Braintree is in Essex, between Chelmsford and Colchester, and is 165 miles from Nailsworth, a journey of about 3 and a 1/2 hours by road.

By Supporters Coach – This by far the best & easiest way.  Even more so as, for all away games remaining this season, coach travel will be only £5 a head for all matches.  The final away matches of this season are heavily subsidised by FGR and the Supporters Club.  Book your coach ticket with your match ticket from FGR – Tickets | WE ARE FGR  Or by phone on 0333 123 1889 Monday to Friday, between 9am and 3pm. (Closed Wednesdays).  Coach seats are on a first come first served basis so please try to book as early as you can.

By Train – Train travel doesn’t look good for this game.  There is a rail replacement service for all or part of the route on matchday and the journey takes about 5 hours each way.  It is possible to return on the same day (but only just).

By Car – The address for the Cressing Road ground for sat navs is Braintree, Essex CM7 3DE.  The journey will take a good 3 and a 1/2 hours each way.  There is limited parking at the ground and this fills up early.  However, there is plenty of street parking available, particularly along Stubbs Lane which is the turn off Cressing Road that leads up to the ground.

Maybe not the most vegan-friendly club, Braintree play at the ‘Rare Breed Meat Stadium’ (or Cressing Road, as the locals would prefer).

Away supporters are behind the goal in the Quag End.  This is pronounced ‘Kwog’ (short for quagmire – a boggy muddy heap, which is what this end of the ground used to be).  The Quag End is a completely uncovered terrace.  Away supporters can also sit at one end of the covered stand that is adjacent to the Quag End.

With a capacity of just over 4,000, Cressing Road is the 6th smallest ground in the National League.  Average attendances are about 1,100.

Cressing Road’s main stand, looking towards the Quag End.

Braintree are in 18th position in the National League with 31 points from 30 games.  8 wins, 7 draws and 15 defeats is their record so far.  They are 5 points clear of the relegation places in the National League.  However, Braintree have hit a recent run of form – only 1 defeat in their last 5 games and with 3 wins from their last 7.

Braintree’s issue seems to be scoring goals.  They’ve netted only 29 times in 30 games (only Boston & Ebbsfleet have scored fewer).  However, they have been pretty good defensively, conceding 41 goals in 30 games.  Braintree have performed marginally better at home than on the road so far – they have had home victories against Halifax, Altrincham & Solihull, among others.

Braintree have sometimes set up in a 4-3-2-1 formation with number 9 Inih Effiong leading the line.  John Akinde sometimes replaces Effiong.  Akinde is a veteran of some 17 former clubs – his longest spell was with Barnet.  Akinde is Braintree’s 2nd leading scorer with 5 goals.

By the time they face FGR, Braintree will have had a midweek game with a long journey up to Gateshead.

Kyrell Lisbie (son of former Colchester striker, Kevin) signed for Braintree in the summer and is top scorer with 6 goals.

The club are known as ‘The Iron’ due to a long association with Crittall Windows, who make steel-framed windows.  Look out for the blue and orange main gates as you approach the ground – these used to be the gates to the Crittall Windows factory.  Nearby is an ornate turnstile bolted to the floor which used to be in use.  The turnstile was originally at Ipswich’s Portman Road before it was moved in the 1930’s.

Braintree FC finished 5th in the National League South last season, winning promotion through the play-offs, beating Bath City, Chelmsford City & Aaran Racine’s Worthing (4-3 in the final).

Formed in 1898, it took Braintree until 2011 to earn promotion to the 5th tier (then called the Conference Premier).  In 2017 they were relegated back to the National League South.  In 2018 they won promotion back to the National League via the play-offs.  However, this was a short-lived stay – by 2019 they were relegated back to the National League South.  They returned to the National League this season.

Braintree is 46 miles to the north-east of London, with an urban area population of about 55,000.  It’s in the flat part of north Essex and it would struggle to describe itself as a tourist hotspot.

An agricultural market town, Braintree developed a wool cloth trade through the Middle Ages.  In the 19th century the Courtauld family established a silk mill in the town and many of the town’s public buildings were established by the family in this period.  By the 20th century the town was better known as the home of Crittall’s windows.  Crittall’s have their steel-framed windows all over the world, including the Houses of Parliament, Tower Bridge, Yale & Princetown Universities, the MCC Building at Lords etc.  Their windows are particularly associated with the Art Deco and Modernist movements of the early 20th century.  Crittall’s is still in business and based just down the road in Witham.  The company was the driving force behind the creation of Braintree FC (originally they were called Manor Works, the works team of the company).

Some Crittall’s windows.

Singer Olly Murs was born in nearby Witham.

Understated rock band, The Prodigy, were formed in Braintree.

Look out for the mural of The Prodigy’s, Keith, on a water tower at the ground.