Gillingham 0 Crewe 0: Reaction from Gills boss John Coleman after goalless League 2 draw at Priestfield

Gillingham had a goal disallowed and a penalty appeal turned down on Saturday but the manager wasn’t willing to criticise the referee.

Match official Jamie O’Connor hasn’t had much Football League experience, but he was at the centre of things at Priestfield as Gillingham did everything but score a goal against Crewe. The match ended goalless.

Report: Gillingham 0 Crewe 0

Bradley Dack thought he had scored a late winner but O’Connor signalled for a foul on goalkeeper Filip Marschall - who made several top saves before that - then an appeal for handball in the box in the last seconds was waved away.

Coleman, who spoke about the lack of penalties going his team’s way before the game, said: “I like Lee (Bell, the Crewe manager) and I get on quite well with him.

“He came out with an unbelievable rant about the referees on Tuesday. I've deliberately kept quiet from referees, and that might be to my detriment, but I'm not going to get drawn on it.

“We'll concentrate on what we can concentrate on, what we can influence. We can't influence referees.

“As I said on Thursday in my pre-match, it's such a hard job. It's only as you get older and you realise they're under immense pressure.

“Even if they make mistakes, they're only human. You just have to accept that. That's part of the luck, that's part of the fortune.

“Unfortunately, we've gone through a little bit of bad luck with decisions, but we can only focus on what we can do playing football. That's why I'm not going to get drawn on it.”

Gillingham were the dominant side in the second half at Priestfield but had to settle for a point.

“I'm not going to come here and be happy with a nil-nil draw,” said the Gills boss, now seven games without a win.

“I'm happy with the