Mark Bonner says Cambridge ‘angry’ after failing to take a point at Gillingham

Posted Wednesday, February 09, 2022 by PA

Cambridge manager Mark Bonner admitted his side were angry after failing to take a point in a 1-0 loss at Gillingham.

Chances were rare in the opening 45 minutes, with Ben Thompson’s header for the hosts straight at Cambridge keeper Dimitar Mitov before Jack Tucker’s block prevented Adam May from putting the visitors ahead.

Cambridge spurned a golden opportunity to go ahead with 25 minutes to go when Sam Smith headed over, with Gillingham also missing a couple of opportunities.

However, Vadaine Oliver converted from close range with just four minutes to go to seal a vital three points for the Gills, who are now marginally closer to leaving the relegation zone.

However, Bonner revealed his side were frustrated at not taking a point.

He said: “That’s a really angry dressing room in there. It should have been a really scruffy 0-0 at worst.

“We defended well actually, our two centre-halves have done well against a handful of a front two, but we lose somebody on a second phase of a set play and they score. It’s a rubbish goal to concede.

“We had lots of the ball at times, especially in the first half, but we didn’t make enough of certain situations. We didn’t have the change of tempo or the creativity to open them up.

“We’re lacking a bit of explosiveness at the minute. The same group of players are going again and again and again at the moment. It’s hard to keep churning the games out. They’ve been doing great and had we ground out a 0-0 we’d have said it was a great, resilient point.

“But, as it went on, we didn’t do enough to secure the ball up the pitch and, in the game of a few chances, they made the most of one moment.”

Meanwhile, Gillingham boss Neil Harris was celebrating three crucial points in their fight for survival.

He said: “The pitch was awkward, conditions weren’t great, but the players delivered the game plan we gave them at half-time. You saw two very competitive sides tonight.

“We scored from a set play we worked on in training – we worked on it last week before the Ipswich game but didn’t get a corner on that side. It shows that the players are listening, which is good. All goals are good goals.

“The fans will go home happy tonight. They’ll go home reading social media, looking at scores, reading the league table, and they’ll wake up for work tomorrow with smiles on their faces.

“We want to have that togetherness between the terraces and what’s on the pitch, and at the moment that’s growing. All I can say to the players is one day at a time, one game at a time. We’ve got to make sure we’ve got a team mentality.”