In a hard-fought encounter at the Rare Breed Meat Co. Stadium, Braintree Town secured a crucial 2-0 victory over Truro City, with both goals arriving late in the second half to seal the win. The match, officiated by Robert Massey-Ellis, was a testament to the competitive nature of the English National League.
The first half saw a cautious approach from both teams, with neither side able to break the deadlock. Braintree Town’s Marley Marshall-Miranda received the game’s first yellow card in the eighth minute for a foul. Truro City were forced into an early substitution in the sixteenth minute when Ryan Law was replaced by Samuel Sanders in defence. The teams went into the interval goalless.
The second half began with a similar pattern, though Braintree Town’s Frankie Terry was cautioned just three minutes after the restart for another foul. Truro City made a change in the sixty-fifth minute, bringing on Tyler Harvey for Luke Jephcott.
The decisive moments of the match arrived in the final fifteen minutes. Braintree Town introduced a triple substitution in the seventy-first minute, with Goran Babic making way for Fletcher Hubbard, Sahid Kamara replaced by John Akinde, and Terrell Works substituted for Jay Emmanuel-Thomas.
It was one of these substitutes who broke the deadlock. In the eighty-fifth minute, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas found the back of the net to give Braintree Town a vital 1-0 lead. As Truro City pushed for an equaliser in the dying moments, they left themselves exposed at the back. In the ninety-fourth minute, John Akinde, another second-half substitute, doubled Braintree Town’s advantage. Assisted by Jacob Pinnington, Akinde’s late strike sealed a 2-0 victory for the home side.
The win sees Braintree Town move up to 21st in the English National League table, with 16 points from 19 games. Truro City remain rooted to the bottom of the league, occupying 24th place with 12 points, and are now on a four-game winless streak, having also failed to score in their last three outings.