Get the lowdown on the U’s next opponents: Braintree Town

The Opposition

The final visitors to the VBS of February, Braintree will be looking to extend their gap between themselves and the drop zone on Saturday, having shown a good account of themselves so far this season.

Indeed, the Iron have gone from strength to strength despite the controversial dismissal of Angelo Harrop last year, and currently sit 18th under Steve Pitt having won three of his nine games in charge including back-to-back victories over Solihull Moors and relegation rivals Ebbsfleet United during January, as well as notable shock win over title contenders Forest Green Rovers.

As a result, the Iron currently have a four-point cushion on the bottom four, and will be looking to take themselves further away from the drop on Saturday.

Recent Form

Braintree Town 1-2 Wealdstone

Braintree Town 2-0 Forest Green Rovers

Gateshead – Braintree Town

Altrincham 3-1 Braintree Town

Braintree Town 1-1 Hartlepool United

Braintree Town 3-1 Tottenham Hotspur

The Manager

Steve Pitt

Experienced manager Steve Pitt is the man in charge at Cressing Road, having replaced Angelo Harrop in the Braintree dugout after the latter was controversially dismissed back in December.

Pitt had previously taken on management roles at FC Clacton and Leiston either side of a brief stint as assistant to Steve Castle at Bishop’s Stortford. Following his departure from Leiston, Pitt nearly spent the next decade as a Sporting Director, beginning at Heybridge Swifts before spending four years at Chelmsford City, which preceded a stint at Billericay Town.

Pitt later returned to the dugout as assistant to Harrop at Braintree in 2022, and remained in the role for almost two years before departing at the end of 2023. However, he returned to management – along with a return to Cressing Road – when he was named as Harrop’s successor in the hotseat in Essex, and has subsequently guided the Iron away from the drop zone during his two months in charge so far.

One to Watch

Kyrell Lisbie

Young forward Kyrell Lisbie has begun the campaign in fine form, and is currently the Iron’s top scorer with seven goals.

The 20-year old spent time in the academies of West Ham United and Watford before joining Woodford Town ahead of the 2022/23 season. Lisbie later enjoyed stints at Welling United and Cray Valley (PM) before making the switch to Braintree in the summer.

He has subsequently become the main man for the Iron under both Angelo Harrop and Steve Pitt, making 28 appearances in all competitions for the club.

Last Time We Met

Sutton bounced back from two home defeats with a narrow victory at the Rare Breed Meat Co. Stadium, with former Braintree Town man Will Davies scoring the only goal of a closely fought game.

The Iron would see a goal disallowed early on when the referee deeming Jack Sims’ to have been fouled moments before Louis Annesley put the ball in the back of the net, and the U’s bounced back from this warning sign with chances for Josh Coley and Dillon De Silva, while Davies went close from an indirect free kick when goalkeeper Lucas Covolan handled a back pass.

A goalless first half was then followed by a rapid start to the second half, with Sutton breaking the deadlock within minutes as a neat move on the right ended with Coley superbly beating his man, before cutting the ball back to Davies who made no mistake from close range, and proved to be the winner after some superb defending at the death saw out the three points.

Rewatch the victory here.

Head-to-Head

Braintree Town 0-1 Sutton United (26/10/2024)

Sutton United 0-3 Braintree Town (12/03/2019)

Braintree Town 2-2 Sutton United (27/11/2018)

Braintree Town 1-0 Sutton United (10/01/2017)

Sutton United 1-2 Braintree Town (13/09/2016)

Played for Both

Matt Rush

Promising forward Matt Rush spent the first half of the 2024/25 season at the VBS Community Stadium, having been brought in by Steve Morison last summer in an attempt to bolster his frontline.

The 23-year old grew up in Essex, beginning his career at local club Wickford Town before being spotted by Billericay Town, and he spent just a few months with the Blues before making the switch to then-EFL side Southend United. Rush spent five years in the Shrimpers’ youth system before breaking into the first team, and went on to make 29 appearances for the club across three seasons. He also gained plenty of experience out on loan, with spells at Great Wakering Rovers, Harlow Town, Tonbridge Angels and Chelmsford City, before departing Roots Hall on a permanent basis in 2022.

A single season at Braintree saw him notch six goals in 38 appearances, and was followed by a move to Aveley, where he struck three goals in 13 games for the Millers in just two months, with his form for the club seeing him move to promotion hopefuls Maidstone United. It was with the Stones where he began to catch the eye, scoring 15 goals in all competitions to help the club reach the National League South play-offs where he scored and assisted against former club Aveley in the elimination round – a side which also contained current U’s Siju Odelusi and Eduino Vaz – before the Stones lost to Worthing in the semi-final.

Nonetheless, Rush had seemingly proven he was ready to make the step up, and joined Sutton in the summer. He went on to appear nine times for the U’s in all competitions with his only goal coming in the FA Cup Fourth Qualifying Round against Chertsey Town, before he returned to the Gallagher Stadium on loan in November.

He would add three goals to his Stones’ tally in just six appearances, with a permanent exit from South London being confirmed a month later with a move to Boreham Wood, where he has so far scored six goals in nine appearances for the National League South side.