Braintree Town’s valiant effort to place themselves in the second round of the FA Cup for the first time in their history came up just short as they lost 3-0 to Tranmere Rovers.


There was to be no fairytale ending for the Iron’s Cup dreams as the League One leaders’ class showed in the end.


A first-half strike by Joe Thompson and one after the break by Cole Stockton were enough to break the hearts of the majority of the 1,503 crowd.


However, Braintree’s players did themselves, their club and their fans proud and Max Power’s 90th minute goal put a more flattering look to the scoreline for the visitors than the hosts deserved.