Tom Eaves reacts to Walsall loss.
Gills striker Tom Eaves was left disappointed with the first half performance as Walsall condemned Gillingham to a first league defeat on Saturday afternoon.
The striker netted in injury time, but it would prove to be a consolation as the Gills slipped to a 2-1 defeat at the Banks’s Stadium having recorded back-to-back wins at the start of the campaign.
After the game Tom said: “It’s disappointing, especially the first half because I felt we started quite slow in the first few minutes, we managed to get back in to the game in the second half, but it was too little too late. We were pressing and creating a few bits but had the goal come 15 minutes earlier then who knows.”
Eaves was keen to not dwell on the defeat too much and use the setback as motivation ahead of the two upcoming home games at the Medway Priestfield stadium this week against Sunderland and Coventry.
He said: “They’ll be some reflection, we’ve got to reflect on mistakes we made and how we started the game. It’s a long season and we’ve got a lot of big games coming up. We can’t let it cloud the good start that we’ve had, and this will show how much character we’ve got by bouncing back from it.”
Eaves’ goal came following good work from Conor Wilkinson on the right and the striker admitted he has learnt to adapt his game to help him reap more rewards. “I think I’ve been guilty in the past of going in to wide areas because I want to be an out ball for the team and help get the team up the pitch,” he said. “I’m most dangerous in the box and I’ve come to realise that and I’ll do my damage in there.”
The extra work is seemingly working for Eaves as he netted his third goal of the Sky Bet League One campaign, despite only starting one fixture. This season Eaves is keen to go above and beyond his exploits from last term.
He added: “That’s the target if I can, beat last season, go over 20 goals. Its been a good start.”