By Jack Nolan
December 21 2006

Gillingham boss Ronnie Jepson gives his views on Gillingham's last minute draw with AFC Bournemouth. A last minute equaliser from centurion Andrew Crofts and a man of the match performance by Danny Spiller secured the first draw of the season at Priestfield. Jepson said, "It was a good goal from Andrew Crofts but if I tried to pick the bones out of that first half performance, I would be here all night. It was poor and very nervous and when you start like that at home, it is very difficult to get your rhythm. There were a few choice words said at half-time and I thought we played better in the second half. Even then we were a bit naïve to the counter but we did create numerous chances. I can be pleased with the second-half performance but if I watch the video of that first-half, I suppose it will drive me insane again."

"I would have like to have got a goal sooner, rather than leave it to the death. We have stopped the rot of losing three on the spin. You could put it down to nervousness but I don't like to put it down to that. We will have to improve on that and put in better performances, especially at Priestfield. I know Kevin Bond quite well and 'Bondy' will be disappointed with the result but that has happened to us on numerous occasions this year with teams getting back into it at the death."

"The crowd were smashing today. They were a bit frustrated at times, like we were, and I understand their frustrations. One or two were shouting for changes and to change it in midfield but I didn't have much today to shake it up with what with Dean McDonald getting injured at Folkestone the other night and one or two others out. The pleasing thing for me was that they didn't duck it in the second-half and had a proper go at the right tempo, as they should do at home, as the boys could have gone in their shell after that dire first-half performance."

Danny Spiller replaced the disapointing Guylain Ndumbu-Nsungu at half time and put on a Man of the Match winning performance. About Spiller, Jepo said, "Danny Spiller has been smashing over the last couple of weeks and has been back to his old self. We have had a little chat, he played down at Folkestone in midweek as well as playing in a couple of closed doors games upfront and he did really well and he gives me another option. I thought Guylain was not at the races today.

"I could have made several changes at half-time but only made one, and to be fair, they all raised their game in the second-half. I was tempted to make another change with Alan Pouton but 'Pouts' hasn't trained for two days this week. I'm pleased I stuck with the midfield as Michael Flynn came back to his old self and you know 'Crofty'. He popped up with a goal at the death and it was pleasing for him on his 100th start. He is a young lad who is still learning his trade. He can be hit and miss at times but one thing you know with 'Crofty' is that you will always get that commitment. If he can channel some of the other things the right way, he will turn out to be a decent player."

"I said to the boys at half-time, "if you're going to lose, lose in a proper manner". The first-half performance was so nervous and when you lose three on the spin, that can happen. This is a trade where you cannot be nervous and you have to go and set the tempo, especially when playing at home. We never did that in the first-half, but did in the second-half. It is something we tried to drum into the boys all week and maybe they were expecting an easy game. We saw them the other week against Nottingham Forest when they won 2-0. They are no mugs and have some good players like Darren Anderton, Steve Fletcher, James Hayter and Neil Moss, who pulled off some fantastic saves and is a good goalkeeper. They are good players and we know that. Hopefully we will take heed from that today and step it up in the next game."

Next up for the Gills is Tranmere at Prenton Park next Saturday, and speaking about Gills' next opponents, Jepson said "Tranmere will be a tough place to go. We'll get on the training ground this week, be well prepared and when the players cross over that white line, they'll show a bit of nous, a bit of desire and try to get a result. I'm not naïve enough to forget today's first half performance or the times when we were up against the counter in the second-half as we needed a goal. We need to take a good look at today and one or two lads need to take a long at themselves and put it right for the game up at Tranmere next Saturday."