The Glovers, adorned in their special pink kit, made it 10 wins in a row with a hard-fought victory in testing conditions. A wonderful lofted effort from Matt Worthington in the first half and another late strike from Jake Hyde saw the Glovers extend their lead at the top of the table.

It was the visitors who got off to a stronger start when Ben Mason put a cross into the box in the early stages, but the Glovers managed to get the ball cleared. Moments later, Shaquille Coulthirst had a goal-scoring opportunity, but his effort glanced wide of the post.

Braintree’s continued to grow into the game as Shaquille Coulthirst was denied one-on-one by Joe Day, who made himself big before the ball found its way to the feet of Will Davies, who fired the rebound straight at Joe Day, who was heading back towards goal.

Jordan Stevens produced the Glovers’ first chance of the game as the ball rolled into his path on the edge of the box before he unleashed a low effort, which was well blocked by the Braintree defender. This sparked a string of attacks from the Glovers, including a goal-scoring opportunity for Will Dawes, whose header narrowly missed the goal.

The pressing from the Glovers paid off when a free kick from Jordan Young was punched clear by Vicente Reyes but straight to the feet of Matt Worthington, who lofted the ball over everyone in the crowded area and into the net to make it 1-0.

After the goal, the Glovers continued to press. Jordan Stevens regained possession on the left wing before finding Jordan Young, whose low effort was saved by Vicente Reyes. On the brink of half-time, Joe Day made a magnificent diving save to deny Will Davies to ensure the Glovers went into the break with the lead.

The rain, which had fallen throughout the first half, had well and truly affected conditions on the Huish Park pitch. The Glovers had an early chance as the ball was cleared away to Michael Smith, who clipped the ball towards the back post, but it was collected by Vicente Reyes.

On 54 minutes, Braintree had their first chance of the half. Shaquille Coulthirst managed to get a shot away, but it was wide of the goal. They then had another opportunity 10 minutes later as Leon Davies curled the ball towards the back post where Will Davies was diving in but was unable to poke the ball in.

Meanwhile, the Glovers looked to their bench, making all three changes within minutes. Frank Nouble, Jake Hyde, and Josh Owers entered the field to replace Jordan Young, Sonny Cox, and Jordan Stevens. The already wet conditions only worsened as the half went on, with the ball getting stuck under the feet of anyone who tried to run with it in midfield.

As the clock ticked over to 90 minutes, Jake Hyde popped up to net his second of the week and secure all three points for the Glovers. Frank Nouble held the ball up well before finding Sonny Blu Lo-Everton, who lofted the ball nicely into the path of Jake Hyde. The conditions helped Jake Hyde reach the ball ahead of the oncoming Vicente Reyes before rounding him and slotting the ball into the empty net.

The additional 5 minutes ticked over without too many dramas, with the torrential conditions denying Braintree any chance to structure a response. So, as the final whistle sounded around Huish Park, the Glovers maintained and even extended their lead at the top of the National League South.