Gillingham head coach Stephen Clemence comments on defender Shad Ogie after 1-1 draw with Walsall
Published: 20:30, 03 February 2024
Updated: 20:58, 03 February 2024
Gillingham head coach Stephen Clemence was looking at the bigger picture when commenting on a tough day for defender Shad Ogie.
Ogie, 22, gave away a penalty while trying to make amends for giving the ball away and then missed a golden opportunity to be the hero when he fired over when well placed. The Gills drew 1-1 with Walsall.
More: “We all got frustrated in the end”
On the plus side, Ogie’s long throw did lead to Gillingham’s equaliser which was scored by Conor Masterson and head coach Clemence backed his young defender.
He said: “I have to say, Shad is a really good young player and any young players can make mistakes.
“Let’s just not forget how well he has done over this season, how many blocks he has made and how many clearances he has made, how many headers he’s won. He takes the ball, he takes responsibility and people make mistakes.
“I am not going to have a go at him because he has done so much good things this season but there are obviously things he can do better, like everyone can, like I can, like a 32-year-old striker can, everyone has to try and improve all the time and Shad is no different.
“I do remember a lot of the good stuff he has done since I have been here as well.”
On the missed chance, Clemence said: “It just needed a little bit more guile to feed it into the corner rather than smashing the living daylights out of it but he is a young player and he will definitely take lessons from today.
“You can miss chances, it happens, it would have been nice had that gone in but when you miss opportunities as a player you are just as disappointed as supporters, just as disappointed as I am.
“I am not going to single people out. We were disappointed at the end but we didn’t deserve to win the game.”
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Luke Cawdell