Reaction from Gills Assistant boss Paul Raynor.
Gills Assistant Manager Paul Raynor said he was very pleased with the overall performance of the squad following Tuesday night's 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur U21 at MEMS Priestfield Stadium.
Read more | Gillingham 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur U21
Raynor, who took the team for the evening, saw Alex Jakubiak and Jack Tucker both find the target to register victory in the club's final Leasing.Com Trophy group stage fixture of the season. Gills couldn't qualify but performed well to register three points.
Speaking after the game he said: “I thought we were always in control of the game, Tottenham had a lot of the ball but we had a good solid shape. On transition we didn’t do a lot on the break, we could have gone on to score a couple more goals but the decision making when we broke into their half wasn’t quite as good as it should have been.
“Overall I thought it was a good, solid performance.
“We identified the problems they were causing us; we grew into the game and were a real threat, especially down the right hand side in the first half. We created a number of opportunities and fortunately Alex took one late in the half which, on balance, I thought we deserved.
“We have been disappointed in the competition; it’s been an opportunity against Colchester and Ipswich to put in performances to put positive thoughts in the manager’s mind. Unfortunately they haven’t done so in those games but I certainly feel as they have tonight so we go away really pleased.
“We knew they would dominate the ball from time to time and have periods of possession but they didn’t really hurt us with it. There were lots of positive.”
One of those was the performance of Mark Marshall who sent in a number of dangerous crosses from both wings, and Raynor was pleased to see him constantly causing problems.
“He showed his disappointment from not being involved on Saturday in the right manner. He was a constant threat all night; we were delighted with Mark today and he created a few opportunities and stuck one on Jack’s head to take the pressure off and seal the victory.”
Gills get back to league commitments on Saturday with Lincoln making the trip to ME7, and Paul said everyone’s focus will now switch to that game.
He added: “They’ve got some quality players. Michael Appleton is trying to get his own identity into them and adopt his own style which can have its difficulties. He is a very good coach, a very good manager and it will be a tough game.
“We are looking forward to it, our confidence is high.”
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