Braintree Town looking for back-to-back wins in the Vanarama Conference with a triumph over AFC Telford
Charlie Strutton scores for Braintree at Alfreton - Credit: Archant
Braintree Town will look to continue from where they left off against Wrexham last weekend in the Vanarama Conference Premier, with a triumph at AFC Telford this afternoon.
Alan Devonshire’s men ended an awful run of league form to record a much-needed win over Wrexham with Charlie Strutton’s 25th-minute strike ultimately the difference in a 1-0 triumph.
The Iron had previously not won in ten league games as week by week, they slipped further down the league table.
But, now with fresh optimism on board, 16th-placed Braintree could climb as high as 13th with a win over bottom side AFC Telford this afternoon.
Decimated by a series of injuries this season, Iron boss Devonshire was left delighted with his side’s triumph over Wrexham, and is hoping that the victory is the catalyst for more for his side.
“At the end of the day, we played well and totally deserved it,” Devonshire said.
“We haven’t had the rub of the green recently, we’ve had loads of injuries and people need to realise that.
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“I’m pleased for them because they work their backsides off. We dominated that game against a good Wrexham side.
“People need to start looking at what we are doing. The reasons why we have had a blip is because this is the worst (injury crisis) I have known in the 16 years that I have had as a manager.
“I’m proud of my boys. The one thing that they will do is put a shift in and work hard, and when people question that, it really riles me.
“We may lack quality at times, but we don’t lack effort. We make sure of that, the players always do and we always do as the staff.”
Indeed, Braintree’s match-winner against Wrexham, Strutton has endured an injury-plagued season, and is still on the way back to full fitness.
Strutton struck home a rebound, albeit slightly fortuitously, in the 25th-minute after his initial free-kick effort was blocked by the wall.
The striker echoed his manager’s thoughts and insists that the Iron are beginning to pull through what has undoubtedly been a tough season so far.
Speaking of the win over Wrexham, the striker declared: “It was a massive three points that we needed badly.
“I was getting a bit tired in the second half, but the manager obviously knew when to take me off.
“We definitely deserved the win, and we were the better team.”
Strutton and his manager will be hoping for the same outcome against a struggling Telford outfit this afternoon.
The Shropshire-based side, nicknamed the Bucks, sit bottom of the Conference Premier with just three league wins to their name all season.
But they are on a good run of form in the FA Cup as they look forward to a trip to Bristol City in the Second Round.
