Gillingham 0-0 Newport County: Gills lack creative spark in uninspiring goalless draw

The visitors created some good early chances, but weren't able to convert, with Ollie Wright only really being called upon once during the opening 45 minutes. And, while Gillingham had little defending to do other than the occasional set-piece, there wasn't enough of a cutting edge going forward to take advantage and claim a bounceback win.

Gareth Ainsworth selected Garath McCleary to play alongside Ronan Hale behind Lamin Sillah up front, with Harry Waldock reverting back to his regular role at centre-midfield. But, despite dominating possession for long spells of the game, Gillingham lacked the cohesion and fluidity that had seen them put two past Tranmere Rovers and three past Bristol Rovers in their previous two home performances.

In comparison, it was a flat display, with the forward line lacking in movement, and the defence and midfield playing far too slowly to create any openings against a Newport side that looked set up to frustrate. In that regard, they were successful, but the frustration came from other sources, too.

Referee Carl Brook was a constant annoyance to both sets of fans over the course of the 90 minutes. In a season when we've been told that referees have been instructed to let play flow a lot more, Brook seemed the complete opposite, blowing up for the most minor of offences, and even inventing a few along the way, while other clear fouls went unpunished for both sides.

There were examples of both that involved newly re-signed striker Tom Eaves, who was clearly held back in the penalty area, only for the official to wave away appeals for a spot-kick. Then, late on, Eaves was clean through, only for the outrushing Newport keeper Jordan Wright to handle outside his area, while simultaneously body-checking the Gills striker. Inexplicably, the referee awarded the Exiles' keeper a free kick for a supposed foul by Eaves.

The frustration came from Gillingham's own play, too. There were too many square and backward passes, and the speed of transition was markedly slower than in our victories over Tranmere Rovers and Bristol Rovers. It was only late on, after the introductions of Tom Eaves and Sheldon Kendall, that Gillingham started to carry any real threat going forward.

The absence from the midfield of Eli King was also felt, with the Welsh midfielder's knee injury looking set to keep him out for an extended period. Without him, the team lacked that pivot man in the middle of the park to direct traffic and start the attacks from the midfield area.

In the end, and despite any complaints about the man with the whistle, Gillingham weren't good enough going forward to win the game on the day as they delivered a performance that was solid, but lacking that crucial quality in the final third.