Gillingham head coach Stephen Clemence was left questioning his own decisions after the defeat at Barrow on Tuesday night.
Clemence stuck with the same starting line-up again just days after his team had won on a heavy pitch at Salford. It was another long trip and another sapping surface for the players to deal with for the midweek game at Barrow which ended with a 2-0 defeat.
Report: Barrow 2 Gillingham 0
The Gills put in a sluggish performance at Barrow as they dropped from seventh to ninth in League 2, conceding a goal in each half.
“I felt we were a little bit off it,” said Clemence. “We haven’t hit the levels that we have done recently.
“I think going to Salford on a very heavy pitch the other day and putting in a great performance, always when you play two away games on the spin it’s difficult, especially with the amount of miles we have done in the last few days.
“I don’t want to use that as an excuse, but I did think we were a little bit flat and I have to look at myself a little bit.
“I could have changed the team. Should I have changed the team? I will be thinking about that for the next 24 hours but the game is done now.
“Barrow are probably worthy winners, we didn’t create enough, the first goal was always going to be important, it came from a second phase off a set-play and the second goal is a fairly decent finish from their centre forward.”
Barrow had the luxury of a break after their previous two games had been postponed. Their last game – a 5-3 loss at Salford – was on February 17 and since then the Gills had come up against then-leaders Stockport, promotion-chasing Wrexham and weekend opponents Salford.
It certainly looked like one team was fresher than the other.
“It is difficult,” Clemence said. “We had been playing so well, they have been on a bit of a run and you don’t really want to change a team when they are in good form but I will go to bed thinking should I have done that and I have to look at myself as well.
“I don’t think the performance or the result was through a lack of effort but the game of football is mentally tiring as well and you have to know what’s around you and what pass to play. Am I moving the ball quick enough? Am I concentrating when I’m defending? All of those things. It does take its toll.”
