BROMLEY 1 BRAINTREE TOWN 2

Vanarama National League

Braintree Town secured their first Vanarama National League victory under manager Danny Cowley as they won 2-1 at Bromley.

The win came courtesy of goals by Dan Sparkes in the first half and Jordan Chiedozie, who was making his Iron debut after signing on loan from Cambridge United earlier in the day.

They were dominant for much of the game, but the hosts staged a comeback in the latter stages and a goal from Moses Emmanuel gave the Kent side hope in the 67th minute.

Bromley pressed Braintree and it took a good save from Will Norris to help them weather the storm, but they held on and managed to record a debut three-point haul under Cowley.

The win took Braintree up to 16th in the table.

Braintree had made two loan additions to their squad prior to their trip across the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, with striker Chiedozie joined by central defender Tom Dallison, who had come in from Brighton.

Cowley included both as he made two changes from the side that started the 0-0 draw against Tranmere Rovers on Saturday.

Dallison came in in place of the injured Matt Fry, while Chez Isaac dropped to the bench as Chiedozie came into the Iron’s forward line.

Braintree started well with their new-look attack, with some good passing and possession putting them on top in the early stages.

Bromley were pushed back and found it difficult to deal with the movement of the Braintree front players, with Chiedozie, Simeon Akionla and Dan Sparkes all seeing plenty of the ball in advanced positions.

They were unable to turn that into too many clear-cut scoring opportunities but the weight of their dominance eventually showed and they took the lead in the 23rd minute.

Bromley keeper Alan Julian made a good initial save to keep out a header by Sparkes, but the home defence switched off as the ball went loose.

Kenny Davis and Chiedozie combined to get the ball back into the danger area and Sparkes, who had stayed in there, showed an alert mind to tap it home.

It was the first time that the Iron had held a lead under Cowley, but it was very much deserved on this occasion.

Julian then had to make a good save low down from a Kenny Davis header as Bromley struggled to contain the visitors.

Braintree continued to dominate the play, closing the ball down in midfield and starving the Bromley forwards of any meaningful service.

In the end, it was from a long ball forward that they registered their first chance in the 32nd minute as Bradley Goldberg cut in from the right and unleashed a shot that struck the foot of the post.

However, that was as close as the hosts went in the opening 45 minutes and Braintree justly held on to their advantage at the break.

Bromley appeared not to have learned their lessons from the first half as play restarted and they failed to cut down on Braintree’s dominant possession.

It was just the start that Braintree wanted and they took advantage of it early on this time as Chiedozie marked his Iron debut with a strike in the 48th minute.

Sparkes had an effort that was blocked but the ball eventually fell to the Cambridge loanee, who hit it on the turn and into the net to double the advantage.

Chiedozie, who wasn’t probably 100 per cent match fit after joining on loan, was replaced by Isaac just before the hour mark, however, they stayed on top.

Akinola had a chance to make it 3-0 as he broke clear but his shot went just over the bar.

It looked as though Bromley were down and out as the Iron kept control of the ball and took the sting out of the game, but it was set alight by a moment of brilliance from the hosts in the 67th minute.

Anthony Cook split the Iron defence with a superb ball forward to Emmanuel, whose first touch took him past Sam Habergham and he then lifted the ball over Will Norris as he advanced from his goal.

Cook then almost pulled Bromley level from a free-kick after Isaac had fouled the Bromley midfielder just outside the box but it went over the angle of bar and post.

It was former Chelmsford City player Cook who remained the danger man and he raced into a gap in the Braintree defence with just ten minutes remaining only to see Norris make a vital save.

The home fans thought they had a penalty as the pressure continued, but Cook’s fall was deemed to be a dive by referee Chris Powell and he issued a yellow card to the Bromley man rather than a spot-kick.

It was backs to the wall defending for Braintree, but the visitors kept working hard and they held on for their first win under Cowley.

Braintree: Will Norris, Remy Clerima, Mark Phillips, Kenny Davis, Sam Habergham, Tom Dallison, Alex Woodyard, Matt Paine, Dan Sparkes (Sean Marks 75), Jordan Chiedozie (Chez Isaac 59), Simeon Akinola (Mitch Brundle 95). Subs not used: Taylor Miles, Michael Cheek. Referee: Chris Powell.