Peter Taylor praises Bayo Akinfenwa after influential display against Port Vale at the weekend
Peter Taylor praised the performance of Bayo Akinfenwa who scored twice in the 3-2 win over Port Vale on Saturday.Akinfenwa headed home two Bradley Dack crosses to help put Gills in a commanding position, and although Port Vale mounted a strong comeback, the hosts were able to see out the game and register three deserved points.
Speaking after the game Peter said: “I’m delighted with Bayo because he scored two great goals but I thought his back to goal play was excellent.
“He’s a great lad; there are times when he won’t start and will come off the bench and there are times when we will need to agree which is the best thing to do.
“He has been absolutely first class and I’m delighted for him to have got the two goals.”
Peter was asked if he knew much about the striker before arriving at the club, and he admitted he did based on games he has managed in the past when Akinfenwa came up against him.
He added: “I knew that if you could get the ball in to him then he’s a handful and that’s what he is. There are some teams that will stop you getting the ball to him.
“He is a terrific back to goal player which I always knew as I’ve been in charge of teams who have played against sides Bayo was playing for, so I knew about him.
“Had we not had a midweek game I probably wouldn’t have made a change because we were going alright.
“Sometimes when you make them [substitutions] it’s extra added time and you have to be careful when you do it but for me to consider Bayo again, he couldn’t play 90 minutes on Saturday.”
Watch Peter’s post match interview in full on Player.