The trip to Braintree brought a new optimism from Ducks fans, as they sensed the chance for 3 points to add to the total of 4 won so far. Braintree had started the season in rather odd fashion, losing their first two games and conceding nine goals in the process, before beating Kettering Town.
Aylesbury had injury problems all round, and Chris Boothe made four changes to the team that lost to Hornchurch. Isaac Rukundo made his debut in goal, youngsters Tom Alabaster and Daniel Mead both made their league debuts at full-back, and Alvin Bubb returned from injury.
The match began with Aylesbury keeping posession well, and winning about in midfield. This was to be the pattern of the match though. Braintree had the first chance of the game, as a corner was headed clear by Adam Campion only as far as Dean Parratt, who shot over.
Some characteristic shaky defending allowed Ben Cranfield in at goal, and he unleashed a volley which sailed well over the bar. Former Man Utd professional Kalum Mooniaruck then broke free down the right flank, with the Ducks defence desperately looking for an offside decision. Luckily for Aylesbury, Mooniaruck stumbled on the ball and the opportunity was spurned.
Aylesbury then had their first chance, as Rory Hunter connected fully with a volley, which was heading goalwards only to be blocked by a home defender. Greg Williams picked up the loose ball and sent in a deep cross which Chris Bangura turned into the side netting.
Still inside the opening twenty minutes, and it was Aylesbury who were on top of the posession percentage, but seemed unable to get the ball into dangerous positions. When they did the final ball was often poor or non-existant. Alvin Bubb forced Andy Purcell to clear the ball behind with a low-cross, which was about as good as it got for the Ducks.
Braintree were now the biggest attacking force, and as they broke forward time and time again, it seemed only a matter of time before the deadlock was broken. Cranfield worked himself some shooting space, but could only manage a tame effort. The same player then went un-noticed as the Aylesbury defence went awol, and it needed a good block from the on-rushing Rukundo to prevent a goal.
It was Cranfield at it again as he found himself one-on-one with Karl Ready, but could only place his shot high and wide. It was then the home side's Gregg Williams turn to have a couple of efforts. First a volley which was always off-target, before picking up a hurried Rukundo clearance, and trying a first-time effort which was very close to being a spectacular opener.
Another catastrophic piece of defending allowed Damian Franklin all the time in the world to get a shot at goal, but he somehow managed to miss from 5-yards out, under little pressure.
Aylesbury's best chance of the match came after 40 minutes, unfortunately it fell to a Braintree defender! The home defender, under pressure, wellied the ball towards his own net, and required a good stop from keeper Paul Rutherford.
The home side predictably took the lead, and it was a result of more slack defending. A counter-attack by the home side found too many Ducks caught upfield, and Franklin was able to easily lob the stranded Rukundo. 1-0 Braintree
Half-time: Braintree 1-0 Aylesbury
The second half started with another blow for the Ducks, as Karl Ready never returned, and was replaced by youngster John Winter, making his league debut.
Sadly, the Ducks never got going in the second half, and seemed to roll over and let Braintree take the fight to them. Straight from the kick-off Mooniaruck showed his skill, with a step-over and shot straight at Rukundo.
Franklin shot wide under pressure from John Winter, and Duckett had an effort well over the bar.
Chris Boothe tried to inject a little energy into the Aylesbury team, with the introduction of Warren Williams, but it didn't happen.
A mis-kick by Danny Mead let Mooniaruck race clear down the right flank, and his superb cross was met by Franklin, who couldn't get his header down enough, and went over the bar.
Braintree seemed to have won the perfect match winning opportunity, as the excellent Mooniaruck broke free once more, beat two players and charged into the box, before being halted by a slight pull by Alvin Bubb. The referee pointed to the spot and up stepped Mark Jones. What followed was one of the worst spot kicks I've ever seen, and Rukundo was able to gather the ball in.
This should have been the spur that Aylesbury needed to fire themselves on, shake themselves up, get themselves going. Alas, it wasn't to be, and just two minutes later Braintree doubled their lead. Some more tragic defending let an attacker skip past four Aylesbury challenges, and square the ball for Cranfield, who found himself with no-one within 15-yards. 2-0 Braintree
As the game entered it's final phase, it became clear that there was to be no comeback whatsoever. In fact, there was not a single goalscoring chance for Aylesbury in the entire second half. At the other end Duckett had another effort clear the bar, and Rukundo made a good save from a Franklin shot.
At the full-time whistle everyone involved with Aylesbury just wanted to get away from this nightmare of a match. It's becoming increasingly obvious that this season is going to be a long, hard fight. The team are keeping the ball well enough, we just lack a cutting edge up front. Hopefully, something will spark us back into life, sooner rather than later please!
