Ady Pennock gives his reaction following Tuesday's defeat to Bolton
Gillingham Head Coach Ady Pennock was disappointed to see his team outclassed by promotion-chasing Bolton Wanderers at MEMS Priestfield Stadium on Tuesday night.
First-half headed goals from David Wheater, Adam Le Fondre and Mark Beevers gave the visitors an almost unassailable lead at the break, before Josh Vela added a fourth just after the break to complete a miserable evening for the Gills.
Pennock was left to rue another slow start to the match from the Gills who were picked off by the Trotters’ set piece prowess, but he was already looking for an immediate response from his team when they travel to Rochdale in a few days.
Pennock on…conceding from set pieces: “We conceded some very poor goals. I can’t remember [Stuart] Nelson making any saves apart from picking the ball out of his net. In open play, I thought we did okay defensively but from set plays we were very poor.
“They [set plays] have been an Achilles heel since I’ve been here. They have seven or eight six-foot-plus players and we haven’t.
“It’s one of those games where you just have to put your hands up and say they were better than us. All over the pitch I thought they were very good, a big strong team, but we didn’t throw in the towel.”
Pennock on…Byrne’s performance and returning players: “[Mark] Byrne has been right on it, especially for the last few games. For a little fella he put his head in where it hurts, he picked up a lot of loose balls and he richly deserved the man of the match. He’s in a rich vein of form.
“Hopefully, we’ll have Ryan Jackson back this weekend. I thought he might have a chance tonight but he said he wasn’t pain free.”
Pennock on…Saturday’s fixture at Rochdale: “We’ve won three of the last five games, and we’ve really got to make sure we recover for Saturday as it’s another big game for us.
“I’ll give them the day off tomorrow and make sure they’re nice and bright when they come in on Thursday, then we’ll really look forward to another cup final on Saturday.
“We’ve got to take it on the chin and bounce back.”
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