Get the lowdown on our next opponents: Braintree Town.

The Opposition

After two years and over 100 games in charge at Cressing Road, Braintree Town opted to part ways with manager Angelo Harrop in November with the club sat in 20th place, a move that was met with an indifferent reaction after the now-Chelmsford City boss had guided the Iron to promotion the previous season.

The Essex-based side opted to replace Harrop with an internal appointment, putting assistant Steve Pitt in full charge of the team, who went on to lead the Iron to safety with a 17th place finish, ending the campaign four points clear of the drop and securing notable wins over promotion hopefuls Gateshead and York City and eventual league winners Barnet in their pursuit of survival.

The form of the Lisbie brothers proved to be a key part of their successful campaign, with nobody in the team scoring more than Kyrell’s 13, while his identical twin Kyreece joined on loan from Colchester United for the second half of the season and scored twice in seven appearances, with his good performances earning a recall to the Colchester Community Stadium in April.

Experienced forward John Akinde led the line for the Iron last season having signed from League Two side Colchester, with his ten goals proving to be invaluable to Braintree’s survival alongside Jermaine Francis (8) and Chay Cooper (4), while a strong defensive unit allowed them to get over the line consistently, with goalkeepers Lucas Covolan and Henry Gray keeping a combined 14 clean sheets between them, ranking in the top five in the entire division.

This was aided by the strong performances of George Langston, Louie Annesley and Ryan Clampin, along with Matt Robinson, James Vennings and Marley Marshall-Miranda offering significant cover in midfield, and proved enough to secure a second successive season in the National League.

Prep for the current campaign saw Braintree tasked with replacing a gaping hole in their frontline, with Kyrell joining his brother in the Football League with a move to League One side Peterborough United, along with Louis Annesley (Dorking Wanderers) and Jamal Fyfield (St Albans City) being in the departure lounge.

The Iron have strengthened well though, with a host of quality and experience arriving at Cressing Road in the summer. Former Ipswich Town defender and New Zealand international Tommy Smith brought in a wealth of know-how from an 11-year spell in the Championship, and is a vastly experienced head at the back alongside Kyle Smith (Millwall), Konstantin Ivanov (Brentford), Frankie Terry (Colchester United), Regan Clayton (West Ham United) and Manny Omrore (Free Agent).

Elliot Thorpe (Solihull Moors) and Gorab Babic (Samurai Rovers) have added additional quality in midfield, and as for a Lisbie replacement, Braintree were hard at work to bring in suitable reinforcements in attack, coming in the form of Lewis Walker (Woking), Sahid Kamara (Birmingham City), Freddie Hockey (Chelmsford City) and most recently Terrell Works (Fulham), who has already scored four goals in as many games for the Iron.

Despite these efforts though, Pitt has struggled to keep his side in a comfortable position, currently sitting inside the bottom four by a point after picking up three wins, and they will be looking to return to winning ways for the first time in four outings.

The Manager

Steve Pitt

Experienced manager Steve Pitt is the man in charge at Cressing Road, having replaced Angelo Harrop in the Braintree dugout after the latter was controversially dismissed in December.

Pitt had previously taken on management roles at FC Clacton and Leiston either side of a brief stint as assistant to Steve Castle at Bishop’s Stortford. Following his departure from Leiston, Pitt nearly spent the next decade as a Sporting Director, beginning at Heybridge Swifts before spending four years at Chelmsford City, which preceded a stint at Billericay Town.

Pitt later returned to the dugout as assistant to Harrop at Braintree in 2022, and remained in the role for almost two years before departing at the end of 2023. However, he returned to management – along with a return to Cressing Road – when he was named as Harrop’s successor in the hotseat in Essex, and guided the Iron away from the drop zone last season with a respectable 17th place finish, before embarking on his first full campaign in charge this term.

One to Watch

Terrell Works

Terrell Works will be a familiar face to Sutton supporters, having scored against the U’s for parent club Fulham back in August.

A product of the White’s Academy, Works has been at Motspur Park since Under-9s level, and has established himself as a talented, adaptable attacking player who can play in a number of different positions across the frontline, and is at his best when taking people on, creating chances and finishing with both feet.

Since making the step up to Under-21s football, Works has claimed 20 goal contributions in two seasons, including two assists in the Premier League Cup Final win over Tottenham Hotspur in 2024

He subsequently signed a new contract at Fulham in the summer and began the season with one goal and three assists across the Under-21s’ first five games, before embarking on his first loan spell of his career with a move to Braintree last month, joining a club he scored against in pre-season on an initial three-month loan deal.

Works has gone on to enjoy a blistering start to life in Essex, notching a brace on his debut in a 3-2 defeat against York City, before scoring against Eastleigh and Gateshead either side of a 2-0 defeat to Boston United to make it four goals in as many games, and he has started in each of his five appearances for the Iron so far, playing more than 80 minutes in three of them alongside the full 90 in the remaining two.

Recent Form

Aldershot Town 1-1 Braintree Town

Braintree Town 1-2 Gateshead

Boston United 2-0 Braintree Town

Eastleigh 1-3 Braintree Town

Braintree Town 1-0 Nottingham Forest

Braintree Town 2-3 York City

Last Time Out

Braintree journeyed around the M25 to visit Aldershot Town on Tuesday evening and returned home with a deserved point, despite finish the game with just ten men.

James Vennings was dismissed for two cautions just after a wicked deflection gave the home side a rather fortunate lead just after the hour-mark, as Josh Barrett broke the deadlock with a deflected strike from Kwame Thomas’ cross, creeping inside the right upright.

However, Chay Cooper responded with ten to go, pouncing on a poor home pass before racing to the edge of the penalty area to steer the ball past Marcus Dewhurst and seal a point.

Photo Credit: Braintree Town Football Club