BRAINTREE TOWN 0

WREXHAM 1

Vanarama National League

Braintree Town once again found themselves on the wrong side of a fine margin as they were unable to overturn Vanarama National League placings against high-flying Wrexham.

The Iron came into the game at Cressing Road sat bottom of the table and that was where they stayed after 90 minutes, while the Dragons’ 1-0 win lifted them up to second.

It was another example of Braintree looking capable of getting at least a point and possibly three from a game, but they ended up empty-handed as the search for a first win of the campaign went on.

Team news for Braintree was that there were two changes from the side that started the 1-0 defeat at Dagenham and Redbridge in midweek.

They saw Billy Crook and Pat Webber drop to the bench, while striker Dan Thompson came back into the side and there was also a return for central defender Joe Ellul from a knee injury.

There was also a place for new striker Elliott Charles on the bench after he had signed for Braintree in the week.

It was an eager start from the Iron and Wrexham had to defend in the early minutes but Rob Lainton’s goal wasn’t unduly troubled other than a shot from Mohamed Bettamer that the Wrexham keeper easily held.

At the other end, Wrexham took a while to begin posing a forward threat and Jordan Maguire-Drew’s looping header over the crossbar was the closest they came to scoring in the opening 20 minutes.

The chief concern for the visitors, though, was for Lainton, who needed lengthy treatment to strap an ankle injury after he was caught in a challenge by Thompson.

The keeper was OK to continue and he did well to get low on 25 minutes when some powerful forward play from Justin Amaluzor saw him get clear and get a shot away under pressure.

Lainton did well to get down to it despite his ankle that was clearly still troubling him, but he was still the busier of the two keepers.

The Dragons were unable to really test home keeper Ben Killip, with efforts, including ones from from Shaun Pearson, Luke Young and Mike Fondop, clearing the crossbar.

The only save Killip had to really make was from a late free-kick by James Jennings that was struck with placement in mind rather than power.

It meant the score was locked at 0-0 at the break, but Braintree went close to breaking the deadlock on 52 minutes when Bettamer drilled a low shot in only to see it turned just wide by Lainton.

Having withheld Braintree’s early surge, Wrexham were soon pressing themselves, although a cutting edge in the final third of the pitch remained absent from the visitors.

That was until the 66th minute when, after Rekeil Pyke saw a shot turned away by a last-ditch interception from Ellul, Dragons skipper Shaun Pearson powered through a scrum of bodies at the resulting corner to force a header in to break the deadlock.

It meant the visitors’ tails were up and Braintree knew they had it all to do to get something from a game they had competed well in.

They made a change in the aftermath of the goal as Charles came on for his club debut, but the Wrexham defence looked solid as they looked to hold on to their points.

While the visitors didn’t really look likely to add to their lead, it was an advantage they never looked like relinquishing as they continued their strong start to the campaign and extended the Iron’s early-season torment.

Braintree Town: Ben Killip, Kodi Lyons-Foster, Joe Ellul (Reece Grant 82), Dave Nieskens, Cameron James, Ricky Gabriel, Luke Allen (Billy Crook 63), Dan Thompson (Elliott Charles 67), Mohamed Bettamer, Mohammed Sagaf, Justin Amaluzor.

Substitutes not used: Michael Clark, Pat Webber.

Referee: Adrian Quelch.