by Luke Cawdell

Gillingham’s point after the 0-0 draw against Rotherham on Tuesday night was well received by manager Andy Hessenthaler.

The Gills boss, pictured, is under pressure to turn the club’s form around and the draw at Priestfield at least halted the alarming run of defeats.

He said: “Considering the pressure we have been under and the run we are on, I said to the boys, it’s a real big point for us.

“Late on, Rotherham put a lot of pressure on us from set plays. They are a strong outfit and they are on a good run themselves. We knew it would be difficult and they knew we were under a little bit of pressure.

“But the boys stood up to the challenge and over 90 minutes Paulo (Gazzaniga) hasn’t had a shot to save. Their keeper has made a good save in the first half and they were the opportunities we needed to take.

“It was a bit like Saturday. We had a couple of one-on-ones at Port Vale and we didn’t take our chances. If we had we could have got two wins. That’s something we have to work on.

“It’s nice to keep a clean sheet and I think everyone saw the future of the football club with another great performance from the two young boys (Connor Essam and Jack Evans).”

The result saw Gillingham's first clean sheet and first time they had avoided defeat since beating Aldershot 1-0 on January 2.

“That gives the (defence) a lift and I thanked them for the effort they put in. We are under pressure and I am under pressure because we are not getting results," Hessenthaler added.

“They could have easily gone in their shells and not handled that kind of situation, bearing in mind there was a lot of young ones in there, but they don’t play with any fear. They showed that in their performance. It’s a point against a good side and hopefully it will kick us on.”

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