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Reaction: Gillingham manager Steve Lovell on their goalless draw with Oldham Athletic

Saturday’s game was far too open for Steve Lovell’s liking.

While happy to have put on some entertainment for the fans, Gills boss Lovell would have preferred his side to have been a little tighter defensively.

He said: “I thought it was very entertaining for the neutral, end to end, I don’t think I have been in such an open game, where there was chance after chance, one end to another.

Gillingham boss Steve Lovell Picture: Andy Jones
Gillingham boss Steve Lovell Picture: Andy Jones

“For a supporter and a neutral it was an excellent game but for us, I think their manager will say the same, certain things happened in the game which you don’t really want to see too often.

“It was too open but sometimes you have to give credit to the opposition. They came and played very open football, they passed the ball around very well and early on they opened us up.

“When we are in possession we try and go too long or we try and hit the killer ball rather than play simply, I said to them, it is a good example watching them, because they kept it simple, they got it and they passed it to people in space and they did it well.

“We did well to defend against them and keep another clean sheet against one of the top scorers in the league. To stop them from scoring is a plus for us.

“A point is a fair result. They had chances, we had chances, we could have nicked it at the end with Luke (O’Neill’s) free-kick and there was Conor (Wilkinson’s) header and Josh Parker (who shot over), loads of chances, but they had a few as well, including one off the line by Mark Byrne.

“Tomas Holy didn’t have that much to do, they had quite a bit of possession, in the first half, we might have nicked it in the second, but overall a point is a fair reflection of the game.”

The Gills might have also had a penalty, after a trip on Wilkinson in the box. The referee decided it wasn’t a foul and waved play on.

“I thought it was a penalty,” said the manager.

“The fella didn’t see him come in, Conor has nicked the ball, he has been kicked and that’s a penalty.

“I know it’s hard for the referees and linesmen but he (the Oldham defender) took him out. Conor has got on it, he isn’t the kind of person to go down and he said to me ‘that was a penalty’ .

“These things even themselves up and you can’t change anything so we have to let that go.”

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