Performance pleases Gills boss.
Manager Steve Lovell was encouraged by his side's battling display despite having to settle for a point in a 0-0 draw with Accrington at Priestfield on Tuesday night.
Tom Eaves, Max Ehmer, Josh Rees and Brandon Hanlan all came close to breaking the deadlock on a frustrating night at Priestfield, but a resolute Accrington defence kept the Gills at bay as the hosts had to settle for a point.
Reflecting on the game, Steve said: “I thought the boys did really well, I thought we had the majority of the game and had most of the chances. We’ve had games like this before and lost games. We would have loved to have won it and we should have won it, but it’s a point gained and that could mean a lot to us at the end of the season.”
He continued: “We defended really well as a group and the midfield closed down their midfield very well and I thought we created opportunities, on another day could have scored two or three.”
Darren Oldaker, Barry Fuller and Brandon Hanlan all came in to the starting line-up as Gills switched to a 4-3-3 and Lovell was pleased with how the change of tactics worked.
“I Just wanted to change it today as I wanted to get more attacking options out on the field and with Brandon, Elliott and Tom it gives us a really good attacking force," he added. "I think having a back four helped too. The full-backs weren’t really attacking full-backs and I thought they did very well.”
The result sees Gillingham just one point above the drop zone, but Lovell is confident tonight’s result will be a good platform for his Gills side with a run of difficult games ahead in the league.
He said “We’ve been in this position before and we know what needs to be done. We were brave today and sometimes it is hard when you’re down the bottom of the table and you can go in to your shell, but we didn’t do that today.
“It’s been a tough few weeks regarding results but hopefully this will set us in the right direction. It was a good atmosphere in the changing room at the end of the game. Even though we haven’t won the game I think there is a sense that this is the start of something now.”