Thurrock lost their Essex Cup crown after a 2-0 defeat against Ryman Premier outfit Braintree Town after a hard fought contest. Braintree took the lead as early as the 5^th minute when Steve Parmenter sent Carl Griffiths clear and the experienced striker passed the ball into the net past Glenn Knight. Thurrock had a setback after only 10 minutes when Mark Janney limped off injured and was replaced by Boniek Forbes. Moments later a wicked cross from Dave Collis was nearly deflected into his own goal by a Braintree defender but the visitors continued to put pressure on Fleet and Knight had to be at his best to deny Griffiths. The last chance of the half fell to Richard Goddard but his shot was blocked as it looked destined for the back of the net.

Thurrock flew out of the blocks in the second half and an exquisite flick by Goddard sent top-scorer Steve Harper clear. He seemed to do everything right but his shot hit the outside of the post and went wide. Just after the hour Forbes was sent through by Harper but the Braintree keeper got there first as Forbes seemed to check his run. With a quarter of an hour to go Lee Hodges had a free kick that was well held by the keeper and Fleet continued to pile on the pressure but it wasn’t to be and Braintree put the game beyond the hosts when Eugene Ofori smashed home Robbie Martin’s corner.