Jermaine Francis rescues point as 10-man Braintree draw at lowly Maidenhead

Jermaine Francis salvaged a point for 10-man Braintree as they clawed back a 3-3 National League draw with Maidenhead.

Braintree struck four minutes in when Tom Blackwell’s corner reached Matt Robinson, who nodded the ball into the far corner and the Iron continued to threaten when John Akinde had an effort saved.

They soon struck again when Kyrell Lisbie pounced on a loose ball at the back before tucking home in the 24th minute and continued to hunt for a third when Marley Marshall-Miranda smashed an effort off the post.

However, the game took a twist on the stroke of half-time, with Maidenhead levelling in the 43rd minute when Reece Smith fired past Henry Gray and Braintree were reduced to 10 in first-half stoppage-time after Akinde received a second yellow.

The Magpies equalised in the 67th minute when Tristan Abrahams’ corner was sent into a packed six-yard area and bundled home and just five minutes later, Abrahams sent them ahead from the penalty spot.

Their lead was short-lived, however, as Francis smashed the ball home from a corner in the 78th minute to rescue a point.