Gillingham manager Gareth Ainsworth was satisfied with a point on the opening day at Accrington Stanley – but admitted it wasn’t a classic.
The Gills had to come from behind in Lancashire to draw 1-1 against a side that are backed to struggle this season.
Report: Accrington 1 Gillingham 1
It was a game where the Gills didn’t manage a shot on target, equalising when Armani Little’s corner went in off a defender to cancel out Tyler Walton’s opener.
“It was as billed,” said Ainsworth, who had been expecting a tough and physical encounter.
“We had a start we wanted to employ. We tried to get down the sides of them. I thought we did it well in the first half, deep midfield runs, which was really good. Some great play in the first half.
“Second half, I thought we were a little bit more messy, a little bit more direct and to be fair, a lot landed on (Accrington) central defender Rawson and we kept doing it.
“I had to change it. They went 1-0 up. We didn’t lock out the defence very well. He’s got in and scored. We’ve got to make sure that we’re better at that. That’s learning for me. That’s great for me.
“Second half, (we were) getting a bit tired, maybe switch off. We’ve got to work on that but the way the boys fought to get back into the game, they really deserved it.
“It wasn’t a game of great quality. I understand that. Fans will be going, ‘We’ve got to play more. ’ I know that and we will but when you come to Accrington Stanley, they are one of the lower budgets in the league. They’ll scrap. They’ll fight. They’ll do anything they can. That is a massive credit to them. That really is.
“They’ve got some good players, but you have to match the fight. I’m proud to say we’re taking a point away.
“Many teams will (go there) and not get anything because of the way they play. They’ve got some quality on the break. They’ve got a solid defence. It’s hard to penetrate and we’re pleased to take a point away.
“I thought we were decent in spells first half and then there was a 20-minute spell second half where Accy were on top of us. I’ve got to admit it. The changes then probably gave us a new sort of impetus.
“Big Josh Andrews coming on was a positive. Marcus Wylie coming back into the team is a positive. Elliott Nevitt playing and playing as long as he did. Bradley Dack looks as fit as he’s ever been. There were a lot of positives so looking forward to building it now.
“I’m really happy. I am. I’m happy because it’s a good start to the season.
“When this game came up, I looked at it and thought, ‘Argh, Accrington Stanley, first game away from home’. I know their fans are really up for it.
“They really deserve their point as well. We share the spoils. (Accrington manager) John Doolan’s got a good group there and I’m sure he’ll get points on the road and points at home. But we’ll take the one away.
“We’re going to get these games in League 2. I know the way out of League Two, and the way out is not to be beat against teams that fight and scrap like they do. They get the ball forward well, they counter-attack well, they rely on set pieces because they can’t afford the top players in the league.
“You’ll go to your likes at MK Dons and Chesterfield and places like that, and they’ll play, and then there’ll be a real footballing game but you’ve got to fight sometimes. You have to. It’s just at every level, never mind here. We’re really pleased that we stood up to it.”
