CAMERON James admitted that Braintree Town’s defeat at Dagenham & Redbridge had been a tough one to take after a late penalty proved the difference between the two Vanarama National League strugglers.

The Daggers were the only side below the Iron in the table at the start of the game and their 1-0 win pushed Braintree to the foot of the pile.

James, who is on loan at Braintree from Colchester United and was making his second start for the club, felt they had done enough over the 90 minutes to take at least a point, so admitted that it was hard to walk away with nothing.

“It was tough to take after working hard like we did,” he said.

“There were parts of the game where we worked well and parts where we may have switched off, but we didn’t deserve to lose that game.

“It was a tough game with both sides playing the same formation as it was like-for-like all over the pitch and we matched each other for most of the game.

“We had parts on top and so did they, but, as I say, I think we deserved to come away with at least a point.

“I didn’t see much of the penalty, but what I could make out, it was just about positioning and their player has drawn the contact and gone down.

“The referee didn’t really have a choice but it’s one of those where he’s waited for the contact and gone down.”

Despite the disappointment, the 20-year-old U’s defender, who joined last week from Colchester, said he has seen enough in his short spell so far to see that Braintree are capable of competing in the National League this year.

He added: “I’ve only been here a short while, but I’ve already seen that we have good enough players to be in this league – easily good enough.

“It’s just getting the right connections all over the pitch, but we’ll be alright come the end of the season.

“It’s early doors and we’re disappointed to be down where we are at the moment, but it’s not anything that we can’t get out of.

“We have loads of games coming up and hopefully we can get some wins on the board soon.”