JUSTIN: I’M ENJOYING THE VIBE
JUSTIN EDINBURGH shied away from title talk despite Gillingham picking up their fourth consecutive victory by thrashing sorry Bradford.
Bradley Dack’s 20-yard strike and Rory Donnelly’s precise finish gave the Gills a two-goal lead inside 11 minutes, before Doug Loft scored in the last minute of normal time.
A late red card for Nathan Clarke compounded Bradford’s misery, while Gillingham are now just a point behind League One leaders Burton Albion.
“We don’t want to get carried away,” Edinburgh said.
“Football is a tough game, but you get criticised when you get too excited and you get criticised when you try and play things down.
“It’s a young group with a real vibe and they’re enjoying what they’re doing. It’s just a case of trying to keep that going, and channel that enthusiasm in the right areas.
“We scored two really good goals and it set us up to be able to manage the game from there on in.
“We’re well in the hunt for the play-off places and it was a big win today with the results around us.”
Edinburgh had named an unchanged side after three straight wins while Bradford welcomed Devante Cole back into the starting line-up for the first time in two months.
The Bantams had been in search of their tenth clean sheet of the season, but Dack fired the first shot of the game into the bottom right-hand corner after only four minutes.
And when Donnelly slotted home a one-two pass from Dack inside the box, the Gills had a two-goal lead which they thoroughly deserved.
It was nearly three 90 seconds later, Donnelly’s chip cleared off the line by Rory McArdle.
The frenetic pace of the game continued and Bradford should have had a goal back after 31 minutes, Kyel Reid picking out Cole seven yards out but his volley flew over the bar.
After a quiet second half, Gillingham finally grabbed a third as Ryan Jackson found Loft inside the six-yard box, before Clarke was dismissed in stoppage time.
And Bradford boss Phil Parkinson admitted he would have to re-evaluate his January transfer plans after consecutive defeats.
“We just didn’t show enough fight, and we were second best in the opening exchanges,” Parkinson said.
“I’ve got to work hard now. I’m not happy with the players, I’m not happy with myself right now.
“Gillingham are a good team, we know that, but we’ve got to give ourselves a chance, which we didn’t do.
“There’s going to be a lot of soulsearching this week because for a team to concede two goals in eight games then six in two, there’s got to be something wrong. There’s too much of a soft centre. “At the other end, wingers have got to produce chances for strikers, and strikers have got to work the keeper when they get them.”