Harrogate end our record run – but there’s still plenty to like

Our 21-game unbeaten league run is over. A packed Priestfield (7,406 in, 85 hardy and happy away fans) turned up ready to keep the good times rolling, but Harrogate nicked it with a single strike and hung on. The loss knocks us off the top of League Two and was Gareth Ainsworth’s first league defeat in charge.

An early sucker-punch and stubborn defending

Luke Cawdell at Kent Online said Ainsworth had warned about Stephen Duke-McKenna before kick-off. Sure enough, 15 minutes in, the former QPR man drifted across the box and drilled a low shot past Glenn Morris. BBC York Radio called it “a famous result in Kent”, while Sky Sports summed it up as a proper smash-and-grab: we dominated but didn’t score.

The numbers back that up: we had 18 shots to their 7 and racked up 12 corners to their 1. James Belshaw in the Harrogate goal kept them in front, tipping over a Josh Andrews header and pushing away a Jonny Smith drive. Ainsworth said afterwards that we had “everything except the goals” and credited the visitors for digging in.

We were slow to react after the early goal. Once Harrogate scored, they sat deep with a back five and made life awkward. Our passing looked rushed at times, and while we moved the ball well in patches, there wasn’t enough cutting edge to pull them apart. The consensus was that we didn’t play badly – we just couldn’t find the moment of quality needed

Frustration but no meltdown

The mood online was more frustration than anger. Gills fan @_JoeB0501 said it was “always going to happen at some point” – fair enough after such a long unbeaten run. @RobBaker292 thought the effort was clear, tweeting that you “can’t fault the players” because the game was full of chances and commitment. Local sports voice @SimonHeadSport pointed out what a lot of us saw: plenty of effort, but the final pass or finish wasn’t there.

Some fans also felt we needed a plan B. A few suggested a striker change earlier or more direct play when Harrogate sat back. Others worried we’re a bit predictable when chasing a game. Still, most posts were measured – disappointment, yes, but also trust that Ainsworth will tweak things.

Plenty of posts praised the atmosphere too. The Rainham End stayed behind the team, singing even after full time. After some grim seasons, it’s nice to feel the crowd backing the players even when we lose.

German Gills man of the match

For us, Max Clark edges it. He was up and down the left all afternoon, putting in 8 crosses and creating 3 key chances – one nearly found the equaliser late on. He also won 11 of 12 duels, so did his defensive job as well. On a day when finishing let us down, Clark still gave us an outlet and kept trying to make something happen.

It hurts to see the streak go, but it’s just one defeat and we’re still right in the promotion mix, sitting 3rd. Ainsworth said he’s glad the loss stings – he wants us to use it as fuel. We're back in action next week when we travel to MK Dons, so a week of training to shake things off and learn from our first defeat under Ainsworth. One bad day doesn’t wipe out the progress we’ve made.

Rhys - German Gills