Martin pleased with performance at Cheltenham despite 1-0 loss
Gills Manager Martin Allen said that his players stood up to the battle and gave everything they could for the club in the 1-0 defeat to Cheltenham Town at Whaddon Road on Saturday.
Michael Hector’s second half header proved the difference between the sides, and the result means the Gills will have to wait for at least another week to secure the league championship.
After the game Martin said: “I thought the lads had a real go, it’s a difficult place to come and play especially after getting promotion last week.
“Their record here is very, very good against the best teams and I thought they played really well to be honest. Our players stood up to it, battled against it.
“We had a few half opportunities and I thought our lads had a real go and you can see why that is only the second game we have lost away from home all season.
“We had several players struggling but that’s no excuse, I thought Cheltenham played really well and they were really fired up and motivated.
“Yes we have got injuries but take nothing away from them. Let’s not whinge or complain, that’s part and parcel – take it on the chin and one little error has cost us the game and we have to live with that.
“It was very difficult to play out there with the wind and rain – that made it extremely difficult for both teams. We wanted to win and came here to win and I shook all their hands as they came off the pitch along with the management team.
“I do hope they go up because whatever the supporters think about me, I love this place and it’s always been very special to me. The people behind the scenes here that I worked with knew I did my best here.
“It’s nice to see so many people and they were all so friendly to me and they are the people that matter. Our supporters behind the goal sang their hearts out through to the end and they have seen their players giving everything once again for our club.
“It would have been great to get a goal at the end but now we look forward to next Saturday, and a win will make us the Champions and we are all set.
“We have just had a nice chat with the players. You never have to have a go at them because they are such good professionals and good people.
“They have really worked so hard and they have done for such a long time all season so we will get them back in on Tuesday, assesses the injuries on Monday and start preparing for next Saturday.”
For our official match report click here.