Braintree 3 Margate 1

CHRIS KINNEAR admits everybody connected with Margate have "lived on the edge" for the last two years.

At one point last week it seemed the club were hours away from folding, and might not even fulfill this FA Cup third qualifying round tie. Then late on Friday, the club finally got the go ahead to rebuild Hartsdown Park, and around 200 fans travelled to Cressing Road on Saturday hoping for more good news.

However, Margate finished a well beaten side. Poor defending gifted Braintree two of their three goals, with the other coming from a penalty.

To make matters worse, gambles on the fitness of Billy Edwards and Adrian Clarke both failed, and left Kinnear bitterly disappointed.

He said: " We were unbelievably poor, and should have done better. It wasn't just conceding three goals, it was our general play throughout the game which was just good enough. We were hit by bad mistakes and bad teamwork."

"We have got to do better, both collectively and as individuals, and I would have expected more from us to be honest."

Braintree, just below mid-table in the Ryman League Premier Division fielded a side with strong Kent connections. Four ex-Welling players, including Gary Abbott, 41 next month, former Bromley defender Ollie Adedeji, and Louie Evans who was plying his trade with Gravesend and Northfleet in the Nationwide Conference last season.

Goalkeeper Peter Trego had little to do in the game, apart from picking the ball out of the net three times, left stranded and exposed by the fragile defending in front of him.

Margate created a few chances in a fairly quiet opening, but their first blow came after 26 minutes when Edwards waas forced off with a recurrence of hamstring trouble. New signing Ross Smith replaced him, and did not let anybody down, in a back four already missing Greg Oates.

John Keister was adjudged to have floored Evans in the box, that saw Braintree awarded a penalty. Abbott stepped up to send Trego the wrong way.

A minute later, Che Stadhart almost snatched an equaliser, but referee Mr McCaul ruled it out for the challenge on goalkeeper Danny Gay. Then Margate won their first corner, 39 minutes into the game, but failed to make anything on it, and within seconds found themselves 2-0 down.

A swift break by defender Mark Jones saw him release Louis Riddle who rounded the 'keeper to convert from an acute angle.

Stadhart almost nicked one back early in the second half, only for Adedeji to clear off the line, before Pat Gradley's first goal for the club pulled Margate back into the game, seven minutes after the break. Peter Benevides' corner caused problems in the Braintree six yard box, and after one shot had been blocked Gradley pounced to knock in the loose ball.

That was as good as it got for the visitors, although Rocky Baptiste saw his 73rd minute header saved by Gay at the second attempt, and Benevides looked to be hauled down in the box but nothing was given.

Former Kent journeyman Steve Sodje who has played for several clubs in the county, came on and restored Braintree's two-goal cushion. Alex Charalambous, pressed into service as a make-shift full back sold Trego short with an intended back pass and Sodje nipped into score into score the third after 88 minutes.

At least Margate' s long term future now seems assured and they can look forward to better days than this. There was at least something at least to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the first ever game at their "real home" in 1929.