For the second week running, Gillingham had the opportunity to move into the play-off places in League One, but were held to a 1-1 draw by Bradford City, who end the day in 3rd place.

Manager, Justin Edinburgh, was reasonably satisfied, saying “I think we deserved the point. Was I happy?  In some aspects of the games I was, in others frustrated, but overall I thought we were worthy of a point against an opposition unbeaten this season.”

“They are a very good team, certainly much changed from last season, with good movement, good players, so yes, a well-earned point today.”

Gillingham took the lead with their first clinical attack of the match, as Emmanuel Osadebe’s pass found Cody McDonald in the box in the 12th minute, with the forward making no mistake with his finish.

He earned the praise of his manager, who expressed “I thought Cody was immense throughout.  I thought the energy, the ground he covered, was what we’d been missing and he delivered today.  A great finish as well.  He’s looking fitter and sharper, and I think that will do him the world of good.”

But Bradford levelled the game in the 29th minute through Jordi Hiwula’s header from a corner, which did disappoint Edinburgh.

He agreed that “you don’t want to concede from set pieces, which are something we pride ourselves on for and against.  It is very disappointing, as it was avoidable, but it’s something we’ll continue to work on to eradicate.”

But he added “at times we caused our own problems, giving balls away in positions where we could have made better decisions, but that is being nit-picking.  We were always vulnerable to the counter-attack, but that is because we strive to attack here, and that’s what we tried today.”

“Our expectations have risen, and we should be having the mindset, and giving ourselves the challenge to beat teams like Bradford.  That is a fantastic point today, against a side that is unbeaten, well earned.”

“I thought we started the game really brightly, we were in the ascendancy which is everything we’d talked about, everything we’d asked during the week.  But the goal rocked us, put us on the back foot, and we found ourselves chasing the game at the end of the first half.”

“I said to the players that we needed to show grit and determination because we can be better in possession of the ball.  We had to work at a different aspect of the game today, up against a good side.”

“In the second half, they played counter-attack football, I thought we were in the ascendancy.  We had to be careful not to commit too many forward, but overall I was pleased that we didn’t lose at home and we got something from the game.”

“I’ve gone on record before that I think we are a far better team in possession that we were.  We’ve come off the back of two successive home defeats, but the crowd has lifted and galvanised the team, and played a huge part in us taking a point against a very good team.  We always reflect on performances and results and try to put ourselves in a position to get better.”

Following an injury picked up by Rory Donnelly, Gillingham gave a second half debut to midfielder Scott Wagstaff, who immediately impressed his manager.

Edinburgh explained “I thought Scott gave us an energy, which he’s got in abundance, and he drove us further up the pitch.  Rory took a knock just before half-time, an impact on his thigh, so we were able to get Jay (Emmanuel-Thomas) up into his normal position.  Rory’s an honest boy, so we gave him a chance, but knew he probably wasn’t able to continue.”

The only real downside on the afternoon was the stoppage time dismissal of Ryan Jackson, as the last defender, who clashed with Bradford substitute Mark McNulty.

Edinburgh was philosophical about the award of the 2nd yellow card, adding “no complaints.  I think a lot of these decisions, in and around the final third, the refs are giving the benefit of the doubt to the attacking teams, and that was a fair decision.”

So although Gillingham have dropped to tenth in League One this evening, they are still level on points with Peterborough in sixth, and only 4 points off the early pace-setters, Bolton Wanderers.  Next up, a trip to Port Vale on Saturday.