Faal brace helps Hawks claim crucial home National League South win against Braintree

The club’s leading scorer took his league tally to 14 in a 3-1 victory over Braintree at Westleigh Park.

Midfielder Charlie Ruff was also on target as Paul Doswell’s men avoided setting what would have been a new unwanted club record.

Hawks had lost their previous three home league games, and never in the club’s history had they suffered four straight league losses.

Victory, however, kept them five points adrift of leaders Dartford with two games in hand. Ebbsfleet are a further point behind in third place with a game in hand on Hawks and three in hand on Dartford.

Braintree arrived having only lost one of their previous eight league fixtures, though six had been drawn. And Hawks, playing against a stiff wind, went ahead through Faal netting from a James Roberts cross.

Braintree levelled when Joe Benton curled in a superb free-kick, though Hawks were angry it had been given as keeper Brad House was down injured at the time the set-piece was awarded for handball.

Ruff restored Hawks’ lead two minutes after the restart and Faal struck again on 56 minutes.

There was a late sub appearance by defender Ben Shroll, who for the second season running has arrived on a loan spell from National League Aldershot.

Shroll ended last season at Hawks and has now rejoined the club after a loan stint at NLS rivals Hampton & Richmond Borough earlier in the season.

‘’We played very well in the first half against a gale force wind,’ said Doswell. ‘We were disappointed to go in at 1-1.

‘We thought the performance had been good and with the strong wind we thought we’d have a big chance in the second half - and that’s how it panned out.’

Faal - who last season struck 33 Isthmian League Premier goals for Enfield Town - is now the third highest NLS marksman this season.

St Albans’ Shaun Jeffers is leading the way with 19, while Ebbsfleet’s Dominic Poleon now has 17 after his weekend hat-trick in a 4-1 win against Weymouth.

Hawks have now won back-to-back fixtures, after following up their Boxing Day home loss to Eastbourne by beating the Sussex club 3-1 away on New Year’s Day.

‘It’s been a really good couple of weeks,’ hailed Doswell. ‘We needed to go to Eastbourne and get a result, and we needed to get a result today. We had lost three on the spin here and that wasn’t on our agenda.’

Doswell, meanwhile, had told The News last week that he was ‘bewildered’ by his side’s regular failure to attract four-figure NLS gates.

That’s despite Hawks being firmly in the title race and the second highest scorers - behind Dartford - in the two sixth tier divisions of English football.

in a bid to boost numbers, Hawks had slashed matchday admission costs for adults from £15 to £5.

Given the dismal weather, the manager was happy to see a crowd of 1,153 - Hawks’ third highest of the league season - at Westleigh Park as a result.

The visit of Braintree was Hawks’ 10th home game in their last 15 NLS fixtures - during which they have picked up just 13 points.

They have the same points tally from their five away trips in the same period, and possess the only unbeaten away record in the top seven tiers.

With that in mind, it could be good news that five of Hawks’ next six NLS games are on the road!

Those five games are as follows - Farnborough (January 14), Dover (January 21), St Albans (January 24), Taunton (January 31) and Ebbsfleet (February 4).