(MY) history books will tell you that this was officially a revisit, but in reality, so much water has passed under the bridge since I last went to Braintree Town, that it sort of counts as a new experience.The last time I visited Cressing Road, Town were in the step five Eastern Counties League, they're now in the step 2 Conference South.
And the last time I visited Cressing Road, I was 10-years-old, I'm now 35.So although a 25th anniversary visit doesn't count as a new tick, it was fresh eyes that were laid upon Braintree's ground on Tuesday night when they took on Kidderminster Harriers in an FA Trophy 'Sweet 16' replay.
Iron and Kidderminster went into the fixture following a nil-all draw the previous Saturday and with a quarter final home tie against Halifax Town as the reward for a win.And to start off with it was all going so well for the Iron, as they competed with Harriers in the first half, had the better chances and scored an absolute peach of a goal jus before half time when a freekick was volleyed home by Russ Edwards.
A large crowd (considering it was a Tuesday night and absolutely freezing) then queued en masse for a cup of coffee to try and warm themselves up while no doubt the Harriers boss was hurling teacups around their dressing room.If there was a dressing down then maybe it worked because the Harriers came out for the second half very much up for it and quickly ate into the Braintree lead.
The Iron heads then dropped dramatically. The Harrier full timers were markedly fitter than the Braintree part-timers and another flurry of goals sealed the tie for Kidderminster.And to top it all, the battery on my video camera ran out two minutes before the first goal, so I missed them all. Nevertheless some of the other 'highlights' are below.
