Yet another of their notorious lacklustre displays on Saturday saw Braintree make a sad exit when they had every opportunity of grabbing a slice of FA Cup limelight.

The luck of the draw had been with them this season, but once again when it came to the crunch, the chance of getting through to meet a big team was thrown away.

At home to a side two divisions below them in the Ryman League, Braintree should have had no problem had they gone about their business in the right way.

But on the day it was Camberley who came out on top and deservedly so, because they possessed the greatest commitment. It was as simple as that.

Things went wrong for Braintree as early as the fifth minute when slackness at the back allowed Ian Joplin to get in a header at the far post.

Coming so soon, this setback should not have caused too much worry and might possibly have acted as an extra spur, but it was not to be.

Despite having most of the possession, Braintree seemed to lack the ability to break down a tight Camberley defence who seldom looked in any trouble.

Indeed it was the visitors who produced the better scoring chances with their quick and incisive breaks.

It was from one sharp attack down the left that Steve Lloyd carved an opening for Tim Sills to put the visitors further ahead in the 29th minute.

Braintree now had a real fight on their hands, but somehow the inspiration was lacking and there were few signs that a recovery was likely.

As the second half continued in the same ineffective way it became obvious that a change of Braintree tactics was necessary and an extra emphasis put on adding spark to the attack.

But it was not until Joplin struck a third goal to give Camberley a match winning lead in the 70th minute that there was any movement on the Braintree bench.

On came Bobby Mayes and Stef Kendall but the duo did not have enough time to have any real effec, although Mayes was instrumental in setting up a chance for Gary Bennett to grab a consolation goal in the 87th minute it was a case of too little too late.

Much to the disappointment of a good Cressing Road crowd, Braintree had again failed to deliver on a big occasion and hopes of a lucrative cup run came to an end.

In the final qualifying round Camberley will now have a long journey down to Cornwall to meet St Blazey from the South Western League.

Braintree Town: Catley, Simpson, Vincent, Gunn, Knight, Collins, Betson, Smith, Bennett, Gedny and Tanner. Substitutes: Mayes, Kendall and Bryant.

Forthcoming fixtures: Saturday October 24 v Fleet Town (F.A. Trophy) at Cressing Road, 3pm, and Wednesday October 28 v Leatherhead (Ryman League), at Cressing Road, 7.45pm.

Up we go . . Braintree Town's Gary Bennett is beaten to the ball by a Camberley Town defender in Saturday's FA Cup tie at Cressing Road.

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.