Gillingham manager Gareth Ainsworth backs striker Josh Andrews after some big misses in League 2 match against Newport County

Gillingham striker Josh Andrews got the support from his manager on Saturday after missing a couple of golden chances at Priestfield.

With the game against Newport in the balance at 1-1, Andrews had the chance to put his team in front from Aaron Rowe’s cross, but with just the keeper to beat, he fired straight at him. A bigger chance was missed moments later.

Sam Gale put it on a plate for Andrews with a ball across the face of goal but with an open net the striker missed from just a yard out. The disappointment was clear to see from the front-man.

The Gills then conceded, but thankfully those missed chances didn’t cost them, as Armani Little made it 2-2 from the penalty spot and Garath McCleary won it with a header in stoppage-time.

“We created some great chances,” said the Gills boss, following the 3-2 win.

“People are going to say, ‘big Josh Andrews should score’, but he got in the positions, great. He was an unbelievable threat to their back line.

“Yes, putting the finishing touches on stuff, we can all say that he should have done that, but it's hard out there. It's not easy when they’re firing across and there's a lot of pressure involved.

“A few of the fans were having a go at me saying, ‘come on, sort it out’.

“Give us support, get behind us because that's what we can do at the end there. That's what we can do when you're all behind us.”

The Gills are looking for attacking additions in the January window as the manager has already admitted they haven’t been making the most of their chances, not just on Saturday.

It’s been a problem for the Gills long before Ainsworth took the job.

Andrews has scored three goals in 25 appearances this season – four in 40 league outings since signing – but nobody can boast big