opportunity fell to the home side, with Braintree winning possession, and advancing down the right hand side through Ryan Peters. Peters played the ball nicely to Isaac, who dinked the ball in from the by-line to Jordan Cox, who nodded just wide from close range. Cox’s next attack failed to lead to a delivery in, but resulted in a corner off of Gateshead captain Ben Clark, which was dealt with easily by the Tynesider’s defence having been played across the floor straight into the first defender’s path.

Just short of half an hour in, a poor clearance from the Gateshead defence allowed Isaac space to shoot. A bobbling ball just inside the box was pounced on by Isaac, who curled right footed across goal. Slightly misjudging the top corner, the shot floated with power just inches above the bar in what looked a decent chance for the Iron.

Ten minutes from the half time whistle, a free-kick from deep provided the first real chance of the game for the visitors. The cross was directed at James Curtis at waist height, clearing all Iron shirts with Nathan McDonald looking beaten by a pacey ball across goal. However, the lofty centre back would probably have preferred a higher ball in as he failed to get anything on the cross, watching it fly past for a goal kick.

From the re-start, a corner played in by Sparkes was reached by Dan Holman, who was closed down instantly by the Gateshead defence resulting in a second corner for the Iron. Though this could not be taken advantage of either, a pinpoint ball across field by Sam Habergham met Mully in the area to create another chance. Mulley headed back to set up Matt Paine, who was charged down with a decent block, preventing any test of Adam Batlett between the sticks.

On the hour mark, Holman’s nod on twenty yards out fell to Jordan Cox, who struck the ball well, demanding the best from the Gateshead ‘keeper. Bartlett tipped the ball over to safety providing another corner to the Iron. It was Wells who met this ball in, looking to add to his headed goal against the league leader Luton Town at the weekend. This time, Jamie Chandler on the post managed to clear off of the line, keeping the game goalless with the home side in the ascendency.

Ten minutes from time, Cox played the ball out to Dan Sparkes on the left hand side. Sparkes found Holman running in across goal, who went down in the box from a shove in the back. The referee pointed to the spot to hand the Iron a penalty and a chance to take all three points. Holman placed the ball on the spot, and struck to the goalkeeper’s right, who read the shot well, thumbling the effort onto the bar. The rebound was headed behind for a goal kick to the dismay of the home side who would leapfrog Gateshead into a playoff position with a win. However, on the night the sides were to share the spoils meaning that Braintree fell a further point away from the playoffs with Gateshead now the nearest team on place above.

Speaking after the game, Alan Devonshire felt hard done by from not collecting all three points on the night.

“I thought we were the only team trying to win the game. We had a few good chances and we had a penalty… Did they have a shot? I’m disappointed, but the effort they gave me out there I’m not disappointed. They were the better side as far as I’m concerned.

They’ve come and they’ve come for a point, and they’ve got the point. To be fair, we deserved to get the three points. They’ve come with a game plan, and they’ve spoiled us but we were the only ones that had chances in the game. I’m just disappointed, because I just feel that we deserved the three points.

We’ve got three games left and we’re still fighting. Three games to go and people are talking about Braintree in the playoffs. What a fantastic season that is. We’ll keep going. I’m proud of them and I like to think that the fans and directors are proud of them, so we go again on Friday”

Braintree Town: McDonald, Peters, Habergham, Wells, Massey, Isaac, Paine, Sparkes, Mulley, Cox, Holman

Unused Subs: Quinton, Daley, Carney, Laurent, Holdsworth

Gateshead: Bartlett, Magnay, Chandler, Curtis, Clark, Turnbull, Baxter, Marwood, Maddison (Walker), Oster (Ramshaw), O’Donnell

Unused Subs: Baird, Cummins, Noble

Referee: Richard  Martin

Assistants: Gary Parsons and Samuel Ogles

Fourth Official: Neil West

Attendance: 901

 

Braintree Town Vs Macclesfield Town Match Report 8-4-14

Braintree suffered another 1-0 loss at home, this time to Macclesfield Town following the same score line on Saturday against Salisbury. After clawing their way into the playoff places, Braintree have slipped to seventh place on the back of two defeats, although still just two points adrift of fifth with some favourable results elsewhere. A single Scott Boden goal just after the hour mark sent the visiting side home happy, with Braintree possibly now pleased to see an away fixture up next, albeit to league leaders Luton Town.

Nick Hamann showed his awareness from the off, sprinting off of his line in the first ten minutes to collect the ball from Chris Holroyd’s feet, suffocating any opportunity that may be forming for the frontman early on. With both sides battling it out in the middle of the park, little was created in the first twenty five minutes. However, the visitors came close with some good build up play down the left hand side just prior to the half hour mark. Danny Andrew pushed up from his left back position, cutting inside the Iron box and playing in an inviting ball across the face of the goal. The resulting touch could not steer the ball towards goal, bobbling out for a goal kick.

At the other end, a Matt Paine volleyed cross searched for the head of Jordan Cox, who leapt just short of the ball to watch it drift past. A sneaky short corner Davis from Dan Sparkes failed to result in a lofted ball in. Instead Sparkes picked the ball back up and struck a shot through on goal from just inside the eighteen yard box, which flew low at the goalkeeper’s feet. Power looked to take the struggling ball out of the Taylor’s clutches, but the keeper managed calm any danger, scooping up on the turn.

At the start of the second half, some good build up play across the pitch involving Cox, Holman and Isaac found James Mulley inside the box. Mulley just failed to tuck the ball away, with Cox suffering the same feat straight after from a cross played in from the right. Build the two chances in succession kick-started the home side, who then won a free kick just outside the visitor’s box through Jordan Cox. It was Isaac who struck right footed, under the wall which the goalkeeper did well to react to with limited visibility, parrying away.

But the first goal would go to the Silkmen on the hour mark, with Scott Boden in acres of space to receive a switch of play just outside the Iron box. Boden knocked it left and then right between his feet to go past Alan Massey, striking across goal to Hamann’s right hand side. The outstretched Iron ‘keeper could not reach the shot, then venting his frustration with seeing his side slip behind after picking the ball out of the back of the net.

Boden was also first in the referee’s booked after flailing an arm at Dean Wells when chasing down another loose ball ten minutes after his goal.

Paul Turnball came at the Iron again, laying off Danny Whitaker to his right, who struck hard at Nick Hamann who push the ball over. The resulting ball in from the corner was thumbled by Hamann, nearly presenting a tap in for the Macclesfield men forward, but was scrambled clear by the Iron, keeping the deficit to a single goal.

Three minutes of added time presented just one real opportunity for the Iron, with Jakubiak finding space to shoot from the right hand side after a ball up from the return of a drop ball thumped up by the Macclesfield goalkeeper. Jakubiak thundered the shot across goal, with the referee blowing as soon as the ball crossed the line for a goal kick to signal a second 1-0 loss at home in a row.

Alan Devonshire saw no excuse for poor performances all over the park after the game. “I’m really disappointed tonight. I don’t think that we was at it, and I aint blaming that we was tired, we’ve had the rest from Saturday, I said to them in there that I’m really disappointed and they didn’t want it bad enough.”

“I thought that they were better than us all over the park. They looked sharper. We’ve got some big big games coming up. We have Luton away on Saturday and if we play like that we’ll get hammered.”

“I just wanted more from them. They’ve been praised and I’ve always said how great they’ve done but today I was gutted. We’re better than that.”

Braintree Town: Hamann, Paine, Habergham, Wells, Massey, Isaac (Laurent), Davis, Spakes (Daley), Mulley, Cox (Jakubiak), Holman

Unused Subs: McDonald, Carney

Macclesfield Town: Taylor, Connor, Andrew, Turnbull, Holroyd, Winn (Mackreth), Williams, Lewis, Boden (Kay), Whitaker, Halls

Unused Subs: Mackreth, Branagan, Rowe, Cowan

Referee: Adam Hopkins

Assistants: Stuart Pawley and Chris Francis

Fourth Official: Lloyd Wood

 

Braintree Town Vs Salisbury City Match report 5-4-14

The minutes on the pitch played by the Iron caught up with the side today, who went down 1-0 to Salisbury City who themselves created little. A mammoth task was handed to the Iron just before half time by referee Colin Lymer, who dismissed Sean Marks for an off the ball incident with James Clarke. Already a goal down after a nodded effort by Charlie Sherringham, the task was too much in the second half for the leggy players, who gave all they had to get back into the game, but failed to do so with an array of decisions from the referee that the home fans felt went against their side.

Salisbury picked up a free kick in a dangerous position seven minutes in when Chez Isaac was penalised for a foul twenty yards out on the right hand side. Theo Lewis took the opportunity to float in a cross rather than shoot, which was easily nodded out for a throw by Sean Marks who was back fulfilling his defensive duties. Minutes later Stuart Sinclair tried a spectacular effort from just inside the Iron half. Hamann rushed out of his area to clear a loose ball played through by the visitors, but scuffed only as far as Sinclair who took the opportunity to attempt a long range lob on the keeper. However, his attempt floated over the bar to the relief of the Iron.

Dan Holman had a half chance for Braintree quarter of an hour in, drifting in from the wing to his natural position to pick up a ball nodded into the centre of the pitch from a throw. Holman’s shot was not enough to test James Bittner in goal for the visitor’s, going over for a goal kick.

But it was the Whites that were to go ahead on eighteen minutes with a nodded goal from Charlie Sherringham. Ryan Brett played the ball in from deep, which was flicked on by Chris McPhee, and directed into the bottom corner by Sherringham who showed the same attacking instinct of that of his father Teddy.

Minutes from half time, Holman’s switch up front allowed him to pick up the ball midway into the Salisbury half and fire a shot at goal that trickled just wide. The switch gave some life to the Iron attack, with the home side on the front foot leading up to half time. Next to have a shot was Kenny Davis from inside the area on the Iron’s left. After going out for a corner, Josh Laurent picked up at the other side of the box, and saw his heavily deflected effort go behind for yet another corner. But the good spell that the Iron had created ended in the worst possible way when James Clarke fell to the floor holding his head.  The referee immediately ran to Sean Marks, brandishing the red for an off the ball incident that saw Marks throw an arm at the Salisbury defender who made the most of the contact, leaving the Iron a goal and a man behind at the half time whistle. Alan Devonshire took the opportunity at half time to vent his anger towards the decision, running the width of the pitch to meet Colin Lymer.

Iron came out after the break with the hunger that had seen them reinstalled to fourth place reinstalled, after waiting for the referee to remerge from the tunnel minutes after the two sides. Both Holman and Jakubiak had chances in the box, but the shot that would level the scoring could not be found within the first fifteen minutes of the second half, which then saw Jakubiak replaced by Jordan Cox who made his return. It was long until Cox found a chance, coming across to the right hand side to get onto a looping ball forward, and slice an opportunity wide. Cox’s height started to come of use when he won a lofted ball forward, and took on the visiting goalkeeper, who dived at Cox’s feet immediately waving for attention from the physio.

Finding plenty of space down the right hand side, the Salisbury right back Kevin Amankwaah carried the ball deep into the Iron half, crossing to Chris McPhee, who cut in and rifled over with his right. Both Cox and Paine picked up yellows before the final ten minutes, with Paine’s foul setting up a free kick just outside the area for the visitors. Theo Lewis struck the ball sweetly, demanding the best from Hamann who met the shot diving to his left hand side and parrying out for a corner.

Stuart Sinclair avoided any challenge by the Iron when he tore down the Salisbury left wing. The midfielder cut in at the by-line to cross to Sherringham, who was just yards away from the goal line when he deflected an effort straight at Hamann who held well. When Chris McPhee went down after a challenge from Chez Isaac, another yellow was shown to an Orange shirt, which signalled the end of the chances much to the frustration of Braintree who had been the better side in the second half even with ten men. After the frustration of the dismissal, Devonshire travelled the same length to shake the hands of the officials on full time.

Commenting after, Alan Devonshire said “It was a game too far for us today, the week has caught up with us. I was in bed for the earliest I’ve been in about ten years so how them lot feel I do not know” When responding to how Braintree would cope without Sean Marks who faces suspension, Alan said “Hopefully Jordan is alright, he’s been out for seven weeks but I thought he did well when he came on so he’ll start. Hopefully his back’s alright, if not we’ll have to find another way.”

Away manager Mikey Harris gave “massive credit to Braintree, especially with the fixture schedule that they have with three games in a week, which should never really happen to be honest, but credit to them for keep coming at us and making it difficult to us.”

Kenny Davis also reflected on the loss. “We’re a little bit downbeat, but it’s still in our hands so we’ve just got to carry on. We’re tired, obviously lost a couple of players as well. It’s been a hard week, but to still be in with a shout, the boys have done brilliant. I think if we had eleven men, I think we would have won. We didn’t concede too many goals, which what with the goal difference could come in crucial. Who would have thought we would have been in this situation at the beginning of the year? We’ve got to get as many people down here, the whole town down here to create an intimidating atmosphere. What an achievement it would be to get the boys in the playoffs and have the playoff down here.”

Braintree Town: Hamann, Paine, Habergham, Wells, Massey, Isaac, Davis, Laurent (Daley), Jakubiak (Cox), Marks, Holman

Unused Subs: McDonald, Daley, Carney, Holdsworth

Salisbury City: Bittner, Brett, Clarke, Wilson, McPhee, Lewis, Frear (Fitchett), Kamdjo (Wellard), Sinclair, Amankwaah, Sherringham

Unused Subs: White, George

Referee: Colin Lymer

Assistants: Mark Potkins and Darren Stobbart
Fourth Official: Paul Burnham

Attendence: 905

 

Braintree Town Vs Nuneaton Town match report 27-03-14

An all-round performance from the Iron saw Braintree stride further up the table, and into a playoff place with ten games left to play this season. A Nuneaton own goal and a strike from Dan Holman allowed Alan Devonshire’s side to leapfrog the visitors, climbing six places on the night to take up the final playoff position on goal difference, but with four games in hand on their competitors tonight.

Dan Holman used his strength well early on to hold off the Nuneaton defence, receiving a lofted ball just inside the opposition half with his back to goal. Playing through an opening, Dan spotted a run from Dan Sparkes early and provided something to run onto with Sparkes sprinting into space. Latching onto the ball, Sparkes fired in a shot across goal, which coasted just wide of the opposite post. However, moments later the Iron took the lead through an own goal by Theo Streete. James Mulley ran at the opposition defence, cutting in and drilling a daisy cutter through the ‘Boro box. Although the cross was beyond an orange shirt, a backtracking Theo Streete could not help but turn the ball into his own net, handing the Iron the lead within ten minutes.

A long free kick from Hamann allowed Marks to produce a classy flick onto fellow striker Dan Holman who read the ball well to find himself alone in space. However, a late flag from the linesman on the near side denied Holman the opportunity to add a second. Instead, Holman would create his own opening just moments later, picking up the ball midway into the oppositions half, and carrying in down the left hand side to find himself one on one with the goalkeeper. The on loan Stoke City man could do little to deny Holman, who placed the shot perfectly with his left to double the lead just 18minutes in.

Kenny Davis almost added a third on half time when a Dan Sparkes corner in from the right hand side was flicked at goal. A great save from the ’Boro goalkeeper was all that kept the deficit to two, with another fine stop required before the whistle was blown. James Mulley took the next shot with his left, requiring a lot from Eve who did well to parry the effort to prevent an even greater mountain to climb for his side in the second half. Although the away side had some nice play in the middle of the park, very little was created in the first half with Hamann virtually untested going down the tunnel.

Coming back from the break Braintree were to go again, with Streete this time the saviour for his side as he prevented Holman from snatching a second. Good work down the right hand side from Mulley allowed the Iron to cross, committing the Nuneaton ‘keeper who completely misjudged the flight of the ball. With Holman looking to meet the dipping ball behind Eve, Streete stole the ball from his head, nodding to safety. From a corner just after the chance, Holman received the ball again with his back to goal. However, he found plenty of opportunity to turn and take on the shot which made its way just wide of the visitor’s right post.

Chez Isaac tried a curling effort in from the left hand side after Sean Marks was brought down going away from goal by Dean Gareth. Both Sparkes and Isaac stood over the dead ball, just outside the box on the left wing. But it was to be Isaac who provided an in-swinging delivery which was caught easily by Eve as it headed toward the top left hand corner.

James Mulley had his shirt over his head when he lofted over an effort which as set up by Holman. Picking up the cross from the right hand side, Mulley turned to fire over inside the box as the Iron struggled to add a third to their tally.

Instead, David Hibbert converted the first real effort for Nuneaton, capitalising on a defensive mix up which allowed the front man to run clear. Hibbert kept his cool, running through the defensive line and opening his body to slot past Hamann, tucking his effort into the bottom right hand corner. ‘Boro’s first chance would mean the Iron would have to work hard to hold onto the lead going into the final 15 minutes.

But with little in the way of chances created from the visitors, Iron pulled through to the final whistle to take all three points, with a playoff position the reward for a professional nights work from Alan Devonshire’s side.

Speaking after the game, Alan Devonshire stated his delight at the team getting into the position that they have. “They (Nuneaton) had one shot in the game really which was the goal. We had so many chances but after that, I can’t knock them for that. We passed it and moved it and should have won it 4 or 5-1, but I’m delighted.”

For the first time this season, Alan failed to instantly dismiss the prospect when playoffs were mentioned, but as still very conservative when questioned.

“They’ve had a hard week, and I just said to them whatever the Conference is going to throw at us, let’s have a go at it. If they get in the playoffs it will be up your’s to the Conference with the games and that because at the end of the day that is the motivation at the moment. We’ve reiterated that no other club will be doing what we will be doing next week.”

Braintree Town: Hamann, Peters, Habergham, Wells, Paine, Isaac, Davis, Sparkes, Mulley, Marks, Holman (Jakubiak)

Unused Subs: McDonald, Laurent, Daley, Holdsworth

 

Nuneaton: Eve, Cranston, Cowan, Gareth, Streete, Walker (Taylor), Trainer, Sleath (Armson), York, Pearson (Adams), Hibbert

Unused Subs: Gordon, Magri
 

Referee: Wane Barratt

Assistants: Matt Evra and Mark Lucie
Fourth Official: George Sprague

Attendance: 802

 

Nuneaton Town (Home) match preview 27-03-14

The Iron take on fifth placed Nuneaton Town at the Amlin stadium on Thursday night, where a win could take them into the playoff places with games in hand over their rivals. On the back of a 2-0 away win at Welling United thanks to two goals from Captain Kenny Davis on Tuesday night, Braintree return to Essex in high spirits and with a top five position in their sights.

Nuneaton’s unbeaten run of four games came to an end against Grimsby Town on Saturday when they lost against their playoff rivals 1-0, and they will be looking to bounce back at the Amlin on Thursday. However, the Iron will be looking to stop this from happening and build their own run having won their last two games. Since returning after a winter layoff, Braintree have propelled themselves up the league, having only being beaten by Lincoln City in their last ten games.

The opposite fixture finished all even in October, with Matthew Paine handing the Iron the lead before Theo Streete equalised and finished the scoring. Last season, Braintree picked up four points in the games against the ‘Boro with a 2-2 draw at home and emphatic 4-2 win on the road.

With great momentum in the last two months and a chance to take up a position in the top five, the Iron are hoping to be roared on by a strong home crowd before taking to the road for three away games.

Small clubs can play in front of big crowds

Dwindling attendances and how lower league sides are missing a trick.

Ask any young boy that dreams of being a footballer what he sees when he closes his eyes. Iconic stadiums full to capacity, the roar of the crowd as the home side takes to the field, and an eruption heard for miles when the ball hits the back of the net. These are the images captured by the cameras as Champions league games, ‘Super Sunday’ match ups and soon to be World cup games are beamed into our homes. The reality for the vast majority of footballers that ‘make it’? Hours on a coach to a damp Tuesday night fixture played in front of little more than one man and his dog.

Though the loyalist of fans attempt to recreate it, no League Two fixture will capture the atmosphere found at Celtic Park on a Champions league night, and a lower league side would find little benefit of playing in a 60,000 capacity stadium (though Leyton Orient seem to think differently), as they just will not fill it. However, every club should strive to reach their potential, whether that is to bring in a global audience and win major trophies, or reach out to the local community and challenge for local honours. Whatever level a side is at and however well known a club is, there is always opportunity to achieve more. Looking at what the local clubs are currently doing, they can certainly do this from an attendance point of view in my experience.

With success naturally comes interest. The larger clubs with the bigger fan bases are usually the ones that are challenging for the title. Perhaps this is because more money comes into the club, and so more is spent on marketing, or perhaps it is just because naturally people want to watch a successful club. However, football in this country is a tradition, as much a part of our lives as a Sunday roast or the Royal family. There is a natural interest in the game, and I don’t feel that the clubs lower down always act upon this to their full potential.

My local club is Colchester United. Historically a smaller club that peaked at the turn of the century by winning promotion to the second tier. Colchester has always been a club that has spent within its means, and for this I have always admired them. With the promotion came a new 10,000 seated home for the U’s in the Weston Homes Community stadium. Money well spent by a club that had awful facilities before, though I truly believe that helped them to win promotion in the first place. As a teenager I would visit Layer road often; an old-school ground in the middle of a residential area with terraces on top of the touchline and prehistoric facilities less than welcoming for away teams. Looking back at some of the scalps that I have seen Colchester pull off against the bigger sides, I believe that the shoddy pitch and intimidating atmosphere won the U’s a few points that propelled them up the table. A few seasons later and the club have been relegated back into League One and usually get 3,500 down to the new ground, which may as well be 300. Echoes of murmurs scatter around the ground on a match day until the full time whistle is blown. Colchester is not a massive town, but I believe that there are plenty of opportunities that exist to bring in the numbers, get the ground rocking and provide some much needed revenue to the club.

Walking around the town, you wouldn’t know that the club exists. The only blue and white stripes are Tesco carrier bags and there is no advertising presence in the area at all. Maybe some are reminded of the local team as they drive past the stadium on the A12 on the way home, and I have noticed the two screens that now display events to passers-by, but that’s about all that exists. More worrying are the ticket prices if anyone does turn up. Pay on the day prices are usually £22-£30 for adults and differing rates for juniors. Under 18’s will pay between £13 and £16, £6-£9 for under 14’s and £2-£5 for under 8’s. Now it’s great that a young child can get in to a League One club for £2, but in reality most families will still be priced out for regular attendance. A day out for an adult and two kids depending on age will cost around £50 for admission. This is before travel, parking, food and drink let alone programmes and whatever else the kids may pick up in the club shop. For a top four club on a one off day then maybe you would see it as a viable cost, but for a local club that hasn’t really got much hope of competing at the moment it is too much, and certainly not viable for most on a regular basis.

 

A few miles down the road and a few tiers down the football system, Chelmsford City have shown that they are willing to attempt to increase the numbers of visitors to the Melbourne recently. Again in my eyes for the level that they play at the entrance fee is too much, but looking at the turnout in their ‘pay what you want game’, maybe justifiable. Here Chelmsford had the novel idea of allowing fans of both sides in their league fixture against Hayes and Yeading to pay any fee that they fancied. Usually the club charge around £14 for adults, which I know would be seen by many as a lot for a local club. However, the turnout that they usually get is still around 670. By allowing the fans to in effect pay a penny to watch the game, they increased the attendance to 718. Now on a pure business model, drawing in an extra 48 fans from the average by decreasing ticket prices to almost nil proves that reductions simply do not make sense. If these extra few only came because it was cheap, would knocking an extra couple of quid off of the standard prices still bring them in? Probably not, thus unfortunately proving that price increases should if anything be looked at if a club like this is wanting to increase revenue rather than the other way around.

What teams need to do is reach out to the fans with offers and deals that will bring them to the club, and hopefully then show them that going to the game on a Saturday is enjoyable and will make them want to do it again. In my view, clubs need to do this at an early age, and reaching out to the kids is where the smart moves will be made. Why are there not more tickets offered as prizes, or even just given out free? With over 85 primary schools in and around Colchester, if every home game 10 tickets were given out to each school as prizes, this would still have no impact on the stadium in terms of capacity. Firstly, in its own right, if these were given to kids and possibly an adult ticket for £5 alongside to get them to the game, siblings or friends will want to go as well. When at the game, food, drink and maybe the odd souvenir will get picked up on the ‘free’ day out, so the club will make money. But thinking long term, as the local child enjoys it and family see that, it becomes something that the kid will want to do again. Get that child there on a regular basis, they become a lifelong fan, and in future instead of paying £2 to get in, they’ll be paying £30.

 

Now in my example of Colchester, the quick win for me would be the garrison. One of the largest in England provides plenty of opportunity to draw in the numbers. If forces personnel could pick up tickets for £10, and the games were advertised in the right way then they’d turn up. I would be asking if the club has looked into fully utilising this asset that a lot of clubs would love to have in their towns. Thousands of young lads with spare cash that are usually looking to occupy time, why wouldn’t they go to the football if it was easy enough to do? It may take a bit of work from the club in terms of organising buses from the garrison, maybe putting on a few deals and maybe even offer a forces section, which would certainly add to the atmosphere. It would definitely be worth it and in terms of revenue, even the beer sales would make it worthwhile bending over backwards to get the forces personnel down.

But this is not just picking on Colchester. I ‘m simply using them as an example of things that could be done, and as the highest ranked football league side in Essex, I think plenty of opportunities exist to boost that dwindling crowd that make their way to see the U’s. Of course, the ability to put things into practice to an extent relies on money. Advertising around the area and laying on free transport services costs money. Even co-ordinating with the local schools requires organisation and employees which costs money, and the further down the football pyramid you go, the shorter the supply of money becomes. However, looking at Conference side Braintree Town who I have seen a lot of this year, their realisation of the importance of blooding young fans is evident from the first click on the website. “Free season tickets for under 16’s”. Now I’ll be honest I haven’t looked into the uptake of this offer, how it is taken advantage of or who qualifies, but certainly the idea is right. Take a hit on the small entrance fee that some of these youngsters would normally pay. Get them to bring their mates down. Why not? It’s free! Then all of a sudden those few bring a few and when they are earning money they pay for the privilege of seeing the side that they have been watching potentially by now for years.

                Outside the well mediated Premier league and European club games, I think that work needs to be done. Unfortunately the further you fall below the top tier in English football, the harder this work becomes and the less resources the clubs have to commit to it. However, reaching out to the fans is in my eyes the most important thing to every club. Success will bring fans, and as a team rises up the divisions, then the numbers will come in. But this will usually be to see the big name clubs and stars that the opposition bring. Those fans will soon disappear when the club falls upon harder times. Clubs need to build upon loyal fans, a more reliable source of income, and can move forward from there. The first building block is become established in the local community. Add to the current crowd with some youngsters. Get the kids in from local youth football sides, schools or anywhere and make them want to come again. Once this has been addressed seek out the ways to bring in extra adults. I know each club will try and do this anyway, and am not so naïve that taking money off of anyone that a club can attract will not already be top of the agenda. But I still think that this can be done better. The numbers increase not only gate receipts and other revenue from match days, but also sponsorship potential. Then when clubs have addressed this, look at what is happening on the pitch, not the other way around

 

             If more cubs took this stance, we would hear a lot less about the ‘evils of a certain broadcaster’ and the Premier league which many say is sucking the life out of football beyond the top division, and to some extent I would agree. The landscape is changing dramatically in football, and now more than ever clubs need to be proactive. The accessibility of watching top clubs and talent across the world is greater than ever, with football on TV almost every day of the week now. When the easiest football to see would have been walking down to the local side, perhaps clubs could rely on this alone. Now the situation is different, and whilst lower league sides will never compete with the talent on show by the top clubs, they can still offer entertainment and that is what football is about. Furthermore it is about unity, belief, love of the club and an upbringing. This is where the club can play a part, and needs to in the biggest of ways to make sure that the numbers continue, or risk losing those that occupy the seats in the stands of the future to a seat at home in front of a screen.

Braintree Town VS Aldershot Town Match report 22-03-2014

Iron returned to winning ways after a double Lincoln City defeat against a struggling Aldershot Town side at the Amlin stadium. An early Dan Holman strike was enough to claim all three points for the Iron, who had the ball in the back of the net again in the second half but was booked for his troubles after the flag was raised for offside. The win means that Braintree remain five points from the playoffs, but sinks their opponents even further who are now two points from safety.

Dan Holman opened the scoring early on to shock the ‘Shots, running on to a loose ball which bobbled just behind the back line in the third minute. Holman made the most of a mix up in defence which allowed the vacant ball, keeping his cool to carefully poke past Morris with his right to give the Iron the perfect start.

Looking to respond early, Brett Williams created a great chance for the visitors, breaking down the left hand side and standing the ball up in the box for Craig Stanley. The lofty defender got himself into a good position in the box without pressure from any of the Iron defenders, but failed to make the chance count producing more of a defensive header to give the Iron a let off.

James Mulley came within a whisper of doubling the advantage when Chez Isaac switched the ball from the inside right to Mulley cutting in on the left flank. The perfectly weighted pass was taken in Mulley’s stride, whose next touch was a shot at goal which bobbled just wide of the right post. Holman was next to find himself with an opening, being played in from the right by Sean Marks. Holman twisted and turned inside the penalty area after receiving with his back at goal, eventually firing wide ten minutes from the end of the first half.

Neither team could further the scoring before half time, both having chances but largely cancelling one another out in the first 45 minutes.

Adam Mekki found the book for the book for the visitors when he brought down James Mulley who was carrying the ball across the visitor’s box looking for an opening to score. Dan Sparkes lined up with Holman for the shot, but it was Sparkes who struck from just outside the box with his left. Sparkes had beat the wall and the goalkeeper, but could not beat the woodwork, rattling the bar with the rebound cleared away by the ‘Shots defence.

Following a double substitution for the visitors, Josh Scott created havoc in the box for Braintree, spinning to search for a teammate or opening. However, Dean Wells was there to clear for the Iron to the frustration of the travelling fans who was urging their team to strike. Scott and Molesey played the ball around again deep into the Iron left hand side, eventually crossing to Brett Williams who unmarked in the area failed to punish.

The visitors piled on more pressure from a corner, with Tonkin coming across to provide the delivery from the right. Bradley Bubb’s driven shot was cleared off of the line by the Iron, and a loose ball trickled out to fellow sub Mark Molesey. Molesey fired hard from outside the box, but was charged down by Den Wells who blocked to relieve the danger.

Braintree had the ball in the back of the net again with 20minutes to play, when he followed onto a through ball played to Sean Marks in an offside position. Marks left the ball, but Holman who was onside continued his run and rolled the ball into the net with the opposition stationary. The referee blew for offside and awarded Holman a booking for his troubles, although the offside Marks had not interfered with play.

Ten minutes from time, Braldey Bubb came close to an equaliser with an acrobatic effort from ten yards out. Bubb connected with the delivery l in perfectly to land an overhead kick, which Hamann caught with confidence to retain the home lead.

Brett Williams’s shot was deflected out for a corner, which kept the pressure on the Iron, but the clearance from the corner allowed Holman to break down the left hand side. Holman picked the ball up just inside the Aldershot half, and took it past the first defender into free space. Mulley was breaking his neck to get into the area, but Holman favoured a shot of his own. Looking for a curling effort into the far top corner, Holman fired high and wide off of target.

Four minutes of added time was not enough for the visitors to equalise, and whistle was blown for full time with just the one goal.

After the game Alan Devonshire reflected on the win which stopped the rot that Lincoln City had begun. “Theres not many times when we’ve gone on a run of a few defeats, so to get back to winning ways is great. To get a clean sheet as well, I think he had one shot to save Nick, and that was the overhead kick. Credit to them, we’ve had a bit of a patched up side as well. I’m delighted for them. They’ve dug in well again and got a good result for us.”

Alan bluntly refused to see a chance of obtaining the final playoff spot once again, despite the Iron sitting just five points adrift, highlighting the run in of games that Braintree have been handed. Devonshire suggested that the way that these fixtures had been organised by the league has left them with an unfair mountain to climb.

“I look at the Grimsby Vs Dartford game and that’s been pushed back until the 10^th April because the two clubs agreed. Halifax didn’t agree to do the same with us because they didn’t have a game. We’ve got 55 points now, we’re safe and we can go and enjoy the rest of the season, but I think if you were in my position you would think exactly the same.”

Braintree Town: Hamann, Peters, Sparkes, Wells, Paine, Isaac, Davis, Daley (Laurent), Mulley, Marks, Holman (Jakubiak)

Unused Subs: McDonald, Maybanks, Holdsworth

Aldershot Town: Morris, Oastler, Tonkin, Stanley, Mekki (Molesey), Rowlands, Williams, Barker, Scott, Gibbs, Butler (Bubb)

Unused Subs: Taiwo, Webster, Martin

Referee: Justin Amey

Assistants: Joshua Smith and Tim Donellan

Fourth Official: Robin Cox

Attendance: 1090