BATTLING GILLS GIVE HARRIS A REAL BUZZ
NEIL Harris and his Gillingham players were “buzzing” after a draw with promotion-chasing Sheffield Wednesday helped them to climb out of the relegation zone.
The Gills boosted their survival hopes with the stalemate at Priestfield, in a game they could have won had it not been for some smart saves from Wednesday keeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell.
Harris and his team still have plenty of work to do to avoid the drop to the fourth tier, now sitting a point clear outside of the drop zone having played one game more than AFC Wimbledon just below them.
But the Gillingham boss, who joined only six weeks ago, believes the draw with the Owls has given his players a huge psychological boost.
“It’s a performance which gives us a lot of pride,” he said. “But also a lot of confidence and belief as well.
“It’s a massive positive for the players that we stood strong and it means a lot to move out of the relegation zone.
“The players are buzzing, but we’ve achieved nothing yet. All we’ve done is take a step in the right direction.”
He added: “It was a strong performance, we were the better team and deserved to win the game. We went toe-totoe with arguably the best squad in the league.”
The Owls had the majority of possession, but failed to break down their stubborn hosts at Priestfield, while the hosts even squandered some great chances to secure a much-needed win.
QPR loanee Charlie Kelman went close for the Gills, but he headed wide in the first half.
Moments later, Peacock-Farrell produced a fine double save to keep out the American forward and Vadaine Oliver.
At the other end, Jordan Storey should have done better when he headed Barry Bannan’s cross wide.
The hosts went close seconds after the restart, when Kelman forced Peacock-Farrell into a high-quality stop.
Bannan then started to pull the strings, forcing a decent save from Gillingham’s Aaron Chapman, before firing a shot narrowly over the bar.
Lee Gregory almost stole it for the Owls with seven minutes left, but his effort was cleared off the line.
Wednesday boss Darren Moore was disappointed with his side’s pedestrian display, saying: “We didn’t show enough impetus first half. We had a lot of the ball, but it was just too slow and too mundane.
“We didn’t show enough creativity and guile when we got into their box. They sat deep all afternoon, they had five across the back five and four just in front of them – it made it quite difficult.
“They’re fighting for their lives, so you can’t condemn them for it. You have to give them credit.”
GILLINGHAM: Chapman 6, Tucker 6, Ehmer 8, Masterson 6, Jackson 6, O’Keefe 7, Lee 6, Thompson 6, Tutonda 6, Oliver 7, Kelman 6. Subs not used: Dahlberg, Dickson-Peters, Lintott, Maghoma, Akehurst, Chambers.
SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY: Peacock-Farrell 7, Storey 6, Dunkley 7, Hutchinson 6, Hunt 6 (Mendez-Laing 61, 5), Byers 6 (Dean 79, 5), Luongo 6, Bannan 7, Johnson 6, Paterson 6 (Berahino 62, 6), Gregory 6. Subs not used: Iorfa, Kamberi, Wildsmith, Sow.