Same as Tuesdays game, they chased & harried us we couldn't get going.

Great goal, brilliant long ball onto Dis's head & he put it away.

Not a lot else to say, we defended well, Magnay is a class above this league. Nobody had a bad game athough Pitman struggled in the 2nd. half.

Oh... & another poor ref made the game worse.

First half was absolutely awful.
Slight improvement in the second half.
But, what the hell, three points is what matters now.
The referee was the worst of the season.

UTM

Another 3 points utm

We won and its all that matters.  Credit dis, his goals are worth so many points to us

Excellent work from Magnay and Disley for the goal aside it was a dire game. We were toothless in attack and I don't remember their keeper needing to make a save. John Lewis and Pittman were both poor and isolated up front. We either hoofed it up to no effect or tried to play on the ground where we were too slow in movement and possession to create anything.

We rode our luck especially when Hurst brought Parslow on for John Lewis and changed formation to 5-4-1. Fortunately for Mr Negative they got a player sent off almost immediately after the substitution, but we still sat back, invited pressure and were very lucky when they flashed a late free header wide. It was clear to see we needed more of a presence up front to hold up the ball and keep the pressure on 10 man Braintree. Ollie Palmer could have done this, but yet again Hurst took the defensive option and we just about got away with it.

Thankfully we've only got 1 home game next month so we may all be spared from further underwhelming games at Blundell Park for a bit. Thank God for Carl Magnay.

Awful game not helped by terrible gamesmanship and spoiling tactics by Braintree and the worst referee ive ever seen. Disley man of the match for me closing followed by Magnay and Pearson, cant think of anyone else who had a decent game, although I thought Scott Brown made a difference when he came on, he got amongst them and roughed them up a bit. We are winning but Christ its boring, still think we will make the play-offs, but don't really fancy our chances in them to be honest.

First half was a total non-event apart from the comedy goal mouth scramble when they had about 3 chances to score and failed with all of them. Apart from that, not one shot, cross or pass of any note from anyone.

Second half started great with our two best players creating and scoring the only goal of the game. We were then mostly outplayed for the next 40 mins without them looking like they could get an equaliser. Don't think either keeper had a shot to save in 95 mins and it was even worse then Tues night if that's possible. LJL was rubbish again and Pittman looked done in by the hour mark, so what does Hurst do? Brings on flipping Parslow at home against a very limited Braintree. Well done Paul, that's what i pay my entrance fee for.

Defence look solid. Midfield limited and the strikers just don't look dangerous at any time. They won everything at the back from the many many balls we punted on to their heads and their No 20 looked very good for them.

All in all, another dire home game, devoid of any skill or guile, apart from one decent cross and a great finish from Dis, who was my MOM. We got behind them once and scored.

3 points is about the only good thing to come out of that dismal game.

No Ollie yet then??

Very economical today. Great goal. Ref was an absolute idiot. Magnay MOM again.

My favourite bit was when John-Lewis went off the bloke behind who had been asking Hurst to take him off all game then said it was an awful decision when he heard Parslow was replacing him.

yeh think the team did fairly well in the second half, thought both the front two were a bit static at times, would've thought Palmer would be have suited the game better to come on than jolley, when they didn't give us much space to run around in and our only goal came from one of our few headers

What a excrement game of football.
Boring boring boring.
Just been yaping to two guys who have been for the first time in 5 years needless to say it will be another 5 years before they think of coming again.

Apart from the goal mouth scramble they had after five minutes, they never really caused any problems but were difficult to break down. Workman like performance from Town, but good enough.

Shame the top two won. Just feels like we're running out of games for them to stumble badly enough for us to win the league.

That's 7 wins out of 7 matches for me this season. Tempted to stay and get a season ticket but have to be back in Belfast tomorrow.

Poor game, defence played well considering that they were overworked due to poor midfield and forward play, still three points is three points and at this stage thats all that matters

A pretty poor game made more interesting by the group sitting to the right of us in the Pontoon who waved "Je Suis Lenny" posters before and during the game.

Missed the goal whilst chivalrously getting my Mrs. a bag of crisps from the  shop so didn't even get the warm fuzzy feeling for Disley's latest very important strike.

A word on Jolley-when he hugs the touchline and Robertson has the ball and is coming down the line he doesn't appear to have a clue what to do.

We appear (still) to lack anyone willing to gamble on a ball coming across the box as shown by no-one being anywhere near the ball Lenny screwed across after we'd scored.

Braintree defended well with perhaps more gamesmanship than usual.

We lacked basic attacking guile...

Quoted from mariner tommy

First half was absolutely awful.
Slight improvement in the second half.
But, what the hell, three points is what matters now.
The referee was the worst of the season.

UTM

I said exactly the same thing when I got home! Also, 7 yellow cards and a red, yet was it a dirty game? An 'everyone look at me, I'm in charge' performance from a hopeless ref!!!

Oh well, 3 points is all that counts!! 😃

I can understand Hurst leaving Palmer on the bench and giving him a bit more recovery time but to bring on Parslow at home against Braintree when you are 1-0 up is typical for me of why the fans just never get behind Hurst. The front 2 were shocking and the ball just kept coming back time and again. Palmer would have put them under more pressure with his non stop style but maybe it wasn't worth the risk of further injury and we didn't need a goal, just someone to put his foot on the ball and calm it down. We lost most first balls and were usually second to the second balls. Fortunately, Braintree were very limited and couldn't take advantage. Think the lad was unlucky to be sent off, he just wanted it more.

Ref was as bad as i have seen and i've seen some dross down here.

Always going to be a difficult game. Both defences well on top. One moment if quality and we score a fabulous goal. 3 points thank you. Not great viewing but it is all about points now. Agree number 20 for Braintree looks to be an excellent defender.

Quoted from barralad

A word on Jolley-when he hugs the touchline and Robertson has the ball and is coming down the line he doesn't appear to have a clue what to do.

So he has no idea what to do when he's either up front or on the wing? Pretty useless all round then!!  :-/

Braintree have won five lost 12 away from home, no draws and conceeded nearly the same amount they have scored so it was always going to be a tight game. Thankfully dis popped up with another header. Another 3 points that's the main thing for me.

Slightly lucky to win Iam  convinced the ball was over the line for them in first half as were a few fans close to were I sit in the lower Findus have to agree about the ref why he booked Dis God only knows again a win is a win on we go

Quoted from gtfc82

So he has no idea what to do when he's either up front or on the wing? Pretty useless all round then!!  :-/

I realise others have said he is clueless up front but that isn't my opinion...

Weird one to sum up. We can't complain too much because we won, and that's now three on the bounce.

Think it's unfair to be too critical of Hurst tonight as he's delivering. It might not be with the style and arrogance that we want, but we can't have everything.

However I think we all feel and sense the same thing. We're not playing well, we're not attacking well and that's a bit of a worry because the way we played on Tuesday night and this afternoon isn't sustainable.

It's great that we've been winning, but we really need to improve our tactics in the final third. LJL's goals have run dry and we're relying on the likes of Disley, Arnold and Mackreth to chip in - as they should anyway, not just when your striker(s) go off the boil.

Anyway, well done to the players for grinding out three points despite stubborn opposition and a really dodgy ref. Job done. Let's prepare for Woking now.

How dare you call a young 24 year old prem linesman as the worst ref ever, he'll still be around in 30 years time doing his finest. He's reffed us before and you moaning gits never slagged him off then.

Hey, we won


Though must admit I fell asleep listening to Waldorf and statler on the wireless

Quoted from the driver

Slightly lucky to win Iam  convinced the ball was over the line for them in first half as were a few fans close to were I sit in the lower Findus have to agree about the ref why he booked Dis God only knows again a win is a win on we go

I was about ten feet away and the ball was on the line, not over it

Quoted from poomehellt

How dare you call a young 24 year old prem linesman as the worst ref ever, he'll still be around in 30 years time doing his finest. He's reffed us before and you moaning gits never slagged him off then.

What he did before has no bearing on what he did today, which was mainly rubbish. Wasn't a dirty game really, yet the cards just kept coming and he made some glaring errors.

Quoted from WOZOFGRIMSBY

Hey, we won


Though must admit I fell asleep listening to Waldorf and statler on the wireless

"No No I won't have that there's a place in Eastbourne" anybody remember that classic from Waldorf salad?

Dreadful game, that. Pretty much all of our attacking players were hopeless today so it's not too surprising that we didn't manage to achieve anything up front. I also thought that Braintree had some pretty good defenders. Their No. 20 was excellent at the back, the No. 2 looked an excellent strong full-back and the big No. 6 had quite a bit of nouse, winning most of his headers with the assistance of clever nudges and pushes. A bit worrying that the forward to cause most trouble to defences today was their Number 9 who was better than any of our lot though he never looked like scoring either.

Disley was excellent today and scored another fantastic goal for us. The defence generally did well though there were a number of Toto moments, not least the ridiculous Keystone Kops scramble when they should have scored early on.

All in all, can't complain too much about a third win on the bounce, however it came.

Quoted from gtfc82

So he has no idea what to do when he's either up front or on the wing? Pretty useless all round then!!  :-/

Must admit I prefer Arnold

Quoted from ginnywings

I can understand Hurst leaving Palmer on the bench and giving him a bit more recovery time but to bring on Parslow at home against Braintree when you are 1-0 up is typical for me of why the fans just never get behind Hurst. The front 2 were shocking and the ball just kept coming back time and again. Palmer would have put them under more pressure with his non stop style but maybe it wasn't worth the risk of further injury and we didn't need a goal, just someone to put his foot on the ball and calm it down. We lost most first balls and were usually second to the second balls. Fortunately, Braintree were very limited and couldn't take advantage. Think the lad was unlucky to be sent off, he just wanted it more.

Ref was as bad as i have seen and i've seen some dross down here.

Paul addressed that issue perfectly for me in his post match presser when he said the 3 points were the most important thing and sometimes you have to protect what you have. Premier league team do it week in week out.

What would your reaction be if he brought on Palmer for Lenny and we ended up drawing 1-1? Would you commend him for his substitution? I think not!

Totally the right decision for me - but each to their own.

UTM!

Quoted from Maringer

Dreadful game, that. Pretty much all of our attacking players were hopeless today so it's not too surprising that we didn't manage to achieve anything up front. I also thought that Braintree had some pretty good defenders. Their No. 20 was excellent at the back, the No. 2 looked an excellent strong full-back and the big No. 6 had quite a bit of nouse, winning most of his headers with the assistance of clever nudges and pushes. A bit worrying that the forward to cause most trouble to defences today was their Number 9 who was better than any of our lot though he never looked like scoring either.

Disley was excellent today and scored another fantastic goal for us. The defence generally did well though there were a number of Toto moments, not least the ridiculous Keystone Kops scramble when they should have scored early on.

All in all, can't complain too much about a third win on the bounce, however it came.

I normally agree with your posts but we have just been discussing their number 20 who we thought was a total liability throughout. He must have stood on the ball at least 4 or 5 occasions and his distribution was, at best, Sunday League standard!

Someone said they thought their lad was unlucky to get a 2nd yellow. I thought he could have got a straight red! Went over the top of the ball with all studs showing.

The game was shockingly bad, JPP had far and away the worst game I have ever seen him produce ( how he stayed on the pitch when we made 3 subs is beyond me) BUT we won and have NINE points in a week. Cannot of complain about that points haul.

Two away games now, win both and we will increase the pressure on the two above

Dreadful game with some shockingly bad performances from both wide men especially Mackreth again and LJL and Pittman although he didn't look fit, Clay was basically useless as well, just thankful for the two bits of class in the whole game with Magnay's cross and Disley's goal.

Not sure how some think we did well defensively when they should have scored in the first couple of minutes with some comic defending and they should have done better late on when we looked like cacking ourselves everytime the ball came into our box, especially when their number 9 had a free header and should have done better with it.

Shocking game of "football"....neither team looked anything like competent, first half i dont think either side managed to string 4 passes together, LJL again looked frustrated with himself, going down too easily and looking at the ref rather than his trademark tireless effort..however in his defence there was nothing like any service to him or Pitman.
Defence looked very shaky at the start but settled down and thank the ginger gods for Dis, great running and a superb ball in from Magnay...aside from that and the goal mouth scramble at the start a total non event.

Shoot me down ...but honestly...even if we went up i would be happy for Hurst to either get "snapped" up by another club or not have his contract renewed...no get up and go, no positive energy or buzz eminating from his mouth, from his team selection or game management.  

We won!!!!! :)

Quoted from oldun

Always going to be a difficult game. Both defences well on top. One moment if quality and we score a fabulous goal. 3 points thank you. Not great viewing but it is all about points now. Agree number 20 for Braintree looks to be an excellent defender.

3 Cheers for Ramirez

I thought their skipper led by example, always talking and their lads were listening. Distribution not the best but he worked his bottom off, closed down and never stopped running.

Quoted from BIGChris

I normally agree with your posts but we have just been discussing their number 20 who we thought was a total liability throughout. He must have stood on the ball at least 4 or 5 occasions and his distribution was, at best, Sunday League standard!

Really? I thought he did very well and didn't give LJL a look in today - though it wasn't too difficult with the way our forwards played! I agree that Pittman was pretty hopeless and Jolley didn't really do any better than the other two when he came on, either. Can't complain about a victory after such a poor performance!

One thing I took from today is how much we miss a defender with a good, long throw. Good as an attacking option (when necessary) but more importantly, we struggled to get it clear quite a few times when we had throw-ins deep in our half. Helps a lot when you've got somebody who can hurl the ball 30 yards up the line!

Braintree seemes to have as many chances as us and they were terrible. The ref was terrible but at least he was consistently crap for both sides. Disley's booking was a joke as was their chap who got the second yellow.

Cold, sterile and boring but at least our playoff spot is getting nearer to being secured.

Ps well done to the Lads in the corner of the pontoon but as discussed before most of your noise drifted out to sea...

I thought Braintree came to BP today for a draw and parked the bus. They were well organised and stuck to their job for 89 minutes of the game, fortunately for us we have some quality in our side which got us a goal. We only needed that one moment of magic which we wouldn't have got last season and would have probably lost or drawn that game.
Well done Town, a hard fought win against difficult opposition. UTM

Quoted from Mighty_Mariner

Paul addressed that issue perfectly for me in his post match presser when he said the 3 points were the most important thing and sometimes you have to protect what you have. Premier league team do it week in week out.

What would your reaction be if he brought on Palmer for Lenny and we ended up drawing 1-1? Would you commend him for his substitution? I think not!

Totally the right decision for me - but each to their own.

UTM!

But that is hypothetical and i wasn't really advocating for Palmer to be brought on. I acknowledged that it was probably right to give him a bit more time and as we were not searching for a goal, there was no point risking him. A more attacking approach and substitution may have killed them off but as i say, we will never know

What did rile me was why we had to bring on Parslow in the first place. Despite being one of the top sides at home against a mediocre Braintree, we go one up, then spend the rest of the half being mainly pinned back even when they had 10 men, necessitating us bringing on a defensive midfielder, when we should be pushing them back. Sometimes i wonder why these teams come and park the bus, because when forced to come out of their shell, we retreat and get very nervy.

Highlights from the game Shaun's surging run and the Magnay/Disley combination for the goal, other than that it was pretty poor. 3 points though so I am not complaining....well only about that clown with the whistle!!

Regarding the referee (John Brooks). I was surprised to see he's more commonly a linesman and has officiated in the Premier League - it was him who told Lescott to thank the fans who had paid £62 and got suspended. He's just qualified to be a lino in the Champions League - but made the step-up to being a ref in the Conference this season. Seems odd how he can be a lino at the top of the club game but be a ref down here, and a poor one at that.

Quoted from Jaws

Regarding the referee (John Brooks). I was surprised to see he's more commonly a linesman and has officiated in the Premier League - it was him who told Lescott to thank the fans who had paid £62 and got suspended. He's just qualified to be a lino in the Champions League - but made the step-up to being a ref in the Conference this season. Seems odd how he can be a lino at the top of the club game but be a ref down here, and a poor one at that.

I thought the ref as poor but inconsistently poor, not sure if he has a disability of some sort but it appeared to me that he could only point one way and most of the free kicks he gave were for the team attacking the pontoon, first half they got the majority second half we did.

First half was crying out for one of our CMs to grab the game by the scruff of its neck. Absolutely crying out for one, for the positives of Disley and Clay neither are players that will almost pull the whole team forward. For that reason, for me Brown has to come back into the team for the Woking game.
It was quite odd, in the sense that Braintree never really had a go at us especially considering we scored relatively early in the second half you'd expect that the game would open up but Braintree never really had a go at us. Totally not the case, which if i was a Braintree fan i'd be absolutely fuming about because I thought we looked really up for the taking yesterday.
One bit of class from Magnay and Disley won us the game today, doesn't matter if you win 1-0 or 10-0. 3 Points on the board and potentially 3 points closer to getting out of this league.
UTM

Quoted from bradzmilne

It was quite odd, in the sense that Braintree never really had a go at us especially considering we scored relatively early in the second half you'd expect that the game would open up but Braintree never really had a go at us. Totally not the case, which if i was a Braintree fan i'd be absolutely fuming about

I had to rely on commentary but this was very much the sense I got, similarly with the Telford game. It sounded like a pretty poor Town display but I think the opponents lack of interest in having a go themselves must surely play a part in that. Any team can make it tough if their only aim is to not concede, even when 1-0 down.

Quoted from bradzmilne

First half was crying out for one of our CMs to grab the game by the scruff of its neck. Absolutely crying out for one, for the positives of Disley and Clay neither are players that will almost pull the whole team forward. For that reason, for me Brown has to come back into the team for the Woking game.

UTM

The issue was they had 3 central midfielders up against Disley & Clay. We often struggle when a team plays 4-5-1 against our 4-4-2. Movement and width especially from our full backs can nullify it but our full backs are not really attacking ones who get up and stretch the game.

Some say we shouldn't worry about what the opposition do and just play our own game, I agree we shouldn't worry & we need to adapt but in the modern game attacking full backs are key. We have two of the strongest defenders but we do lack when teams set up 4-5-1.

For most of the game we had 4 defenders against their one striker, therefore were outnumbered in midfield

We were truly dismal yesterday and just sneaked the win but played some pretty good stuff at times against Telford (mostly in the first half) without tearing up any trees and should have won much more comfortably. If the radio commentary indicated we were poor throughout the game on Tuesday, then you've been given the wrong impression.

Braintree were a much, much better team than Telford. Which wouldn't be hard, admittedly.  :)

For what it's worth, considering we had 3 of the forward line ( Pitman , Arnold and Makreth ) very much underperforming , then it was a decent result. Pitman should have been replaced after 60 mins but PH decided to stick with him which is typical of his cautious approach. I don't disagree with his decision to bring on Parslow to shore up the mid-field in the closing stages but if you are going to lay a lone striker to hold up the ball then I would rather it was LJL than Pitman. Pitman was static for most of the game and although LJL didn't play at his best he was well controlled by their centre-backs. At least it's another 3 points and that is the priority at this stage of the season.