Steve Lovell relieved after Gillingham end winless streak

Posted Sunday, February 17, 2019 by PA

Gillingham boss Steve Lovell was relieved after his side beat in-form Scunthorpe 1-0 to climb out of the League One relegation zone.

The Gills were winless in five matches in all competitions heading into the match, and without a home league victory since Boxing Day, but Mark Byrne’s powerful 20-yard strike on the half-hour mark settled the contest.

Lovell cut a much different figure than the one who berated his players for their immaturity and claimed they were on their way to falling out of football altogether after last week’s 4-1 defeat to Barnsley – admitting he was content at their response.

“It’s a relief to get the three points,” said Lovell.

“I’m pleased with the way we played, especially in the first half. The second half showed our character.

“It’s not nice going through a run when there’s nothing going for you. It’s hard to accept it, and even harder to dig in and come through it.

“I’ve said all along that the boys are a great bunch and I felt proud of them. It hasn’t been easy the last few weeks but you have to stay strong and positive. Getting the three points will do them the world of good mentally.”

Lovell also reserved particular praise for match-winner Byrne, saying: “He’s such a hardworking midfielder.

“I thought he had an exceptional game in there, scoring a good goal and he could have got another.

“Maybe recently he’s not affected games enough but he did that here. He won us the game and helped us control the midfield.”

Byrne could have scored a second as his low drive bounced wide, while Brandon Hanlan and Graham Burke also failed to hit the target for the hosts.

At the other end, Tomas Holy did superbly to repel Rory McArdle and Tom Pearce.

And Scunthorpe boss Stuart McCall warned his players against complacency, with the Iron now seven points clear of safety.

“I had a word with the lads at the hotel, and then again when we got here, about not thinking that we’re safe,” he said.

“We wanted to be at full throttle because we knew Gillingham would be a wounded animal after losing to Barnsley last week.

“We need to realise that we’ve got to get as many points as we can as there are a lot of tight games in this league.

“They’ve had one shot on target. It’s a great effort, a really good goal to win it, but there’s nothing in the game.

“We know how they play and that they’re fighting for their lives but we’ve had three attempts on goal.

“We didn’t really create a great deal; we wanted to get our full-backs high and get at them but we never did that. In games like this you’ve got to scrap and battle.”