Gill not afraid to make changes in bid for results
Jerry Gill cut a frustrated figure as Bath City were edged out by Slough Town.
Max Worsfold’s stoppage time free-kick concluded a remarkable finale, after an uneventful opening 86 minutes.
Gill was furious at referee Ross Martin for the decision which led to the winner, claiming the official told players he was unsure about the foul.
“If you’re unsure how can you give it to decide a game?” said Gill.
“He should have not made the decision and just left it.
“The warning sign was just before their winner when we gave away a silly free-kick on the edge of the box when we dived in.
“Then we’ve given the referee a chance to make a poor decision by dangling a leg out for the tackle. I didn’t think it was a free-kick, even some of their players said that wasn’t afterwards.
“I thought it was going to peter out into a nil-nil game. There wasn’t a lot of quality in it with final passes going astray.
“Our confidence isn’t at its best at the moment so you’ve got to try and dig out a result and get a point. We’re in a tricky and tough place and the only way to come out of it is to be positive.”
Cam Mcgilp netted his first goal for Slough to open the scoring with four minutes of normal time remaining. Within two minutes, Donovan Wilson cancelled it out,
also a maiden strike, and Gill was impressed with his performance but disappointed with the hosts’ first.
“It looked like we were carved open so easily with that goal,” he said.
“We can’t keep getting cut open though. Tom Leak had to make an unbelievable block on the line just
before it. The positive is we went up the other end and scored a fantastic goal through Donovan, who I thought was a real bright spark despite being isolated second half, he needed more support.
“I’ve known Donovan for many years. He could almost be too good for this league. If anyone saw that display today they’ll see what a fantastic player he is.
“We didn’t expect him to do the full game but we had nothing else. He’s done incredibly to last the full game.”
Whereas Wilson was completing 90 minutes for the first time since December 2018, the City boss withdrew Callum Watts inside half an hour and Freddie Grant eight minutes after the break.
Tommy Conway and Freddie Hinds were also absent with Conway in isolation having been in contact with a relative who tested positive for Covid-19, and Hinds suffering a back injury.
“The problem we have is I’m having to chop and change constantly,” said Gill, who has only seen three players start all seven of their matches. “The two players we had missing were very much part of our plans, that was taken away from us.
“I had to make a change early because someone has not understood a role, and another after halftime for the same reason.
“They should know but it looks like it’s alien to them at the moment. They get the information in training, we work on it.
“Ryan Harley did well when he
came on. He was disappointed not to start but went on and had a real impact.”
Gill hinted that he won’t be afraid to make further changed to personnel to turn around City’s fortunes. They face Hemel Hempstead Town on Saturday, who picked up their first league win under Lee Bircham on Saturday in a 4-3 thriller at fellow strugglers Braintree Town.
“We’re not good enough for our high standards,” Gill claimed. “We won’t let them slip whether that means we have to adjust the squad again or sit down as a staff and carefully go through it.
“I don’t want to come out and be like I was after the Havant game. I hate losing football matches and don’t want to be all doom and gloom.
“We’ve got to work harder and try and dig out some results.
“I can’t keep chopping and changing constantly. We only make decisions to try and get results.
“We’ll assess the game and work even harder to make it right next time.”
The City chief said he will consider extending Leak’s loan spell from Walsall.
The centre-back turned 20 on Saturday and his loan expires after Saturday’s match. Another defender, James Taylor, remains on the club’s books on loan from Bristol City but hasn’t featured due to injury.
Frankie Artus is a week or two away from returning having suffered an Achilles injury against Oxford City in the first league game.