Phil Parkinson praises Wrexham for silencing Gillingham’s visiting fans

Phil Parkinson praised his Wrexham side for quickly silencing Gillingham’s away-day following in their 2-0 League Two victory.

It was new boss Stephen Clemence’s first league game in charge of the Gills but any hopes of a new-manager boost were quickly put on the back burner when Ollie Palmer opened the scoring inside the first minute.

Defender Ben Tozer wrapped up the points at the Racecourse Ground with a neat flicked finish.

After a fine performance, Parkinson said: “They’ve had a new manager come in and there was always a chance of a lift.

“You can’t ask for a better start than that. It was a great ball for Ollie and I’m pleased for him.

“It was good to get that start and we said to the lads at half-time that it was important we didn’t play at 70 or 80 per cent and wait for them to score to respond.

“It was important we went to get that second goal and it finally came with a great cross and terrific finish from Ben.

“You’re always under threat against Gillingham because they’ve got a couple of players who are probably technically above the level so there’s always a chance somebody can produce something out of nothing.

“There was always a chance it would be a tricky game but over the 90 minutes, we’ve restricted them to very little and got two important goals.

“We’re really pleased with the win and I thought the lads remained focused until the very end and saw the game through.”

Difficult

The Gills sacked Neil Harris despite an impressive start to the season which included winning the first four games.

They have won just two of their last nine league games to slip to 10th.

And Clemence said: “They’re 11 unbeaten now so they’re obviously a very good team. Phil’s put a very good team together, they’re very physical and difficult to play against.

“They put the ball into the box and there’s where we were undone. It was two crosses into our box and we’ve not dealt with them.

“There were encouraging signs for me in the first half. I know our end product has to improve, but we had a couple of good chances.

“When you come to somewhere like Wrexham, who are near the top, you need a bit of luck to go your way.

“We didn’t defend the crosses well enough. It’s something we spoke about trying to stop.

“But it happens. Sometimes you start games well and sometimes you don’t.

“They showed great strength of character because they could have gone under there. The crowd was obviously up and it could’ve been a difficult afternoon and they’ve stuck in there.”