Jermaine Francis was pushed to the ground in the area and Effiong coolly dispatched his spot-kick.
This ended an embarrassing sequence of three successive defeats, but Braintree Town ended it in grand style with a 90th-minute penalty that sealed the deal 1-0 over FC Halifax, thanks to Inih Effiong's cool finish. The victory at Cressing Road is a much-needed fillip to a team struggling for form this season. Coming off the back of just one win in ten, Braintree was in for a shock, but they responded well to the pressure as the game entered its dying minutes.
It is not going to be one of those wins for Braintree as Halifax runs out undefeated in the last five games. Despite all that had been against them in recent matches, Braintree finally showed a long-awaited amount of determination and energy. From the off, they were the more enterprising side, dominating possession and constantly creating better chances. Much of their creative play centered around midfielder James Vennings in the first half, whose dangerous set-pieces and long-range efforts continually tested the Halifax defense.
One of the best chances of the half fell to Vennings, whose powerful shot from outside the box seemed destined for the top corner, only being superbly fingertipped out by Halifax goalkeeper Sam Johnson. Braintree persisted and continued their endeavors through a series of missed opportunities, none frustrating like Vennings' free-kick just before halftime, which crept just wide of the post. And through it all, the hosts took parity back into the break, sending the crowd to the intermission wondering if this team was going to find a way to convert the quality play into something that favorably impacted the scoreboard.
At the re-start, Braintree carried quite a bit of its momentum forward and gave young forward Kyrell Lisbie plenty to talk about. Twice, Lisbie was in the perfect position—inches of his head from finding the back of the net on close-range headers that just didn't quite make it there. Still, Braintree was determined and threw everything at Halifax, to the frustration of their home crowd as their chances failed to find the back of the net. Their guests appeared more than happy to sit back and soak up pressure in the hope of snatching a result with late counter-attacks.
It was only to be when things looked likely that another disappointing result was looming for Braintree when fate turned very much in their favor. And in the 90th minute, winger Jermaine Francis took his dribble inside and into the penalty area, where he was undiplomatically bundled over by a Halifax defender, which was no surprise to see referee Alan Dale point to the spot for Braintree's golden opportunity to steal all three points at the death. Inih Effiong, who kept quiet for the greater part of the match, stepped up to accept the responsibility.
Effiong composed himself and coolly slotted the ball past Johnson to send the crowd into raptures. Braintree deserves the reward following the game played out to relentless commitment. The blow would be harsh for Halifax, who had dominated the game for much of the time only to look set to salvage a point. And then finally, within the remaining moments of the game, the final whistle sounded. There was that feeling of relief and euphoria mixed in the faces of Braintree players and fans after such disappointment had been brewing for several weeks. Such a win may act as a switch for them to change the course of their campaign. Manager Angelo Harrop addressed the media after the game and said, "It wasn't perfect, but the lads showed heart, and that's what we needed today. We've had a tough run of games, but this could be the result that turns our season around. I am proud of how we kept pushing till the end."
It was a harsh reminder for Halifax of how fast football can change. Unbeaten in five coming in, they never really resembled themselves at all in this one, as Braintree was allowed far too much room and possession to get on and cause damage. Manager Chris Millington will certainly have been disappointed at the way his team allowed those three points to slip away at death, but with that said, strong form late in the season has made this result perhaps only a blip in an otherwise solid start to the season. For Braintree though, it would be a refreshing revival after such a much-needed victory. And now that they have taken this much-needed win, they are going to look forward to mounting the recovery stages, as they will see climbing the table of the National League in the coming weeks.