Gill bemused by Braintree defeat See page 44
Recent winning form comes to an end at lowly opposition
Jerry Gill was left scratching his head after his side’s 2-0 loss at strugglers Braintree Town.
The Essex men were in the bottom two heading into Saturday’s contest, but fought for their lives and second half goals from Jordan Chiedozie and Liam Smyth saw their efforts rewarded with a first home win since September.
In contrast, Gill couldn’t fathom how his side’s performance levels dropped after their recent return to form.
“That was nowhere near acceptable from us,” Gill said. “We were nowhere near our level again.
“That’s a tough one to take because we set up to win the game. We haven’t changed anything from the last few weeks.
“We said all week we couldn’t be complacent when we came here.
“From the first whistle we were second best all over the park. They probably wanted the game a bit more than us, showed more determination in all areas.
“At the moment I’m finding it difficult to see what time I’ll get from us. We’re either really good, or we drop right away from it. We don’t seem to have a happy medium.”
This was City’s first defeat since a disappointing 3-0 reverse at home to St Albans, another side at the wrong end of the table, and Gill bemoaned his team’s inability to build on their three successive wins.
He said: “These are the games that are just as big. These are the ones that get you promoted.
“They take you to the next level. You need to be ruthless and not feel sorry for any opposition.
“George’s team ran through brick walls for him today. They raised their level and we haven’t.
“We haven’t created enough chances. It was really bitty from us.”
With 64 conceded, Braintree possessed the worst defensive record in the division, and had failed to score a joint high 13 times in National League South.
Ryan Clarke was otherwise untested from the two he was powerless to prevent, but home goalkeeper Billy Johnson was seldom called upon either.
Gill said: “It might have been their only two shots on target, but it’s disappointing that they’re on the counter. We should have blocked it out earlier.
“Our deliveries into the box weren’t good enough. It was either going too big and over or being cut out by the first man. There wasn’t any quality coming in.
“If you’re not getting the cross right in the first place you can’t blame the runs and bodies in the box getting contact. We work on set-pieces in training because you want to bring it into a game. We’ll have to keep practising it.”
Next Saturday sees Gill’s former side Weymouth visit Twerton Park. The match ended 1-1 at the Bob Lucas Stadium in August after Tyler Harvey’s penalty cancelled out Alex Hartridge’s own goal.
Mark Molesley’s men ran out 5-1 winners against Maidstone on Saturday, in a match they could afford to squander two of three penalties awarded.
“They’re one of the best teams we’ve played on the road this season and they’ll come to Twerton full of confidence.” said Gill.
“We’ve got to make sure we get the right group on the pitch that will do the right things for us.
“They need to handle the occasion as well. It’s a big game.
“I’ve got a good group of players. They don’t come to a game and say they don’t want to win of think we can take our foot off the gas.
“Every game in this league is a challenge.”
Gill confirmed Frankie Artus’ back had seized up, forcing a halftime withdrawal. Joe Raynes came off with a recurrence of an ankle injury sustained before the Wealdstone defeat.
Andy Watkins is back running but is at least 2-3 weeks from appearing, whereas Tom Richards and Ross Stearn’s return dates from knee problems are unknown.