Braintree's hopes of a money-spinning cup run were dashed in wet and windy Suffolk on Saturday at the hands of a committed and well drilled Newmarket outfit.

Matt Wadforth's makeshift side had an uphill task on their hands even before battle commenced due to the non availability of key players and some late cry-offs.

But the goal of reaching the second round of the Intermediate cup looked less and less likely with every passing minute as the black and ambers were hit by a number of injuries.

Skipper, Wadforth, blamed a lack of fitness and a poor week's training for his side's demise against a determined home performance which upset the form book.

The game was only two minutes old when Tree lost the services of Ian Sward with a painful knee injury.

Saward's loss seemed to dishearten the visitors and Newmarket gained the upper hand almost immediately and retained it for the entirety of the first half.

Their task was not made any easier when prop, Rob Howley, was forced to leave the field with a trapped nerve.

By the time the referee blew for the interval the Suffolk side had run in four tries - all of them converted - past the hapless visitors to establish a 28-3 lead.

Braintree's only response was a solitary penalty from the reliable boot of fly half Dean Ford.

The visitors came out after the break in determined fashion but found Newmarket too well organised and were unable to carve out any meaningful openings.

Former Kent U21, James Merry impressed on his debut after signing from Canterbury and open side flanker Nigel Brand tackled bravely against the odds.

But shortly after the restart Braintree lost full- back Ian Regan with an injury and any hopes of a comeback were dashed.

Newmarket added two further tries and a brace of penalties before Stevie Sewell scored a consolation try which was converted by Ford.

After the game Wadforth blamed Braintree's poor performance on midweek training and said he would be looking for a significant improvement.

"We had such a changed side and people didn't train well this week so we were right up against it - it was a shambles really," said the skipper. "Our preparation for the game was all wrong and I had to deal with a few late cry-offs which didn't help."

"We were all over the place and they had all the possession and were well in control. We were ever at the races."

Thirds play above themselves

BRAINTREE III....38

STOWMARKET II...3

Braintree's determined third string overcame a physically larger side to earn a well deserved victory and restore some light on a gloomy day for the club.

Skipper Mark Davy's side went behind to an early Stowmarket penalty and looked to be up against it as they played into a strong wind in the first half.

But Tree's tenacious tackling in the forwards won them the lion's share of the ball and the home side's superior backs put the visitors under constant pressure.

Centre Huynh Luong regained the initiative for the home side with a powerful run and try in the corner which was superbly converted by fly half Andy Williamson.

Winger, John Troup came close to scoring in the corner before retiring with a head injury shortly before half time as Tree narrowly failed to put more points on the board.

After the interval, the black and ambers grew in confidence when wing Karl Purdey notched two tries and forward Alex Mabbutt went over after a determined run.

There were also tries for scrum half Davidson, and debutant Andy Rundle.

Centre Matt Cameron scored two impressive penalties before he too was forced to retire with a cut head after a nasty collision which left a Stowmarket player with a broken collarbone.

The result was a welcome tonic for skipper, Davy, who takes his side to Suffolk to face Stowmarket's first XV next month.

Braintree's first XV are back in league action this weekend when they travel to Hertfordshire to play Old Albanians.

The second entertain Old Albanians second string at Beckers Green Road in another league fixture while the thirds are away to Brightlingsea's first XV in a friendly. Braintree's fourths entertain Brightlingsea's second XV in another friendly fixture.

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