Ipswich Town manager Paul Hurst insisted missing members of his squad was no excuse for an under par performance from his team at Braintree Town.

The Iron eased to a 2-0 victory thanks to a brace from Aryan Tajbakhsh and it may easily have been more but for some late goalkeeping heroics from the Blues’ Dean Gerken.

So while Braintree were enthused to have a good pre-season scalp under their belts, Ipswich were left reflecting on what was missing from their performance.

While they were missing several squad members, including Joe Garner, Emyr Huws, Tom Adeyemi and Danny Rowe, Hurst refused to use that as an excuse for their poor display.

He said: “We were lacking some bodies and there were a number of people who I think we’d all agree could contribute to that game, whether in the starting line-up or coming off the bench.

“But that’s not any excuse for how we played.

“We should be able to go to Braintree and put on a better performance and win the game.

“Credit to Braintree as I thought they did really well.

“They certainly deserved the win, but I’m Ipswich Town manager and I’m looking at my team and expecting a lot better from them.”