23 August 2022

Neil Harris confident Gillingham will start finding the net

23 August 2022

Neil Harris insisted “goals will come” for Gillingham after the League Two outfit beat Exeter 6-5 on penalties in the Carabao Cup second round.

The Gills drew a blank for the fourth consecutive match but held their nerve to advance in the shootout, with Jake Turner saving Josh Key’s effort before David Tutonda slotted home to settle the outcome.

Harris felt his side should have had the game won in normal time and is now looking ahead with confidence to the third-round draw.

“In normal time, we were excellent,” he said. “We limited a team in the league above us to next to nothing.

“We created the most chances we’ve made this year in open play and it was a travesty we didn’t win it in 90 minutes.

“We made six changes, kept a clean sheet and looked creative. Goals will come, I know that.

“I just want to be at home (in the next round), we don’t mind who against.”

Exeter put seven goals past Cheltenham in the first round but created little in Kent and saw their poor record in the competition continue – the Grecians have not got past this stage since 1989.

Assistant boss Wayne Carlisle led the team in the absence of Matt Taylor, who was attending the birth of his child, and was disappointed with the visitors’ lack of cutting edge.

“Penalties was the only way it was going to be decided and unfortunately we’ve come out on the wrong side of it,” he said.

“We weren’t clinical in the final third and didn’t start attacks too well either. We didn’t disrupt their backline or get the ball in good areas of the pitch enough.

“We didn’t prepare any differently with Matt not being around but the biggest difference was his match presence.”

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