Braintree Town suffered the first loss of their pre-season campaign as Southend United won 2-0 at the Amlin Stadium.
A brace of second-half goals by Shrimpers triallist Steven Brogan was the difference between the two sides, but Braintree did well before the break and were denied a goal on more than one occasion by Southend keeper Mark Brown.
Boss Alan Devonshire said: “They are a full-time team playing in League Two, but I felt we were slightly the better side in the first half.
“We had two one-on-ones and just couldn’t take them, but apart from an early save that Nathan (McDonald) had to make, I can’t think of too much more that he had to do.”
See the paper this week for more reaction and all the latest signings news from the Iron.
