Braintree make it through at second time of asking against Royston

FA Cup second qualifying round replay

It will be Braintree Town who will travel to Brackley Town in the third qualifying round of the FA Cup after they beat Royston Town in their second qualifying round replay.

Iron boss Brad Quinton had been extremely disappointed with how his team performed in being held to a 2-2 draw at home in the first meeting on Saturday.

So he would have been pleased to see his team progress with a 2-1 win in the replay, however, they did make harder work of it than they would have wanted in the second half.

Braintree were in complete control before half-time with goals from Phil Roberts and Jon Muleba putting them in the driving seat.

However, the sending off of Scott Shulton in the 52nd minute – after he reacted to a challenge – allowed the hosts to come back into the tie and halve the deficit.

Their charge was cut short when Sam Corcoran, the man who had put the tackle in that led to Shulton’s dismissal, also saw red as the numbers on the pitch were evened out.

The tie became increasingly feisty and rather nervy, but the Iron held on to book their place in the next round at Brackley. Braintree made four changes from the starting side that faced Royston three days previously.

Coming into the team were Osa Obamwonyi, Luke Allen, Ben Wyatt and Roman Michael-Percil, while Alfred Mugabo, Christian Frimpong, Tyler Campbell and Karl Oliyide all dropped to the bench.

The Iron knew they had to come out of the blocks quickly and take charge of the tie rather than allow their hosts time and space to play as they had in the earlier encounter.

And they did make an encouraging start, with far better energy levels in midfield and crisper passing setting the tome from the first whistle.

They were bossing the pace and enjoyed the bulk of the possession in the first few minutes and even though the breakthrough didn’t come, it was far more encouraging from a Braintree perspective.

Royston rode the early pressure, though, and did have a brief spell where they threatened more, however, the Iron were soon on the back foot again and took the lead in the 21st minute.

A decent low skidding effort by Scott Shulton saw Joe Welch having to make a save in the home goal, but the goal came from the resulting corner as Phil Roberts rose to head home and put the Iron ahead.

The Iron were comfortably on top now and there was almost a second for them.

Great tackling back by Ben Wyatt allowed him to win the ball before laying it off to Phil Roberts who squared to Roman Michael-Percil and his rising drive was just over the bar Lovely play by Luke Allen on the edge of the box then nearly opened another chance as he feinted one way, surged forward the other and clipped in a shot that was deflected just wide After the near misses, though, Braintree did double their lead on 35 minutes.

They had almost scored seconds before when Ricky Gabriel's header was pushed on to the post by Welch, but as the ball was recycled, it came to Jon Muleba at the back post and he found the back of the net with a neat header.

It was a scoreline that reflected the balance of play, however, Royston responded by pushing for a way back and went close with two headers in quick succession.

There was no way through before the break, though, and the hosts trailed 2-0.

It was a steady start to the second half by both sides, but it came alive in the 52nd minute when a challenge by former Colchester United trainee and Chelmsford City midfielder Sam Corcoran brought a reaction from Shulton.

It resulted in a booking for the Royston man, but Shulton was shown red and the Iron knew they would face the majority of the second half with a numerical disadvantage.

Royston were buoyed and went looking for a goal, with former Lincoln City striker Marriott drilling an effort just wide and then heading over from a corner.

It was almost inevitable that a goal would come and it duly arrived in the 64th minute when a lovely swinging cross from the left was met powerfully with a flying header by Adam Murray that gave Nathan McDonald no chance in the Iron goal.

It was all Royston at that point, but the Iron gradually managed to regain some control and win greater possession up the pitch.

And Braintree were further encouraged in the 71st minute when the numbers were evened up as Corcoran’s late challenge on Roberts earned him a second caution and an early bath.

With the numbers evened up, the game became more finely poised, but with just one goal separating the two teams, it became a nervy and rather scrappy encounter.

However, Royston were unable to force a leveller and it was Braintree who were celebrating at the final whistle.

Braintree Town: Nathan McDonald, Jon Muleba, Ricky Gabriel, Osa Obanwonyi, Marc-Anthony Okoye, Scott Shulton, Luke Allen (Tyler Campbell 76), Billy Crook, Phil Roberts (Dernell Wynter 86), Ben Wyatt, Roman Michael-Percil (Alfred Mugabo 55).

Subs not used: Mahrez Bettache, Karl Oliyide, Reece Grant, Christian Frimpong.

Referee: Jason Richardson.