Braintree boss Ben Embery said he was 'fiercely proud' of his players after they crashed 2-1 to Margate.

The Iron boss saw his side exit the FA Trophy after bravely running the Nationwide Conference side close in last night's fifth round replay.

The visitors seized the upper hand at Cressing Road with second-half goals from Mark Munday and Akpo Sodje.

But the Iron refused to give up and Dave Culverhouse set up a dramatic finale after pulling a goal back in the final minute.

Embery said: "I can't ask for any more from my players. The commitment was there and they gave it everything.

"However, in the end Margate were just too strong and too good. They deserved to go through.

"But I thought we ran them close and gave it a very good shot. We've had a great Trophy run and I hope the fans have enjoyed it."

Published Wednesday, March 6, 2002