Husband leaves his visitors sickened
GILLINGHAM manager Steve Lovell admitted conceding a late equaliser was “sickening” after his side’s draw at Fleetwood.
Tom Eaves seemed to have settled the game late on, but James Husband’s stoppage-time freekick salvaged a point for the play-offchasing Cod Army.
The draw leaves Gillingham just three points above the relegation zone.
And Lovell said: “At 0-0 in the second half you probably would have taken a point because it was a horrible game in horrible conditions but we played a lot of good football and we were delighted when we took the lead.
“But for them to get an equaliser in injury time was sickening really, but it’s another game that we have picked up a point.
“There haven’t been many games when the wind was as bad as that but they didn’t cause us too many problems and it’s just disappointing to concede the freekick. He put it in the only place he could and the wind sort of bent it in.
“A point is a point though and it’s a good one.”
Eaves made no mistake as he diverted Barry Fuller’s far post cross into the bottom corner in the 81st minute. But Husband’s fantastic free-kick earned the home side a draw.
Fleetwood boss Joey Barton said: “It would have been really disappointing to lose the game.
“Tom Eaves scores an amazing amount of goals and he really is the talisman. I thought we dealt well with a really difficult player but obviously for that moment we just switch off and he is capable of that.
“Luckily, Hubby goes up the other end and atones for it. He bends a free-kick in and I was as surprised as anybody as he hasn’t stayed out, when the lads practice free-kicks.
“I’m delighted for him. That’s his first goal for us.”
Gillingham stopper Tom Holy had a heartin-mouth moment early on when he fumbled Husband’s cross – but he retrieved the ball before Paddy Madden could take advantage.
And huge claims for a Fleetwood penalty were waved away when Lewis Coyle looked to have been brought down by Leonardo Lopes.
Barton said: “We thought we might have had a penalty, if not we thought it might have been denying a goal-scoring opportunity, but the ref made that call.”