ALL THAT DANNY NEEDS IS BELIEF...
JIMMY Floyd Hasselbaink claims belief is the only thing missing for Danny Powell as his strike helped Northampton edge their League One basement battle at Gillingham.
Powell’s sweet effort gave the Cobblers the lead against the run of play before Lee Martin equalised for the Gills in the second half.
But a sublime Matt Grimes free-kick in the 73rd minute from the right gave the away side all three points.
And Hasselbaink stressed just how crucial the victory was.
Hasselbaink said: “It was very important to get the three points for the club and the fans who came in their numbers.
“Gillingham were better to start but our first goal settled us down and we were a lot better and more organised.
“Danny was our best player I feel. His goal was great and he did so much work for the team.
“He needs to believe in himself more. We’ve been working very hard at that because he has so much power and technique because he can run, shoot and score.”
Despite the result, Gills interim boss Steve Lovell once again made his case after the match for taking the job on a permanent basis.
“I would love a week on the training ground with these players,” he said. “I would love 100 weeks with them! When you go into coaching and do your badges, managing a team is what you aspire to.” The hosts started brightly and nearly took the lead through Martin’s fierce drive on 16 minutes, while Elliott List’s shot soared wide after brilliantly wriggling away from a crowd of players.
Northampton offered little in the first half but took the lead just before the break when Powell found himself in space in a central position before striking in off the post from 25 yards out.
Aaron Pierre nearly doubled their lead after latching onto John-Joe O’Toole’s header but the centre-back’s volley was well saved.
On 62 minutes, the Gills equalised when Josh Parker’s searching ball found Martin who finished neatly into the corner of the net.
But the visitors regained the lead when Grimes’ free-kick from the right rebounded off both posts before dropping in to give them victory.
Defeat leaves Gillingham second from bottom but Lovell insists there were positives to take from the game.
He said: “The result is disappointing but I can’t fault the performance of the players, especially in the first half. We created a number of opportunities and their keeper made some great saves.
“Northampton’s goals killed us. Both were fantastic strikes that we could not have done much about.
“We’ve had some good results lately so some may have thought we were going to win 3-0 but it was more about getting a good performance.”