GUISELEY 0 BRAINTREE TOWN 0

Vanarama National League

IT thankfully lacked the controversy of the same fixture last year, but the end result was the same as Braintree Town shared a Vanarama National League point with Guiseley on their trip to Yorkshire.

The encounter between the two 12 months ago was marred by a goal for Guiseley that riled Braintree when it came after they had put the ball out for treatment to an injured player.

There was no such controversy this year, though, and in fact there were no goals at all as the game ended in a goalless stalemate between the pair.

Iron manager Jamie Day made three changes from the side that had lost to Torquay earlier in the week, with two of his mid-week signings coming straight in.

Goalkeeper Sam Beasant came in the day after joining the Iron from Cambridge United as Jamie Butler dropped to the bench.

Sam Corne was another who moved to the bench, to be replaced by Brandon Goodship, who had joined Braintree on loan from Premier League side AFC Bournemouth in the week.

And the final change came as Jake Goodman came in for the injured Ian Gayle.

With the changes in place, it was an improved performance from Braintree from the one they had in the Bank Holiday fixture, but it was Guiseley who had the edge in the opening stages of the game.

While there were no early goals, it was the hosts who probably had the better of the chances.

Braintree struggled to show composure on the ball and with the hosts enjoying more of the possession, they were pressed back.

Fortunately for the Iron, though, they were facing a Guiseley side who hadn’t won in seven league outings and lacked the quality up front to make the possession they did have count.

It meant Beasant wasn’t really tested in the early part of his Braintree debut although the base of his post was hit from one shot as it stayed goalless at half-time.

It was a game that lacked too much quality from either side but Guiseley did seem the more likely to break the deadlock as Braintree found it tough to put too much pressure on the home goal.

The closest they came in the second half was when Chez Isaac hit a loose ball from just outside the box, but it skewed wide of the target.

And even though they pressed more in the latter stages, there was no breakthrough at either end in the 90 minutes.

Braintree Town: Sam Beasant, Barney Williams, Craig Braham-Barrett, Harry Lee, Jerome Okimo, Jon Ashton, Jake Goodman, Chez Isaac, Lee Barnard, Simeon Akinola, Brandon Goodship.

Subs not used: Jamie Butler, Joe Maybanks, Sam Corne, Rhodell Gordon, Sam Matthews.

Referee: Martin Coy.