Gillingham manager Andy Hessenthaler says defeat at Shrewsbury in League 2 was not acceptable
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Gillingham boss Andy Hessenthaler labelled his
side’s performance at Shrewsbury as unacceptable.
Just a week after Hessenthaler’s men
impressed against Premier League Stoke in the FA Cup, they slipped
up when it mattered in League 2.
The Gills lost 2-0 and Hessenthaler admitted
it could have been worse.
“We were nowhere near it,” he said. “We are
not happy and I certainly am not. I am disappointed for the fans
because we didn’t turn up.
“The body language didn’t look right, even in
the warm-up where Nicky Southall (first team coach) said it didn’t
look like we were at the races, and that showed in the
performance.
“The whole team didn’t turn up and it’s not
acceptable.”
The Gills barely tested the home keeper and
finished the afternoon sitting seventh in League 2 – well adrift of
the automatic promotion places which the club are targeting.
“I am the first to praise them but I will also
be harsh on them if I need to be,” said a disappointed
Hessenthaler. “They weren’t good enough and Shrewsbury wanted it
more than us. That hurts and I have told them it should hurt them
as well.
“If we want to achieve something this year we
are kidding ourselves if we keep turning up and playing games like
that.”
The Gills fell behind after half an hour and
Hessenthaler added: "We told them that set-plays are important to
defend against and the first goal came from a set-play. The ball
was knocked down, there was a poor header away and it fell to their
lad who volleyed it home. If you are not going to pick people up
then you are going to get punished.”
The Gills had almost taken the lead
themselves, with a rare chance, but Garry Richards headed wide.
“It was a free header on the back post and if
that goes in then it might have settled us down and given us a bit
of a lift,” said the Gills boss. “We needed something because we
were nowhere near it. We huffed and puffed again in the second half
and had to make some changes because we were chasing the game.
“But if it wasn’t for Ross Flitney (Gills
keeper) and some better finishing from Shrewsbury it could have
been more.”
Hessenthaler confirmed afterwards that new signing Jo Kuffour
missed out due to his lack of fitness, after a bout of
bronchitis.
Do you agree with Gills boss Andy Hessenthaler? Where
did they go wrong at Shrewsbury? Have your say in our comments
section below.
Gills boss Andy Hessenthaler and assistant
Nicky Southall watch on against Shrewsbury on
Saturday
Picture: Barry Goodwin
Saturday, January 14 2012
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