Braintree close in on the 50-point target (From Braintree and Witham Times)
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Braintree close in on the 50-point target
12:12am Friday 22nd March 2013 in Sport By Simon Spurgeon
Daniel Sparkes got his debut goal for Braintree in their 2-2 draw with Nuneaton.
A second draw in the space of two days at the Amlin Stadium extended Braintree Town’s unbeaten Blue Square Bet Premier run to six games.
The point earned from their 2-2 draw with Nuneaton Town, pulled the Iron to within one of the 50-point target that boss Alan Devonshire feels will guarantee their survival this year.
However, he was disappointed not to take a full three-point haul from a game that saw his team put the visiting defence under prolonged pressure during the second half.
Braintree forced 20 corners to Nuneaton’s three, but the final touch just wouldn’t come for a decisive third goal.
Devonshire said: “I thought we deserved to win.
“They defended well, but I don’t know how many corners we ended up having so I’m disappointed we didn’t win the game.
“I can’t fault the effort of the players, though.
“We had a couple of injuries that disrupted us and it’s another point for us.”
Daniel Sparkes opened the scoring for Braintree in the 16th minute with his first goal for the club, before the visitors levelled with a strike by Wesley York four minutes later.
Sean Marks celebrated signing a year-long extension to his contract this week with a delightful lobbed goal just after the half-hour mark, but Braintree were pegged back once more before half-time.
James Armson drilled a shot into the net from 20 yards to equalise for a second time and Nuneaton got on top either side of the break.
However, the hosts soon reasserted their authority and peppered the Boro goal throughout much of the second half.
The closest they came to getting a third goal was when Marks found himself unmarked on the six yard line, but his effort was brilliantly saved by Lee Burge in the visitors’ goal.
It meant the Iron had to settle for a point, but they will look to get across the 50-point line on Saturday when Alfreton Town are the next visitors to the Amlin Stadium.
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