On loan West Brom defender delighted to mark his arrival at Gills with a win
Gills new signing Donervon Daniels said it was an amazing feeling to score on his debut, and in doing so help guide the team to a 3-2 win over Stevenage on Tuesday night.The centre-half scored shortly after Danny Kedwell’s penalty to put the hosts in front, and although Francois Zoko netted an equaliser, John Mousinho scored the winner with a fantastic header with 14 minutes to play.
Speaking after the game Donervon, who was also voted `Man of the Match, ` said: “It felt amazing, I prayed for it and it came true. I worked hard, the boys worked hard and it wasn’t an easy game so it hit home a lot more.
“The gaffer told us what to expect with two big front men but we had a game plan, stuck to it and it paid off in the end.
“We worked hard, the fans were behind us and I think in the first half we were the better team even though we went 1-0 down. The skipper was unlucky with his chance but we deserved the win, we worked for it and we just need to stay level headed and grounded now.
“We had a bit of a grilling earlier in the week but tonight he [Peter Taylor] told us we were good enough and he instilled the confidence in the team and told us to do the fans proud and do ourselves proud and, as a team, we did that.”
Daniels scored his goal following a great cross from Craig Fagan, and the centre half was delighted to get on the score sheet.
He said: “I’m not a typical centre half, I’ve got a bit of technique and I work on all of the areas in my game but it was a beautiful ball and I hit it sweet.
“The celebration tipped off the importance of the goal, the fans were electric and they never let us down and we appreciated it.”
Donervon signed for the Gills on Monday and had just one training session with the rest of the squad before the game, and he explained what the procedure was to get him to the club.
He said: “My agent knew of the fact that the gaffer got the job here and he was in contact with him for a while, but I’ve just been playing my reserve Football for West Brom and enjoying it.
“I knew there might have been something, I was out at the time and got a text saying it might be going through and I might have to drive all the way down south to sign the papers.
“I thought it wasn’t going to happen because it was late, I was enjoying a meal and not really paying attention and then I got a call saying I needed to ring Peter.
“We were speaking, it was a good conversation and he said he wanted me to come down Sunday night to train the next morning with the team.
“I was over the moon and happy I was going to get the opportunity to play first team football again and get that adrenaline rush that every player desires and there is no better feeling.”
You can read our official match report by clicking here, and match highlights on gfcofficial.
Donervon’s exclusive interview for the club can be seen here.