GILLS OWE IT TO SAVIOUR HOLY
STEVE Lovell said his Gillingham side were out-thought by Hartlepool as a stubborn defensive display earned the National League side a replay.
Disappointed Lovell said the visitors won the “battle of wit” as they nullified any threat from his team.
“They did their jobs better than we did ours – that sums up the game,” hesaid. “They’ve come down here wanting to get a 0-0 and they got that. It’s hard to break teams down who put 10 men behind the ball. They didn’t want to win game, but they’ll want to in the replay, so it’ll be an open game. I think that will suit us better.
“I’m very disappointed with what we did with the ball when we had it. They sat behind the ball and dictated how they wanted us to play.”
Hartlepool captain Liam Noble wasted the best chance to put his side into the second round for the fourth time in six years, shooting straight at Gills goalkeeper Tomas Holy from 12 yards, when unmarked in the box.
Holy produced an excellent reaction save to keep out Ryan Donaldson’s volley in the 53rd minute and was equal to Nicky Featherstone’s speculative attempt on target from 25 yards.
Defender Carl Magnay dragged a low shot off-target late on after patient build-up play from the visitors.
Lovell’s side, who sit 40 places about their northern opponents, struggled to break down a dogged Hartlepool defence throughout.
Their best chance came seconds after the break, but Brandon Hanlan’s low attempt flew inches past a post.
Leading scorer Tom Eaves headed wide from Luke O’Neill’s cross after 13 minutes and Hanlan’s darting run into the box ended before he could get his shot away. Max Ehmer gave Hartlepool goalkeeper Scott Loach an easy save with a header on the hour, before Myles Anderson bravely blocked Mark Byrne’s powerful drive from close range.
Despite the frustration of not completing an unlikely smash-and-grab raid Hartlepool boss Matthew Bates was more than satisfied with the shift his side had delivered.
“We set up to frustrate them with our shape and it worked,” said Bates. “The lads were magnificent.
“To come away to a League One side, a team who have won two of their past three games 3-0 and 4-0, to limit them and then have the best chance of the game is very pleasing.
“We felt comfortable. Shape and organisation get you over the line in these games and the lads have listened this week, they took on what we taught them in training.
“The pleasing thing was our discipline, they plugged away, kept their shape and caught them on the break a few times.
“On another day we’d have come here and got the win. It’s a well-deserved replay.
“If we play like we did, there’s no reason why we can’t beat them in front of our fans.”