Gareth Ainsworth believes that Gillingham's 1-1 draw with Port Vale was a fair result on Tuesday night.
Gills led at the break thanks to an excellent Ronan Hale penalty, and had a big chance to double their advantage soon after the restart. However, Port Vale grew into the game and equalised through Keyrol Figueora. The Gills boss acknowledged that his side should have dealt with the goal that they conceded, but felt he got a response following the defeat at Accrington Stanley.
Ainsworth made four changes to the side that lost at Accrington, with Robbie McKenzie and Lamin Sillah missing out. Ainsworth provided an update on the pair that missed the game, as well as Bradley Dack, who was held out for precautionary reasons. Jack Daley also came into the side for his first league start, and the Gillingham manager was pleased with what he saw.
Club captain Liam Gordon is continuing on his road to recovery after suffering a knee injury against Luton Town in August. The 53-year-old is delighted to have Gordon back training on the grass, but does not want to put a time frame for when to expect him back in game action.
A draw being the fair result...
I do, because we missed our chance to go 2-0 up, and that was big. I don't think that they had a big chance apart from the chance they put in. Really, I think that we should deal with it and get the ball away quicker, but it is a big change from Saturday's performance, which I asked for.
I wanted energy, and I wanted closing down. It's easy for Port Vale to commit players when they are 1-0 down away from home. Everyone is saying to press, and how are we getting out? They are risking it by leaving Tom Eaves one-v-one. We never exploited that in the correct way, and that is football.
On the changes made to the starting XI...
Robbie [McKenzie] was meant to start but he rang me at 3 o'clock and said that his partner had gone into labour and that it was their first baby... They have had a baby girl and congratulations, that is great.
I have got to then go into the game without Bradley Dack, who had a little calf worry. I think that Bradley will be back for the weekend. Lamin Sillah had a hand injury from Accrington that we have to be very careful with because there is potential broken bones in there. It's tough this game when you have these decisions to make.
Jack Daley making his first league start...
He did okay, Jack. There were a couple of learning curves there. I told him to make his decisions early and commit to them decisions, but his pace is good. He didn't get done down the side, and then there were one or two moments where he looked his age, but he will only grow stronger and stronger for this. I think that he will have a good career, Jack Daley. I was pleased with him tonight.
Update on Liam Gordon...
Liam Gordon is out on the grass. He is running. Knowing Liam, if he knows that there is no risk of recurrence, he will be out there. He is an absolute warrior, and we miss him. We really do. He is a leader out there.
Liam would love to be out there. He has come on every away trip, but I don't want to put a timeline on it. I don't want to put him under pressure. It is great to see him on the grass, and I think that he is as pleased to be on the grass as anyone, because that medical room can get pretty mundane at times.
