Walsall 1 Gillingham 1 - George Bennett and Nathan Judah analysis
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00:00Hello I'm Nathan Tudor, I'm here with Walsall reporter, this is Mr George Bennett.
00:02George, Walsall won, Gillingham won, what did you make of that?
00:05Yeah, it was another difficult game for Walsall, it felt like a big night for Walsall really.
00:14In front of the best got crowd, over 6,000 here tonight, and it was a chance to get back to winning ways against the Gillingham side which are really struggling for form.
00:28Unfortunately it came undone in the end, they were better in the first half without being brilliant.
00:38I thought Ryan Sturck looked a lot more composed than he has done, he's had a couple of disappointing performances.
00:43Connor Barrett had flashes down that right hand side, I thought Oshan McKenna was a good outlet, but it was a drab first half really with very little created.
00:55Started the second half well in the most ideal of ways, the goal came against a run of play from Gillingham, I think defensively it was frustrating to see how much space he was afforded to get that shot away.
01:11It was a great strike obviously, incredible.
01:13Once it left it is boo.
01:15It's as sweet as you've got to go.
01:16Absolutely, and then sloppiness crept in and it was a nervy and disappointing end to the game.
01:22Obviously everyone wanted to win tonight, Walsall were the heavy favourites going into it, but when they didn't make it 1-1, I tell you what, Julian could have got away with three points tonight.
01:31Exactly that, David DiCaprio the hero on the line, although I think probably on reflection it draws probably a fair result.
01:41The way in which that final 15 minutes panned out, 20 minutes, Gillingham had their chances and very well could have come away with three points there.
01:53Very concerning and Danny Johnson had probably Walsall's best chance.
01:58It was a chance at the end, the first of the lobs I guess, the second we won't talk too much about.
02:02A great chance for him to come on and be the hero at the end there.
02:05Exactly, and it was a great chance played through on Garrosh and McKennie with the ball over the top.
02:09Just stunning to loop that into the back of the net.
02:14No winning five now, how concerning is it do you think?
02:18Do you think they just need to get that one win once they get that win?
02:21It seems like everyone is on edge a little bit at this moment in time, especially the players.
02:25Yeah, it is a concern. I guess really Walsall afforded the luxury that they've had such a handsome lead at the top,
02:33but that lead is gradually being cut down further and further.
02:38It's been a real difficult period for them, confidence levels seem to have been sapped, energy levels as well have just dropped drastically.
02:49Players who have been in blistering form this season, the likes of Jamie Jellis, Conor Barrett, Ryan Sturck,
02:55just not quite hitting those heights that they previously had.
02:59Then you've got the striking issue on top, when will he find a settled front line?
03:05Josh Gordon came off today, so it will be interesting to see whether that's anything serious.
03:09So yeah, lots of question marks at the moment.
03:14Does he continue to stick with these players that have got them where they are or is it time to freshen things up?
03:19I feel like supporters are maybe starting to suggest that that should be the case.
03:24We've had the signings that have been brought in, the two deadline day midfielders were left out,
03:31even weekly left out of the squad. Nathan Asinwe, not seeing anything from him.
03:35So will these players be able to come to the fore and possibly offer something different?
03:42Yeah, I think it's just to get confidence back and to say, look, I think with games in hand,
03:47the lead between first and second could be cut to four points, but that gap between first and fourth is the most important thing
03:53and that's still eight points and they're still in a fantastic position this club.
03:56Yeah, exactly that. It's been a spectacular season, Walsall are going for a blip.
04:03It's always going to have a little bit of a blip, it's very difficult for someone just to completely blitz a lead.
04:08It feels like a big week for Walsall, I feel like this was a game where they should be winning
04:13and that creates a platform then going into Saturday. I think Saturday feels like a much, much tougher test now.
04:19Okay, that's it. Walsall 1, Julian 1. For the post-match reaction, make sure you log on to expressthestar.com.