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What a way to finish the season!

Going to Danbury (who were confirmed league winners by a considerable margin!) was never going to be an easy game; nevermind the fact that we'd knocked them out of the cup and had 2 key players missing! So to come away with a 3 point victory was a testament to how far our boys have come this year. On a blisteringly hot morning, with no shade available throughout, Braintree arrived in a casual mood. No warm-up, no captain selected, couple of players arriving as the whistle blew....you could definately tell it was the last game of the season. The game got underway and within the opening few moments the pattern for the 60 minutes was set: Danbury played some lovely passing football, we tackled it off them, lumped it forward, the linesman raised his flag and so on.... Surprisingly inside the first 15 minutes Braintree found themselves 2-nil-up. A couple of long balls, which really should have been cleared, were chased down by Ben Attreed who skillfully wriggled free from defenders and crossed for Luke Moss to smash home from 1 yard. Ben, who was clealry suffering today, then found himself one on one after a great through ball decided to take the ball as close to the keeper as possible before shooting wide! The remainder of the first half saw Braintree defend well as the midfield of Bradley, Jack M and Jack Stacey chased and tackled, supported well on the wings by Ben and Jack J. Lewis and Sam played well at the back - Lewis in particular displayed an excellent understanding of the game as when the opposition broke down the wings, he covered the middle as opposed to being dragged out of position. Any effort from Danbury was confidently dealt with by Will Buckle who looked very self-assured today.

As expected, perhaps with the benefit of a shaded half-time break, Danbury came out very strongly in the second half. To be fair, their passing was sharper and they found or created space really well. A superb lofted pass by Leo Daniels was the only real thing of note for Braintree in the first 15 minutes. An outstanding dribble from their number 2, who beat 4 Braintree players before cooly slotting home, made it a nervy last 15 minutes. As the heat began to tire the Braintree team, it was backs to the wall time; numerous times a good block or clearing header kept any real threat away from goal - though Will Buckle did make a few good stops. In the final 5 minutes Braintree began to threaten again and a pass forward from Jack Joiner, which hit a Danbury defender was slotted home by Jack Major; to our disbelfief the goal was given offside as Ben A, who was in an offside position but again didn't make any attempt to move towards the ball, was harshly penalised. In the final moments with Luke injured Jack Stacey returned to the pitch to chase and run the ball into the corners. Some good defending enabled us to see out the match.

Congratulations to Danbury Royals for winning the league and but for those four games without a keeper, i'm sure it would've been closer for us. Overall a great way to end a really positive season. Well done boys and parents - you were all top class today.

Man of the Match - Lewis Gardner: more than just a lump it merchant, his positional play and reading of game situations is excellent (and has been all season!)