BRAINTREE TOWN 1 BARNET 1

Vanarama Conference Premier

Braintree Town put in one of their most gutsy performances in recent seasons against the Vanarama Conference Premier’s leaders.

With a side ravaged by injuries and a number of players operating with knocks that could really do with some rest, Braintree were simply outstanding as their impressive home form continued.

Iron boss Alan Devonshire had said before the game that fans should get along rather than watch Champions League fare on the television and those who heeded his words got their money’s worth.

A crowd of 1,167 were treated to a hugely entertaining game that saw fortunes swing one way then the other but in the end there was nothing to split two committed teams.

Braintree were placed under the cosh in the early stages as the Bees pushed forward and Jon Akinde provided an imposing presence up front.

The Iron’s back line struggled to deal with his physical play in the early stages and it was little surprise when he gave the visitors the lead in the 12th minute.

A long ball into a crowded Braintree box was headed powerfully in by the f man for a deserved lead.

The succession of long balls forward, long throws into the area from Sam Muggleton and corners continued and Akinde was inches away from doubling the Barnet advantage on 20 minutes when another header went just past the post.

Braintree did settle more as the half progressed.

They got to grips more with Barnet’s direct play while they had greater possession going forward and did have the ball in the back of the Bees’ net.

Simeon Akinola flicked in Ryan Peters’ scuffed shot, but the linesman’s flag was raised for offside and they stayed 1-0 behind.

However, that state of affairs only lasted until the 37th minute.

Braintree had been seeing more and more of the ball and it led to a truly wonderful curling cross by Chez Isaac which was planted on to the head of Jordan Cox and he had the simplest of tasks of nodding it in.

Bees keeper Graham Stack did get a hand to the header but had little chance to stop it nestling in the back of the net.

It made it deservedly level at the break and Braintree clearly took the confidence of that into the start of the second half.

While Barnet persisted in launching long throws into the Braintree box and Akinde remained their main threat, Braintree looked increasingly composed in possession.

It allowed them to craft some tantalising openings with Akinola proving particularly tricky for the visiting defence to deal with.

The game developed into a real end-to-end battle with tit-for-tat attacks as both sides went looking for a winning goal.

An amazing save by the feet of Nick Hamann kept out a stinging effort by Curtis Weston and it was then Braintree’s chance to go close with 12 minutes to go.

They broke from a Barnet corner and Akinola found Cox in the middle, but he could only stab the ball wide from a position when he really should have located the target.

It stayed exciting until the final whistle and could have gone either way, but in the end there was nothing to split the two teams.