Altrincham started shakily and were on the backfoot for the opening stages. They were fortunate that Chay Cooper's shot cannoned off the Alty bar rather than finding the back of the net (10 mins).

Altrincham did create a chance after 13 minutes but Knowles failed to turn Reddin's feed into the net and Langston cleared off the line.

Braintree continued to have the better of the game and dominated up to the interval but failed to turn their superiority into a goal, with Akinde missing a good chance shortly before the break.

Altrincham were the better side in the second half, and the game was more open, but there were no goals as a match between two struggling sides ended goalless. It was Altrincham's first clean sheet in nine league matches.

SCORERS:

• None

REFEREE: Mr Paul Howard

ATTENDANCE: 901 (unsegregated)

TEAM NEWS:

Before kick off Neil Gibson, only appointed 48 hours earlier as interim manager, was faced with a growing injury list. Since Altrincham's last league match, defenders Sam Barnes and Sam Reed had joined the casulaty list leaving the new manager with only six names to form his subs' bench.

One positive was the inclusion of Jake Cooper who was declared fit to make his first start of the league season after injury. Other good news was that fellow centre-back and team captain, Lewis Baines, had recovered from his recent knock, too.

With defender Lewis Banks now injured, Alty deployed a back three comprising Jake Cooper in the centre, Lewis Baines on the left, and Dan Sassi on the right.

On the bench, Matty Kosylo came in but only six players were available to be named there, with loanee Waters having gone back at Oldham Athletic after injury.

Braintree were hit by the loss of their loanee keeper Henry Gray on the eve of the match. Only signed on loan from Ipswich on Tuesday, Gray was recalled on Friday by his parent club. He had been the loan keeper at Braintree for half of last season.

So Braintree had hastily recruited Derby County teenage keeper Jack Thompson, meaning that both keepers today were eighteen year-olds as Alty's Ethan Ross remained sidelined and his replacement, loanee Luke Hutchinson, was ruled out by the concussion protocols.

LINE-UPS:

BRAINTREE TOWN (Orange and blue quartered shirts, orange shorts and socks): 1. Mason Terry, 21. Regan Clayton, 24. Frankie Terry, 4. George Langston (c), 2. Aidan Francis-Clarke, 17. Jacob Pinnington, 8. Marley Marshall-Miranda, 38. Terrell Works, 16. Goran Babić, 11. Chay Cooper, 14. John Akinde. Subs: 7. Tom Blackwell, 33. Olly Davis, 18. Sahid Kamara, 39. Elliot Thorpe, 5. Manny Omrore, 15. Tommy Smith, 6. James Vennings.

ALTRINCHAM (Black shirts with yellow diagonals, yellow shorts and black socks): 30 Louie Fallon, 23. Tylor Golden, 34. Dan Sassi, 5. Jake Cooper, 4. Lewis Baines (c), 22. Tom Crawford, 6. Elliot Osborne, 8 Isaac Marriott, 20. Kahrel Reddin, 11. Jimmy Knowles, 9. James Gale. Subs: 7. Olly Crankshaw, 10. Keaton Ward, 14. Matty Kosylo, 21. Jack Hinchy, 40. Charlie Kirk, 41. Max Beddow (gk)

This was Altrincham's first match for more than eight years without manager Phil Parkinson in charge, following his dismissal on Thursday. Interim manager Neil Gibson had enjoyed just two training sessions to plan his strategy for this match.

In their most recent league game, 20th-placed Alty had lost at home to Woking who had arrived as the team immediately above them; now they were meeting the team one place below them in the table in Braintree Town, who lay 21st.

Altrincham had lost six of their seven most recent league games and, including cup ties, had failed to win any of their last ten games inside ninety minutes, their only victory being in extra time at lower-ranked ten-man Harborough Town in the FA Cup.

Morale had been further sapped by the midweek defeat of an Alty side featuring nine starters who were in their first-team squad by a Winsford United team from four levels lower in the pyramid.

Altrincham's last three previous league visits to Cressing Road had all ended in defeat, the margins being 4-2, 3-0 and 2-0 respectively.

REPORT:

Braintree started the game on the front foot with a couple of long throws from The Iron's captain Langston, followed by a teasing cross, by Terry, which flew across the face of Fallon's goal but this went unconverted (6 mins).

Soon afterwards, folllowing a Baines headed clearance, Braintree's Cooper advanced to smash a shot against the Altrincham crossbar with Fallon beaten (10 mins). It was looking like a long afternoon ahead for the visitors before they rallied to win a corner (11 mins).

There was another positive when Reddin fed Crawford but his close-range flicked effort lacked power and was cleared off the line by Langston (13 mins). After this a Reddin shot was blocked.

However, Alty's speedy right-winger was not getting forward as frequently as in earlier games as he was assigned a role more akin to a wing-back.

At the other end, Braintree got in a shot which Fallon saved comfortably (24 mins) as the game went through an uninspiring period.

But, as half-time approached it took a fine save by Fallon to stop a Langston drive, at the cost of a corner (39 mins).

A Crawford foul meant that the midfielder was the first name in the referee's book (41 mins). Marshall-Miranda then won a corner off Baines at which point there was then a second booking as Golden went down but was himself cautioned either for simulation or dissent, it seemed (44 mins).

In the 45th minute, Altrincham were fortunate not to go behind when a rare poor clearance by Jake Cooper gave Akinde a chance but he put the ball over the bar. Yet it was to be Altrincham who had the last chance of the half when they almost stole the lead against the overall run of play. The chance came from a freekick which Crawford headed over the bar.

So half-time was reached with no goals on the scoreboard.

Altrincham started the second half on the front foot and with more animation than they had displayed in the first 45 minutes. After Reddin had miscued a shot (46 mins), the winger earned his side an early corner, after which Sassi fed Gale who headed straight at the home keeper (48 mins).

These two early chances inside three minutes equalled the number of Altrincham openings created throughout the first half.

Reddin was loking much livelier now and, next, he fed Gale whose pass for Knowles did not reach its target allowing the home keeper grabbed the ball (51 mins).

Soon the Alty right-winger was causing more trouble to the hosts, getting to the byeline before the ball bounced off keeper Thompson onto a defender then back to the custodian (54 mins).

But play then settled into a more mundane period before Altrincham made a double change with Kirk and Ward replacing Crawford and Gale (64 mins).

There was little in the way of goal threat at either end before a third change brought Crankshaw onto the pitch in place of Knowles (75 mins).

Play was not of the highest quality before Braintree earned a corner when a Pinnington effort was deflected narrowly over the bar (80 mins). Altrincham were now under pressure before Braintree brought on Thorpe for Kamara (86 mins).

Ward earned some relief for Altrincham by winning a corner (87 mins) before Ward hit the bar with a mis-hit but offside was declared in any case (89 mins).

In five added minutes Altrincham had a couple of chances to snatch the points. Firstly, Golden got forward and fed Crankshaw but he was blocked off (90+2 mins). An even better opening followed as Kirk curled a goalward shot from the left but a defender managed to block his effort (90+3 mins).

So two goal-shy teams settled for a point apiece which will have pleased Altrincham more, given they were the away team and their lamentable recent form.