Neil Harris urges Lewis Walker to take cup form into league games

Posted Wednesday, November 16, 2022 by PA

Gillingham boss Neil Harris has called on match-winner Lewis Walker to take his cup form into their league campaign.

Walker scored the winner for the Gills two minutes from half-time to earn a 1-0 win for his side against AFC Fylde in their FA Cup first-round replay.

The 23-year-old has scored three goals in the EFL Trophy to add to his FA Cup strike but is yet to net in 14 League Two appearances with Gillingham sitting 22nd in the league.

“He’s done great in the cup competitions, so he needs to take that into the league now. That’s the next challenge for a player who’s developing,” Harris said after a tricky tie.

“First and foremost, you’ve just got to get through to the next round in cup football.

“We’ve picked up a clean sheet, we scored the first goal and ultimately, we won the game – that’s huge for us.

“But we made it tough for ourselves tonight by not being out of sight in the first half. It should have been three or four-nil at half-time.

“I think if Kashey [Scott Kashket] puts his penalty in, it’s a completely different game.”

With 10 minutes gone, Scott Kashket failed to convert a penalty awarded after he was fouled by Fylde captain Alex Whitmore.

The Coasters then looked to threaten through Nick Haughton and Siya Ligendze before Walker capitalised on a defensive mix-up to score the decisive strike.

The Gills will now travel to National League Side Dagenham and Redbridge in the second round, which Harris is relishing.

He added: “I’m delighted to be going to Dagenham. They’re a top-10 conference side and there’s nothing between the clubs in regard to what they pay their players.

“It’s a local game, we’ll take a good number of fans there, and it whets the appetite to get into the third round.”

For AFC Fylde manager Adam Murray, attention now turns to the league, but he has been given hope after an eventful first two days in the job.

He said: “I knew what talent was in the changing room, but the players’ honesty is unbelievable. That was a big thing for me when it came to taking this job.

“I thought we were the better team tonight. We dominated the game with the ball, we controlled it in all phases and out of possession we were solid.

“We were really aggressive in our press in the first half, which was great to see after less than 24 hours’ work with the players.

“I thought the way we moved the ball in the second half was exceptional. It was important to give the fans something to go home hopeful about. They can see what’s to come.”