United manager Nick Daws has hailed the performance of his players following Saturday afternoon’s 0-0 draw with Gillingham.
It was a game largely dominated by the Iron in terms of chances created but neither side could find a breakthrough as the fixture finished goalless.Whilst disappointed that the team were unable to bag all three points, Daws was happy with the overall display and told The Iron PlayerHD: “I was really pleased with the performance and I think it’s as good as we’ve been over a 90 minute period.
“We’ve created chances but haven’t taken them and that’s the frustration.
“As a group we’re frustrated but we’ve got a game on Tuesday night so we won’t dwell on it.
“We’ve got to be ready for the Doncaster match and hope we can turn those chances into goals.
“Stuart Nelson (Gillingham’s goalkeeper) is an outstanding shotstopper but irrespective of his saves, we need to be more clinical in front of goal.
“I think we had 15 attempts on goal, one off the line and we hit the woodwork twice and if we continue to play like that, we won’t be far away.”
One big positive to come out of the game is the fact United collected their second clean sheet on the trot, following the stalemate at Walsall four days previously.
Keen to stress that the defensive work is a team effort, Daws believes it’s something the squad can take confidence from going forward.
“We’ve been outstanding over the course of the season defensively, apart from one or two aberrations,” he continued.
“Murray Wallace and David Mirfin have been the mainstays in central defence when we’ve been really solid and the fullbacks have all contributed in their own ways.
“It’s a team effort and we defend from the front. They had a few shots from distance and only one shot on target so it proves how dominant we were in the game.
“I’m massively pleased with all parts of our performance barring the end product.
“I thought Gillingham managed things really well in the last six or seven minutes which prevented us getting that last ditch chance but that’s why they’re fourth in the table.
“We’ll take massive heart and confidence from that and look forward now to the next game.”
January signing Dominic Vose made his debut for the club late on in the match and Daws stated he was pleased to give him some minutes on the pitch whilst also issuing and injury update on Luke Williams.
He added: “It was a little bit difficult for him (Vose) because he came on when Gillingham were managing that stage of the game.
“We’re still getting to know Dom in many ways and he’s still getting to know us but it was good to get him some minutes on the pitch today.
“I know he wants more but we’ve got good players in the team, on the bench and sat in the stands.
“We trained on Friday and Luke got a slight knock which meant that he wasn’t going to play today and he’ll be a risk for Tuesday.
“It’s just a minor setback and we hope that worst case scenario, he’ll be involved at Shrewsbury next Saturday.”
See much more from Nick Daws, Jordan Clarke and Neal Bishop on The Iron PlayerHD.
Tweets by @TheIronPlayerHD