Gillingham showed a glimpse of what they could be like on Friday – and striker Ronan Hale is hoping for more of the same.
A promising second-half display against promotion-chasing Walsall saw the Gills claim a point after a 2-2 draw.
Hale has cut a frustrated figure at times since his move south from Scottish side Ross County, but he finished off a slick passing move to score in the game on Friday.
“It was a good team goal,” said the striker, who now has four goals for the Gills.
“You get it on the ground and go and get a finish.
“Once it’s down [on the ground], it’s a different game. We saw that with the goal and hopefully we can start playing like that more often.
“The shackles were off once we went 1-0 down and we had a right go at it. We got ourselves 2-1 in front and it wasn’t meant to be, but it was definitely a massive improvement. It’s a good performance to build on.
“When we went 1-0 down, it was kind of a kick in the teeth. We got the ball down and when the first goal happened, it just felt like we were playing with freedom.
“We’ve got the players there to do it, and obviously, my job is to come in and score. If I get goals like that every week, I’ll be buzzing.
“It was a team move from back to front and hopefully many more to come.
“The boys were enjoying getting on the ball and we got that second goal. [Walsall were] obviously going to come back all guns blazing again, and we conceded that second goal, but I thought the boys did amazing.”
Gillingham have been guilty of going long too often rather than passing their way through teams, but the goal from Hale came after a fluid attack.
Seb Palmer-Houlden took the ball out of his own half and fed Hale, who converted after taking a touch to set himself up, following a quick one-two with Garath McCleary.
Hale said: “Goals are great, but I think I should have more and that’s a standard to set for myself.
“There’s a couple of chances that I’ve put wide, and I’ve hit the post, and I should be burying, and that’s on me.
“Hopefully, I can finish the season strong with as many goal contributions as I can and help the team push forward.”
Manager Gareth Ainsworth has backed Hale to become Gillingham’s 20-goal striker.
“I’m looking at 30!” said the striker, in response. “I’ll do as much as I can to score goals and hopefully I get the chances too.”
Accrington Stanley visit Priestfield today (Monday).
“Being at home again in front of the fans is one we’re looking forward to,” said the striker.
“We’ve set the standard now of how we want to finish the season.
“It’s been nowhere near good enough the last few games. Everyone knows it. We would have liked to have held on [at Walsall] and won the game, but a point away from home, you take it all day.
“Now we’re back at home and hopefully we’ll get the three points.
“We’re off that losing streak now, and we’ve got a point. I’m hoping that it bleeds confidence into the boys and we can go and just enjoy ourselves and put on a show for the fans coming in.”
