ANOTHER humiliating second-half capitulation by Braintree Town saw them return from the South Coast empty-handed following a 4-0 defeat at Havant and Waterlooville and there can be no excuses for such a dire performance, writes DAVID WARD.

The Iron had the clear upper hand in the first half when they were well in charge of the National League South game.

They had three gilt-edged chances to have scored and come in at the break in control of the outcome but they heavily paid the price for it.

Iron boss Ryan Maxwell admitted afterwards that it was a disappointing second-half display.

He said: "We really should have had complete the first half well in the lead because we had control of the game and they rarely troubled our defence.

"But you have to take the goal chances when they come such as in the first half but we didn't and we paid the price.

"I thought we battled hard in that first period and looked confident but we fell away after the interval."

It is scoring goals that win matches at any level and for the whole of this season, Braintree have and continue to suffer from this malaise and until they find a proven goalscorer, such results as these will keep occurring.

Even Havant's wily manager Paul Dowswell admitted afterwards that they were lucky to have been still in the game at the interval.

His shrewd move in bringing on two.quick forwards at half-time changed the whole patter of the game.

Unfortunately the Iron management team failed to immediately pick up and. respond to the two new substitutions and it cost the side dearly.

Just past the hour mark they were two goals down and clearly were never going to retrieve the game.

It was patently obvious that the Iron should have changed personnel straight away but by the time there was a reaction from their bench it was too little, too late.

Maxwell was disappointed with the display of referee Craig Scrivener.

He said: "He failed to pull up for two blatant fouls on our players for some reason that led to their goals and I think he lost the plot and in the end cost us a chance of getting anything from the game.

"He and his assistants were terrible allowing the home side to get away with everything.

"I know you always tend to blame the officials when things go wrong but in this game they were certainly poor and kept getting basic decisions wrong and then failing to admit their mistakes."