BORO’S HERO IS KUHL AS YOU LIKE
PROFLIGACY proved costly for Braintree Town at Cherrywood Road in a game in front of a bumper crowd they would feel they should easily have taken at least a point from, if not all three.
A trio of gilt-edged first-half chances for the visitors began in the opening minute when Jack Turner in the Farnborough goal had the tips of his fingers warmed by the lively Aaron Blair.
Matt Ward somehow managed to miss Braintree’s second opportunity with only Turner to beat, blazing high when it seemed harder to miss than score. Alfie Payne rounded off the triumvirate of tribulation by somehow with an open goal in front of him, putting the ball over the bar from a couple of feet away.
Braintree had a handful of half chances on top of these efforts, yet try as they might, could not get the door to the score box to open no matter how hard they knocked on it.
Boro, on the other hand, barely mustered a half chance throughout the first 45. Although they had as much time on the ball as their visitors, they just lacked spark and invention when they advanced upon the Braintree box.
Half-time saw Ollie Pendlebury withdrawn for Farnborough in favour of Reggie Young and a change in formation offered far more width as a straight 4-4-2 immediately bore fruit with the hosts proving to be the livelier. This change was highlighted by the introduction of Ricky Holmes who buzzed all over the field as part of an all action display.
That said, the game looked destined for a draw, before Turner on one of his pin-point punts, found the tireless Michael Folivi who showing terrific courage to outjump Jack Sims in the Braintree goal whilst challenging for the ball. Simms fully cleaned Folivi out in mid-air for a stone-wall penalty, receiving a booking for his troubles.
Kuhl hammered the penalty home for the lead, something Farnborough never looked like relinquishing from then: game management kicked-in with the introduction of CJ Fearn as an added block to any Braintree attacks from then on.
Boss Spencer Day said: “We were truly terrible in the first half and got away with it by luck. We changed the system and the game changes.
“Second half we edged it, got our goal and defended it relatively well.”