Gillingham boss Martin Allen was disappointed with the way his side played in the opening half against Barnet
by Luke Cawdell
Martin Allen was left to question why his side under-performed
so much in the first half against Barnet.
Gillingham didn’t really get going until
they introduced three substitutes on the hour mark, and it made for
a frustrating afternoon for Allen, pictured, and the fans
alike.
He said: “It certainly wasn’t the Boxing
Day I expected or hoped for.
“It was a disappointing first-half
performance. I thought we stepped up well in the second half but I
have got to ask myself and ask the players why we didn’t get going
in that first.
“We were a yard short all over the pitch
and didn’t zip the ball around like we can and how we like to
do.”
A solitary 20th-minute strike for Barnet
was enough for them to take all three points.
“With one shot we got punished,” said
Allen. “They do play some good football and there is no doubt about
it.
“It is difficult to face a team who gets it
down and pops it around like they do with the extra man in
midfield. But it is our job to counter that and put our own mark on
the game and we never did that.”
The introduction of Chris Whelpdale, Jack
Payne and Adam Birchall fired the Gills into life but the goals
never came.
“We were very close to (changing it) at
half-time to spark something off really,” said Allen.
“But I thought those players should get the
chance to go out and turn it around themselves. The team did do
better in the second half and when those players came on they did
improve the team for sure.
“It is frustrating (to leave with nothing)
but it is more frustrating because of that first-half performance.
We all know we can play better than that.
"If you play really well and you don’t get
any luck or breaks and you don’t manage to win then I’m fine with
that, absolutely fine, but that first half, we are better than
that.
"We play better football and we move it
better, compete better, we run faster than what we did and that
would be the disappointment.”
25/12/12
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