BRAINTREE Town have shown different sides to their character in recent weeks: coping with the mud at Truro, a dazzling three goals in the first 38 minutes against Dover, the grinding out of a result at Chippenham, writes RON FOSKER.

Against Torquay on Saturday they had to show another one. How to survive for more than an hour with only ten men.

Not only did they survive, but through sheer dogged determination and a refusal to accept the limitation they came away with a 1-0 victory from their latest National League South game.

But it was no thanks to Alfie Pavey.

When he re-signed for the club late last month, much was made of extra dimension he would bring with his ability to win the ball in the air and dictate the play.

What was not mentioned was his occasional loss of self-control.

Gazette:

It was what led to Iron playing for all but the first 25 minutes with ten players.

Out of nowhere, Pavey launched into an off-the-ball tackle that was high, two-footed, reckless, and utterly irresponsible.

It was almost a carbon copy of the tackle that got him sent off against Weymouth in March last year.

There did not seem to have been anything to trigger any sense of grievance although he was seen agitatedly remonstrating with the referee a few moments earlier.

It is his good fortune that his teammates were at their most obdurate for the rest of the match and gave as good as they got, or indeed better, including a superb goal from Tom Blackwell eight minutes into the second half.

Gazette:

Blackwell took a short corner to Aaron Blair, received a return pass, beat his man and slammed a riveting shot into the net from an acute angle.

A rattled Torquay seldom looked like responding. They had much of the play but were let down by some wayward finishing on occasion but more frequently were held up by some tenacious defending with Joe Grimwood and Ben Tompkins as usual at the heart of it.

The only other downside to the game, in addition to Pavey’s red card, were bookings for Reggie Lambe and Jack Sims for remarks to the referee and for Jayden Davis and Baris Altintop for fouls, the first unfortunate the second less so.

Altintop is another player who always seems to exist on the edge of a red card, which he came close to receiving when he unnecessarily barged into Torquay’s Brad Ash while the ball was out of play after he had already been booked.

Gazette: Braintree Town

It is not the first time he has shown a tendency to get involved in unnecessary antagonism and it is a side of his character that must worry manager Angelo Harrop.

More curiously, the visitors’ Tom Lapslie somehow got involved with both the home bench and the assistant referee and received two yellow cards, one immediately after the other, after he had been substituted.

Braintree: Jack Sims; Baris Altintop, Ben Tompkins, Joe Grimwood, Leon Davies; Tom Blackwell (Lewis Miccio 90+2), Reggie Lambe, Alfie Payne, Jayden Davis (Shaq Coulthirst 65); Aaron Blair (Charlie Wakefield 81), Alfie Pavey.