Neil Harris unhappy with ‘naive’ Cambridge after draw at Gillingham

Cambridge manager Neil Harris branded his side “naive” after Max Clark’s second-half header earned Gillingham a share of the points in an eventful 1-1 draw at Priestfield.

The visitors made a bright start and took an early lead when Louis Appere reacted quickest to tap home after James Gibbons had won a high ball and returned it into the danger area.

Gillingham were handed a chance to level from the spot when Armani Little was fouled, but Robbie McKenzie’s penalty was superbly saved by Jake Eastwood.

However, from the resulting Bradley Dack corner, Clark guided his header home from close range to secure a point for the Gills.

Harris, whose side are now unbeaten in 12 in all competitions, said: ”I was disappointed with the goal, but ultimately they must have put the ball in our box about 40 or 50 times.

“Even when their goalkeeper has the ball, he booms it into our box, so you have to stand up to it and we did.

“Obviously we’re disappointed to give away the penalty in the first place.

“Then you save the penalty and go ‘come on, we’ve got off the hook, now go and see the game out’.

“But 15 seconds later we were so naive, that’s my only disappointment, we’ve got to mature, not just the young players, but the senior ones too.

“It’s a poor goal to give away, but we haven’t given many away this year.

“I will say in the first half we had some brilliant moves and should have been two or three up.

“But then in the second half we didn’t have enough composure on the ball and couldn’t get enough contact on the ball.

“Gillingham in the second half just went so direct and were so aggressive in their approach and we stood up to it.

“Obviously we couldn’t get over the line, but I look at it as a point gained.”

Gillingham manager Gareth Ainsworth, whose side are without a win at home since September, could not fault his players.

He said: “That’s us back to our best.

“I thought Josh Andrews was magnificent. It’s not often I single people out, but I think it showed we’ve definitely missed him.

“But some of the other performances, all over the pitch, were excellent.

“I think Cambridge were happy for the final whistle in the end.

“We just wanted 10 minutes more to kick on for us to score another. We definitely deserved a point, if not the three the way we performed.

“It was a sloppy goal to concede, but it was really good to have some players back.

“I think at the end of the first half we’d have seven shots to their one, but by the end of the second half we’ve got to have had double or even 20 shots on their goal.

“I think they only had five or six shots in the entire game, so that tells its own story.

“Cambridge are a big physical side and I told my players that set-pieces are one of their biggest strengths, that’s why they are one of the best teams in the league.

“Low and behold they go and score from a set-piece, so we know we’ve got to navigate those moments better.

“But we had our moments in the first half and we just didn’t make them count.”