Gillingham’s furious manager John Coleman singled one player out for praise on an otherwise forgettable match at Barrow.
The Gills lost 3-0 but a couple of players made their debuts, with Andy Smith playing right-back from the start and Dominic Corness coming off the bench in the second half.
It was the performance of Hull City loan defender Smith that impressed the manager.
The 23-year-old was playing his first senior game since appearing for 20 minutes in Hull’s League Cup game against Sheffield Wednesday in the middle of August.
Saturday’s outing was his first league game since April last year when he played the last of his loan games for Cheltenham Town.
Smith played the full match at Barrow.
Afterwards, Coleman said: “The one bright spark today was Andy Smith.
“He’s the only player who could walk out of that dressing room with his head held high.
“He was outstanding.
“Maybe he could have got tighter for their third goal, but he’s not expecting a runner to go into the box totally unmarked.
“I thought he was exceptional.
“He was up to the physical challenge, up to the mental challenge and he’ll only get better.”
Corness came on for the last 15 minutes during a triple change when the Gills were 1-0 down. They conceded twice more as the substitutes struggled to make an impact.
Smith and Corness were both deadline-day signings, two of five arrivals during the winter transfer window that featured in the defeat at Barrow.
