Gillingham v Crewe League 2 preview | Manager Neil Harris looks ahead to the clash at Gresty Road
Gillingham have a challenge on their hands tonight as they attempt to break Crewe’s impressive home form.
Manager Neil Harris takes his side to Gresty Road for a midweek match that won’t be easy. Crewe haven’t lost at home this season after continuing their impressive run from the previous campaign.
Lee Bell’s Crewe side ended last season with five straight home wins and are now 12 unbeaten at the Mornflake Stadium. Harris sees that record as one that’s there to be broken.
Harris said: “The challenge for the players is that they are on a great unbeaten home record, the longest in the division, and it is down to us to set our stall out and win a game of football.
“We won our first three away games, we have had a tough away game period, we were poor at Grimsby and we should have won the game at Doncaster and didn’t. I am expecting that level of performance coupled with an away day mentality of strength, character and personality to put in a strong performance on Tuesday.
“Their record speaks for itself, they have not lost at home for a long time and it is a guarantee that it will be a difficult game.
“They are a good footballing side, they might have changed their shape (on Saturday) and gone quite big (at Wrexham). It is going to be a League 2 encounter, they are going to be a good side and they are going to be physical as well at key moments. We have to be at our best.”
Crewe have only lost once in their opening 10 league games, home and away. On Saturday they took a point off Hollywood-boys Wrexham in a 3-3 draw, only denied a win after the Welsh side equalised in the 95th minute.
Gillingham, now sitting fourth in League 2, will have to assess the fitness of midfield pair Dom Jefferies and George Lapslie after bringing them both back into the side from injury at the weekend.
Harris said after the game that there were “no assurances” the pair would be fit enough to play again, in what is a busy period for the Gills after a run of free midweeks comes to an end.
The Gills face Portsmouth next Tuesday in the EFL Trophy, head to Maidstone United for a midweek Kent Cup game the week after and tackle high-flying Swindon under the lights at the County Ground on October 24, along with their weekend commitments.
Harris admitted it was a “calculated risk” to bring Jefferies back into the side to start on Saturday after a hamstring injury. He was replaced after an hour by Lapslie who had been missing with a similar ailment.
Jonny Williams had returned from illness too, giving the Gills boss a lot more options in the attacking third.
He said: “It was pleasing to have the ability to play Jonny and Dom for 60 minutes and then put on Jayden (Clarke) and George on, that was a great option for us.
“To also have (strikers) Ashley Nadesan and Tom Nichols on the bench, with Max Ehmer and Robbie McKenzie (as unused subs), we looked strong again and I felt like we had game-changers.”
Gillingham fans not making the trip to Crewe can see action closer to home as the club’s B team take on Folkestone Invicta in a friendly match at the Alcaline Stadium, kick off 7.30pm.
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