TALKING POINTS

Dom Roman

@DomRoman

CONNECT 4

Three wins in a row should not be sniffed at even in the National League South, so despite the Gulls not playing well, Gary’s Grinders have managed to dig out maximum points in recent weeks and ultimately that is the most important thing. The Plainmoor crowd will arrive expecting a win against a Braintree team that have started the season slowly, anything less and more discontent will spread around. That’s what happens when you fall down to a regional league, the pressure is on to perform and win every game. The question is whether United can up their game in the coming weeks and bring back pre-season confidence, or will the stuttering continue? At the moment, with a squad lacking belief, pace and dynamism, the latter seems much more likely.

THE LINE-UP

The early headline from Slough (a) was Dan Martin going off for Finley Craske, a sub that appeared tactical, with Dan giving GJ some choice words on his way off the pitch! Craske had a decent game and will expect to keep his spot. Tom Lapslie was substituted for Brett McGavin on Saturday after a knock, and that makes him a doubt for the Bank Holiday game, meaning the much-maligned McGavin could again be under the microscope at Plainmoor. The midfield is looking worryingly lightweight again, and with Hall/Dawson side-lined, Gary Johnson will surely be looking for loans options asap. Apart from that it’s debatable how fit Aaron Jarvis is after his dead leg problem, we certainly need more from the big man. Overall we are patched up and lacking squad options to shake things up…just for a change!

THE OPPOSITION

Angelo Harrop took over the reins at Braintree last summer and guided the team to the NLS play-offs, losing in the first round to Worthing FC. This season the Iron have only one win from the first 5 matches, with two draws and two losses. Those five games have all been close affairs and any team that finished 7th last season has to be respected, so a sixth close game would be no surprise! Much depends on whether Torquay can find extra gears and show why we were favourites for promotion.

ASH ON TARGET

The only players who emerged with real credit from the Slough game were Mark Halstead and Bradley Ash, and Ash will be relieved to get off the mark for the Gulls. I don’t think there were any real worries about the ex-Weymouth striker, he’s already proven at this level and there should be plenty more goals to come from him this season. His two finishes at Slough were absolute quality and showed what Brad’s all about. The safe bets are on this sharp and busy player bagging another against the Iron.