Fan’s Eye View: Positives for Gillingham at Salford City and Chesterfield but draws still leave me frustrated

By Stefan Bennett

It has only been two weeks since Gareth Ainsworth took over at Gillingham. In that time he has already taken charge of four games and there are already signs for us Gills supporters to feel a little more positive and optimistic for next season.

Changes to the squad, with Max Ehmer nowhere to be seen. Speculation that he will never play for the club again has done the rounds. Also, still no Bradley Dack. There has been talk that he also may never play for the club again, whereas manager Gareth Ainsworth has said he has had a knock and isn't ready to play yet.

Last Saturday, the Gills made the long trip north to face Salford. Gillingham went into the game with a very good record against Salford, having won four of the last five meetings home and away, with the only defeat coming in December 2022.

The team saw a return to the starting XI for captain Armani Little, who came in for Robbie McKenzie. There was also a return for Shad Ogie, who had been out for a while under previous boss John Coleman. On-loan Crystal Palace youngster Asher Agbinone returned from injury to make it to the bench.

Gillingham have struggled for goals. It's no secret, but it was a fantastic surprise when the Gills took an early lead around the opening 90 seconds of the game, a deflected shot from Elliot Nevitt found its way into the back of the net much to the delight of the travelling Gills faithful.

However, it didn't last long as Salford hit back with an equaliser on seven minutes, Ben Woodburn with a decent cross, which should have been dealt with, was met by Cole Stockton, who despite having Sam Gale tight on him, managed to get a touch on the cross to put it past Glenn Morris.

From there, it looked like it could become a bad