CHARLIE IS AN ANGEL FOR GILLS!
NEIL Harris says he will use whatever means necessary to ensure his Gillingham side remain in League One beyond this season.
The Gills picked up a hugely important win at fellow strugglers Doncaster Rovers courtesy of a Charlie Kelman header inside the first two minutes.
Kelman’s header came from a long throw and Harris says the tactic was a necessary one as he was light on attacking options.
“With the personnel we’ve got available, we are quite limited in terms of the attacking avenues that are open to us,” Harris said.
“We are missing five flair players, so we have to be realistic. We’ve been working on long throws and set-pieces and the goal was testament to the players’ learning potential.
“It was poor defending from them letting the ball bounce in the box, but we had seen that as a trait in their play in terms of defending the first ball.
“We have to do whatever it takes to win games.”
After scoring so early, the visitors were then more than happy to soak up pressure from Rovers, who struggled for moments of real threat throughout.
Gillingham drew saves from home keeper Jonathan Mitchell from a Vadaine Oliver header and a Ryan Jackson strike.
Josh Martin saw shots blocked for Doncaster before the break, while Matt Smith fired well wide from distance.
Rovers started the second half brightly, with Kyle Knoyle seeing a strike deflected wide, while Charlie Seaman fired straight at Pontus Dahlberg after a good turn in the box.
Tommy Rowe drew a good reaction stop from the
Swedish keeper as the hosts continued to push for a leveller, but found Gillingham a tough nut to crack.
The closest Doncaster came to an equaliser saw Martin cut inside and curl a fine effort which Dahlberg pushed away well.
The win leaves Gillingham inside the relegation zone on goal difference only.
Doncaster boss Gary McSheffrey is refusing to give up hope that his side can secure survival in their remaining eight games after witnessing another opportunity slip by to claw back the margin to safety. “You have to take the positives out of it,” McSheffrey said. “Obviously the result is not positive but it’s the most we’ve played in a game for a few weeks.
“You have to be upbeat in on the training pitch.
“Gillingham have gained an advantage with this result but they’re the only team that have this weekend.”