Fight fire with fire is the message Braintree manager Ben Embery will send out to his players before tonight's crunch rearranged replay with Margate.

The Iron know a quarter-final place at home to Morecambe is at stake if they can beat the Nationwide Conference outfit at Cressing Road (kick-off 7.45pm).

And Embery is delighted that Braintree have taken the Kent side back to their place after securing a fabulous 1-1 draw in the first game.

He said: "They put in a tremendous performance that day and we'll need more of the same. The great thing about these boys is they are never beaten. We went behind quite late on but showed great resilience to come back and force the replay.

"They were a big physical side and we knew we had to compete. We had to fight fire with fire and I'll be looking for more of the same tonight. It won't be a game for the faint-hearted."

Embery has also been boosted by the return of skipper Nicky Smith after a groin injury.

The midfielder who was an FA Trophy winner with Colchester United in 1992 would have missed the replay if it hadn't been postponed due to a waterlogged pitch last Tuesday.

Wing-back Mark Jones and top scorer Nicky Simpson have also recovered from knocks but defender Gary Waters will be out.

Published Tuesday, March 5, 2002