SALFORD CITY 2 BRAINTREE TOWN 2

Vanarama National League

The fact that Braintree Town came away from Vanarama National League leaders Salford City disappointed to only have a point in the bag shows what a stirring finish to a turbulent week it was for the Iron.

Following the departure of manager Brad Quinton seven days before, caretaker manager Hakan Hayrettin – the man who had been Braintree boss as they were relegated from the top flight in 2017 – took charge of a rock-bottom Iron team and led them to a 2-2 draw at the high-flying big-spending northern powerhouse.

Add in the fact that Braintree had to come back after conceding a goal to the leaders with just over a minute on the clock and were then only denied the full three points by a goal struck in time added-on at the end and it’s clear what a remarkable result this was.

The bookmakers had Salford as clear favourites at the start of the day and with less than two minutes gone, it looked to be going with the form books.

However, the Iron showed great mental strength to get through the setback of the early goal and made sure the odds were turned on their head.

They put City on the back foot and a penalty, slammed in by Mohamed Bettamer, on the stroke of half-time got them back in the game, before Bettamer drilled home a second to set up an unlikely victory.

It looked like they would hold on to it as well as 90 minutes passed but late Salford pressure eventually told and it was one point rather than three that the Iron headed home with.

But what a memorable point it could prove to be.

Hayrettin made three changes for his first league game back in charge from the side he started with for the Essex Senior Cup win against Canvey Island in midweek.

One of those changes saw the return of goalkeeper Ben Killip, who replaced Ashlee Jones in the line-up after returning from England C duty on Tuesday when he started in the national side’s 1-0 win against Estonia Under-23s.

Also returning were attacking duo Christie Pattison and Mohamed Bettamer, in place of Mo Sagaf and Jake Cass, who both dropped to the bench.

Hayrettin lined his side up with a 4-4-2 formation and they knew they had a tough task ahead but a potentially long afternoon looked to become even longer with barely a minute of the game played.

It proved to be a nightmare start for the Iron as they made the worst possible opening when a simple ball over the top caught their defence napping.

The two centre halves were unable to deal with it and Rory Gaffney lifted the ball over the advancing Killip and into the back of the Iron net.

It was the very last thing that Braintree wanted and they knew they had to raise their game considerably to get anything from their trip north.

Despite the early setback, they did start to see more in terms of possession, shackled the home strike force more effectively and began to carve out some good chances of their own.

Bettamer gave them a threat up front and a driven shot ended up in the arms of Salford keeper Chris Neal, before Neal then had to be alert when Bettamer broke forward to deny the Iron striker a clear run on the home goal.

Lyle Della-Verde then fizzed in a left-foot shot that flew just wide of the target as Braintree had their high-flying hosts on the back foot.

Salford remained a predictable danger, though, and Iron were fortunate when Adam Rooney was unable to punish them as the prolific City hitman put the ball over the bar.

The hosts then went close when a long effort by full-back Scott Wiseman swirled in the gusting wind and clattered off the woodwork.

It was a close call for the Iron, but they knew they were still in the game and that was emphasised when Bettamer shot just wide on 38 minutes from a cross by Pattison.

While their efforts had brought no reward in terms of a goal, though, that situation was changed on 44 minutes as the half was finished in the same way it was started – with a goal.

This time it was in Braintree’s favour, though, when referee Leigh Doughty pointed to the penalty spot after a handball by Ibou Touray.

The offence earned the Salford defender a yellow card and Bettamer made them pay for it as he stepped forward to take the spot-kick and drilled the ball into the corner of the goal.

So after their nightmare start, the Iron’s endeavours saw them get level at the break to give themselves a clean slate for the second 45 minutes.

It was a tight start to the second half, with Braintree still posing a threat to the home goal as the gulf in league positions was far from apparent.

Braintree’s hard work ensured City were unable to get into any rhythm and the leaders were visibly frustrated as they failed to get the dominance they may have enjoyed in recent weeks.

When they did get a sight of goal, they found Killip in form as he easily held an effort by Gaffney and their frustration was exacerbated with 16 minutes remaining.

The Iron broke from their own area, with Reece Grant laying the ball in to Bettamer, who struck a stunning shot that flew into the bottom left-hand corner to send the travelling fans into rapture.

Those cheers were almost cranked up another notch three minutes later when Grant spotted Neal off his line and tried a chipped effort from 35 yards only to see his shot cannon off the crossbar.

So it was just the one-goal lead that Iron had to defend and Salford threw everything they had at the visitors from Essex.

With five minutes of time added on at the end, that pressure told and the leaders showed their pedigree as an equaliser came on 92 minutes when Gaffney did the damage again.

He turned neatly and fired a low shot into the bottom corner to deny Braintree a famous win, but it was still a notable point for the Iron against a side flying high at the top of the table to make sure a tough week ended with smiles on their faces.

Braintree Town: Ben Killip, Jon Muleba, Joe Ellul, Kodi Lyons-Foster, Ricky Gabriel, Christie Pattison (Justin Amaluzor 58), Christian Frimpong (Jake Cass 74), Cameron James, Lyle Della-Verde, Mohamed Bettamer, Reece Grant (Luke Allen 83).

Subs not used: Mo Sagaf, Dan Thompson.

Referee: Leigh Doughty.