Gillingham 1 Newport County 2: Reaction from Gills boss Neil Harris after League 2 defeat at Priestfield

A flat Gillingham performance disappointed manager Neil Harris as his side’s terrific home form deserted them on Saturday.

Harris’ men were beaten 2-1 by Newport County - only a second defeat in their 12 home league games of 2023 - and the manager was keen to acknowledge how good his side had been at Priestfield prior to this performance.

Report: Gillingham 1 Newport 2

“It is hugely disappointing,” he said. “It was a flat performance. First half we were slightly the better team, their chances came off set-plays, second half I made a sub and we got worse, that is just down to players not being able to adapt on the pitch.

“I have learned loads about the players, as I do every game, but that is as far as I want to go with not being happy. Since January 14 it’s been a mega turnaround, performances have been excellent here, we have secured loads of points and goals, the bigger picture is that the lads have done great.”

Harris felt the Priestfield pitch was a bit of a hindrance as he wanted his team to play the kind of slick football that they did at Bradford the week before.

He said: “The pitch was rubbish, I have to be honest, really slow, it looked really nice but it wasn’t, it was really poor. That is something we have got to do better with next season.

“We wanted to pass the ball. We played it really well at Bradford. We wanted to move the ball really quickly.

“The pitch and weather weren’t conducive to that, I thought we played the game second half a little bit like the weather, it got hotter and we got slower.

“Disappointment, definitely. The fans stuck with us again, It wasn’t a great performance, but they are really proud of what we have done.

“I have learned some negatives, but that performance doesn’t reflect on