Gills take it to the Max at the death
MAX Ehmer may have gone up front of his own accord to snatch a late equaliser but Gillingham boss Steve Lovell is adamant his side deserved the German’s intervention.
Danny Lloyd’s 12th goal of the season, a tenyard volley that went through Gills goalkeeper Tomas Holy’s legs, looked like giving the Posh their first away league win since Boxing Day.
However, Gills defender Ehmer’s brilliant solo goal earned the hosts a point 180 seconds into five minutes of added time.
“I’d like to take the credit for chucking Max up front but I think he took himself up there,” said Lovell. “He took it well – he fancies himself as a goalscorer in training.
“We rolled our sleeves up, went right to the end, and got our equaliser. Based on our second-half performance, we deserved that.
“Before that, we huffed and puffed but gave the ball away too often. Credit to the opposition. They stopped us playing. We gained a point. We’ve not lost two.”
Meanwhile, Peterborough manager Grant McCann urged his players to take the positives from the draw.
“We did everything to win the game and more,” said McCann. “I told the boys that I didn’t want to see any heads down – we’ve come away from one of the form teams in the league and nearly won the game. The players deserve enormous credit for their attitude and performance.
“We were outstanding from the start to nearly the finish. We did everything right in difficult conditions.”
A week after losing at home to Southend, Posh’s response could have seen them out of sight before half-time in Kent.
Former Gillingham loanee Michael Doughty forced Holy into a good save with a powerful volley before Lloyd had a smart finish ruled out for offside. Liam Shepherd also fired over from the edge of the area after a quick Peterborough break.
Five minutes after, Lloyd put the visitors ahead. The Gills were controversially denied an equaliser as Jonathan Bond was ruled to have kept out Josh Parker’s low shot from point-blank range.
Jack Marriott wasted a golden opportunity to seal the visitors’ win in the 92nd minute, shooting wide from a four-on-two break following a Gillingham corner. His selfishness proved costly.
After Ryan Tafazolli’s sliced clearance fell to him 25 yards out, centre-back Ehmer confidently volleyed under Bond to snatch a point for the Gills.