Gillingham's battling point at Accrington bodes well for forthcoming away tests says manager Martin Allen
by Alex Hoad
Turning in committed performances on long trips to
inhospitable footballing outposts will be key in maintaining
Gillingham’s push for promotion, according to manager Martin
Allen.
The Gills saw their advantage at the top of League 2 cut to two
points on Saturday after their first-half lead at Accrington was
cancelled out 20 minutes from time by a penalty, conceded by keeper
Stuart Nelson, who was sent off.
With a freezing wind and horizontal rain whipping through the
Crown Ground, the hosts pushed Gills back as the clock ran down.
But Allen’s players stuck together and produced a stoic defence of
the point.
Allen, pictured, admitted: "Coming to the likes of
Accrington is always difficult, there’s no doubt about it, let’s
not kid ourselves. It’s a good point for us.
"One thing I asked of the players was that they had the
commitment; they would compete, be passionate and face up to the
wind and the rain."
Allen thought the performance showed character and said: "We had
a couple of young players out there.
"The wind and the rain got worse as the game went on, especially
in the second half.
"It was blowing right across the pitch, the ball was going about
all over the place and it was hard to get it down and play
football, but this is what it’s like and it’s what you have to
do."
26/11/12
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