Square pegs in round holes, but it’s not all doom and gloom at Gills
Tuesday night’s 1-0 defeat at Notts County made for an intensely frustrating watch. But now the dust has settled, things might not be as bad as they first seemed.
When the full-time whistle sounded at Meadow Lane, I was frustrated and annoyed – as frustrated and annoyed as I’ve been since Gareth Ainsworth took over the team.
That’s because I saw a Gillingham side lose 1-0 to Notts County – a supposedly top team – in a game that, had we even been partially successful in the way we’d set ourselves up, we could easily have won.
And while the mistakes on the pitch and in the dugout left me incredibly frustrated immediately after the game, now I’ve had time to sleep on it all, I’m feeling strangely optimistic about Saturday’s home game with Tranmere Rovers.
For starters, we saw that Ronan Hale is clearly our most dangerous goalscoring threat. And while Ainsworth admitted that the Northern Irishman’s starting position was on the left on Tuesday night, he claimed that he can get into positions all across the front line.
However, after seeing him come close, Ainsworth may now be persuaded that he can play centrally, where he’s going to be in the best possible position to take advantage of any chances that crop up.
Another positive has been the seamless addition of another of our key January signings. Omar Beckles’ arrival from Leyton Orient might not have made massive headlines, but the acquisition of the former O’s captain has brought key qualities to the heart of our defence.
His aerial presence, genuine leadership skills and extensive EFL experience are all major pluses for our squad, and he has slotted into the senior role at the heart of the Gills’ defence with consummate ease.
The last couple of games have seen him playing alongside young loanee from Watford, Travis Akomeah, and the new partnership has been one of the bigger positives in the two recent defeats. Ainsworth is clearly still trying to work out his best setup defensively, particularly on the right hand side, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see us settle on a back three, with Beckles operating centrally, with Akomeah and Gale sitting on either side.
Gale has been asked to do a job at right back, and while he’s done admirably in that role, he’s another example of a square peg in a round hole. He’s been outstanding at centre back – either in a two or a three – and a return to that role would only help shore things up further at the back.
The other positive from both games has been the team’s second-half performances. While the side’s apparent inability to play two consistent halves of football is an issue that still needs addressing, they finished both games strongly – an echo of our early-season form that saw us in the middle of a club-record unbeaten run, with a host of late goals helping keep that run going as losses became draws, and draws became wins.
A win at home against struggling Tranmere Rovers will put a much more positive spin on things, especially if Hale can find the net to get his Gills account off and running.
Victory would give us a run of nine points from our last five games – that’s actually not too bad – and will start to give us something to build on as we head into a packed schedule in the coming months.
The Gills have a fair bit of work to do to make it into the playoffs, but in a league where everyone is beatable, and consistency can see you fly up the table in swift fashion, there’s still time for Ainsworth’s men to turn a frustrating campaign into something much more positive by the season’s end.