Russell Martin left ‘angry and disappointed’ with MK Dons’ defeat at Gillingham - 7M sport

Russell Martin left ‘angry and disappointed’ with MK Dons’ defeat at Gillingham



Posted Wednesday, March 03, 2021 by PA

Russell Martin left ‘angry and disappointed’ with MK Dons’ defeat at Gillingham

An angry Russell Martin felt MK Dons contributed to their own downfall in the 3-2 defeat at Gillingham.

Will Grigg capped off an astounding 55-pass move to put the Dons ahead but they were pegged back by Jordan Graham’s penalty following Warren O’Hora’s handball.

Vadaine Oliver capitalised on another Dons mistake to put Gills ahead, only for O’Hora to level, before Connor Ogilvie’s strike saw the hosts prevail.

“I’m really angry and disappointed because for such large periods of the game the performance was top quality,” said manager Martin.

“It was as good as we’ve been in possession for a really long time. The first goal sums it up – I don’t think they touched the ball after kicking off then we had 55 touches in the build-up.

“But we gave them a penalty from a long throw and we gave them their third goal from a long throw.

“Had we not have prepared for that as a group then I would maybe cut the guys a bit of slack. But we spoke about it and we knew it was a weapon for them.

“We beat ourselves. You can’t come here and put a performance in then get beaten by two long throw-ins.

“There wasn’t enough composure in their final third. We need to find a way to take that anxiety out of the players in that area.

“We have the potential to be a really good team but ultimately if you shoot yourselves in the foot that really hurts.”

A poor defensive header from Andrew Surman turned the game on its head as Oliver profited, with a bizarre first half ending 2-2 when O’Hora met Ethan Laird’s low cross.

But Gillingham settled after the break – with brains overcoming brawn in the eyes of manager Steve Evans.

“We won a game of chess. We had to be clever when we moved,” he said. “We covered a lot of miles on that pitch and we won because there were 14 or 15 players who achieved it.

“We found a way to beat them. They’re a good side, they’re expansive and they’re a possession-based team.

“We didn’t touch the ball for seven or eight minutes but after that we closed them down, and Kyle Dempsey and Jordan Graham lifted us from the ashes.

“After that point MK Dons knew they were in for a game.

“We were lucky to get a break after seven or eight minutes. We got the opportunity to change our strategy and from there on, we were by far the better side.

“Connor (Ogilvie) has one of the sweetest left feet going – it’s a fantastic strike.

“If I’m being honest with 20 minutes to go they’d run out of ideas. Their idea at that point was how many times could they pass it back to their goalkeeper.”

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