A scrappy affair at the Avanti Stadium ended in a goalless draw between Tranmere Rovers and Braintree Town.

Manager Gary Brabin admitted that his side were frustrated by the opposition.

The game waited until the ninth minute of stoppage time before its first shot on target.

Tranmere substitute Adam Mekki's effort was saved, while Jay Harris's 25-yarder was the only other notable strike on goal by the visitors.

The hosts' pair of Simeon Akinola and Dan Sparkes launched long-range shots that flew over in an uninspiring game.

Braintree climbed to 20th in the National League as a result of the draw, while Rovers lost their 100% start to the season and dropped to fourth.

Brabin said: "Obviously we're disappointed. It's a tough place to come, we knew that but if we had dug in a little bit more we would feel happier going home with a scruffy 1-0 win but I don't think we did enough at the end of the day.

"It was frustrating, we're going to get teams who frustrate you and try to slow the game down. They had a game plan but we have to rise above that and unfortunately, I don't think we did enough today.

"We can't rely on others, we have dig in ourselves and be professional.

"I didn't think we ever really got going today, it wasn't pretty on the eye but the pleasing thing is we've got two difficult away trips out of the way and picked up four points and another clean sheet today, so there are positives for us.

"We thought after the performance on Tuesday (a 1-4 win at Gateshead) that we had made a massive stride forward but we're disappointed with our performance.

"The game was stop-start but we had a great chance at the end. I thought we got into the final third but we weren't at our normal standard so we didn't create enough chances.

"I'd be lying if I said I thought we deserved to win."

Rovers host Halifax Town at Prenton Park on Tuesday. Kick-off will be at 7.45pm.