We’re leaving the past behind – Neil Harris enjoying Gillingham resurgence

Posted Sunday, February 26, 2023 by PA

Neil Harris insists his Gillingham side fear no-one after they made it six wins in eight games with a 2-1 victory at home to AFC Wimbledon.

Cheye Alexander scored the winner against his former club midway through the second half to complete the hosts’ comeback, Max Ehmer having earlier cancelled out Ali Al-Hamadi’s opener.

The previously goal-shy Gills have been a side transformed in recent weeks and now sit seven points clear of the bottom two, allowing them to approach a tough upcoming run full of confidence.

“We’re leaving the past behind,” Harris said. “It’s been a tough period for the club.

“It’s nice personally to be able to build the chemistry between the pitch and the terraces. It’s a great place to be at the minute.

“We’ve got games against the top eight coming up, but do we fear anybody at the moment? No, we don’t. Do any teams want to come here and play us right now?

“We showed great personality to bounce back from 1-0 down. Momentum is high within the group.

“You can see the frustration and disappointment when we concede, but the boys know we can score a goal at any minute.”

Alexander, who spent two seasons with the Dons before being released last summer, was an unlikely match-winner.

His spectacular volley was his first Football League goal and even Harris was surprised by the identity of the scorer.

“The goal was slightly out of the ordinary for Cheye – that applies not just to game time but also training,” he said.

“His performance wasn’t just about his goal. His composure in a stop-start first half was good too.

“He came out of Wimbledon in the summer, he’s played at this level and the level above, so we know he’s a competitive full-back.”

The Dons were indebted to goalkeeper Nik Tzanev for keeping them in the contest, with efforts from Alex MacDonald and Shaun Williams tipped on to the woodwork either side of half time.

Visiting boss Johnnie Jackson rued his side’s inability to press home their advantage after taking the lead but had positive words for Iraqi forward Al-Hamadi, who has now scored in consecutive matches.

“He’s going to be very important for us,” he said.

“Josh (Davison) has played a lot of football this season, so it’s important for him to have somebody to play with him.

“Ali is one not just for this season, but also looking beyond that. It’s good that he scored again, but I thought we lost our way a bit in the second half after we scored.

“There was a 15-minute period where they got in the ascendency and that took the game away from us. We finished quite strongly, but that one spell cost us.”