THREE goals were the difference as Braintree Town were well beaten away from home at AFC Telford.

Telford took the lead after 15 minutes. The Iron had made a sluggish start and were duly punished when James Spray got on the end of a Steve Leslie’s cross to put the Shropshire side in front.

Kieron St Aimie then doubled the home side’s advantage four minutes later. Leslie the provider once again.

The second half began promisingly for Braintree but a debatable spot kick late on put an end to any hopes of a fightback.

A corner from the right hit the arm of Ryan Peters ,who looked to have been pushed. Nathan Rooney scored from the spot to seal the win. After the game Braintree manager Alan Devonshire was disappointed: “Apart from Michael Gash coming in for Sean (Marks), it was the same side as Tuesday, but we struggled to get going – especially first half.

“In many ways it was one of our poorest performances since I’ve been at the club and I’ll be talking with the players one-on-one over the next few days to sort things out.”