Spot-kick misses not enough to stop Gills
IS GILLINGHAM’S luck turning? Having had perfectly good goals not given in their previous two games – both of which they lost – Steve Lovell’s side got away with missing two penalties yet still hammered Bristol Rovers.
Rovers started well but fell apart within a 25-minute spell that condemned the league’s worst travellers to their sixth consecutive away defeat.
Mark Byrne scored twice in the victory, the Gills’ first at home in the league since September 16. The Irishman’s opener came following Joe Partington’s foul on former Bristol City midfielder Scott Wagstaff – he saw his penalty saved by Rovers goalkeeper Adam Smith but tapped home the rebound despite slipping.
“We haven’t had our breaks in the last few weeks,” said head coach Lovell. “I said I’d thought they’d come and we got one.
“I told the boys at half-time that every time we went forward we looked like scoring. When we switched the play and passed as well as we did we caused them a lot of problems.”
Gills keeper Tomas Holy made two vital saves in the game’s opening 20 seconds. The Czech parried Rory Gaffney’s powerful long-distance shot before keeping out Ellis Harrison’s rebound.
After Byrne's opener, defender Alex Lacey doubled the hosts’ advantage eight minutes before half-time, capping a surging forward run with a curled finish from 15 yards.
Josh Parker capitalised on dreadful Rovers defending to poke home his side’s third 90 seconds after the break. Byrne sealed their victory on 53 minutes with the goal of the game, hitting a firsttime volley into the top corner.
Lovell added: “It’s a goal of the season contender. Tha’'s one of the best I've ever seen here at this stadium.”
However, the midfielder missed the chance for a first career hat-trick in the 65th minute, shooting wide from the spot following Smith’s clumsy foul on Wagstaff. Liam Sercombe scored a stoppage-time consolation, curling in from the edge of the box,
“The players will stay bog standard, average League One players until they find consistency,” said Rovers manager Darrell Clarke. “If you don’t turn up, teams like Gillingham, who have been struggling, can turn you over.
“I feel let down, like the supporters who came to watch. The goals we gave away were cheap after starting well. We made bad decisions with the ball all afternoon.”