Braintree Town have announced the signing of prolific National League striker, Inih Effiong, formerly of Notts County, following his departure from Dagenham and Redbridge.
The move came as a pleasant surprise for fans of the side that won the National League South play-offs last season as Effiong has scored 39 goals over the previous two campaigns in England’s fifth tier. Furthermore, the London-born centre-forward spent a long time in the sixth and seventh divisions of English football playing for the likes of St Albans City, Boreham Wood and Chesham United.
It was Effiong’s impressive form at Biggleswade Town that earned him his first move into professional football with Barrow at the end of the 2016/17 season.
After seven league appearances and one goal for the Cumbrian club, Effiong was signed by Woking at the start of the 2017/18 season. The Englishman made a stellar start to the campaign, scoring 10 times in all competitions.
This led Scottish Premiership side Ross County to sign the forward on a one-and-a-half-year deal in January 2018. Unfortunately, the powerful striker was never given the chance to impress north of the border, making just three appearances as his team were relegated.
Effiong was released by Ross County and decided to move back to the National League with Dover Athletic. He had two prolific seasons on the south coast and scored 25 goals in 83 appearances for the Whites.
This earned the Englishman another chance in the Football League with Stevenage but Effiong had a tumultuous 2020/21 campaign which saw him move on loan to both Barnet and Notts County after quickly being deemed surplus to requirements by his new club.
In May 2021, the striker agreed to return to Woking on a one-year contract and scored 13 times in 40 league appearances for the Cards. At the start of the following season, he left Woking and moved to their rivals Aldershot Town.
The forward picked up where he left off, netting 14 times in 30 appearances for Aldershot before Dagenham and Redbridge signed him for an undisclosed fee in the winter of 2023. He has enjoyed the most prolific spell of his professional career at the Daggers, scoring 25 times in 46 games for Ben Strevens’ side before announcing his departure upon the expiry of his contract.
Writer’s View
This signing was certainly unexpected but it will be a real coup for Braintree. Newly promoted teams sometimes struggle to score goals at a higher level, but Effiong is almost guaranteed to do so and he may prove to be the difference between survival and relegation for the Iron.
From a personal perspective, it seems peculiar that Effiong would leave mid-way through the project that Ben Strevens was completing at Dagenham and Redbridge. At 33 years of age, perhaps a longer contract or better finances played a large role in his decision.