'The lads know it's unacceptable' - Boss Shaun Gale offers honest assessment as Gosport Borough are held at home by lowly Kings Langley

Gosport Borough manager Shaun Gale says his players dropped below the standards expected of them in their frustrating 1-1 Southern League Premier South home draw with struggling Kings Langley.
Mason Walsh missed a great chance in Gosport Borough's draw with Kings Langley. Picture: Tom PhillipsMason Walsh missed a great chance in Gosport Borough's draw with Kings Langley. Picture: Tom Phillips
Mason Walsh missed a great chance in Gosport Borough's draw with Kings Langley. Picture: Tom Phillips

Roderick Collins converted a penalty late on as the visitors cancelled out Harvey Rew's early opener with Boro forced to settle for a point.

Gosport went into their third successive home fixture on the back of consecutive wins - including a 5-0 thumping of Merthyr on Saturday.

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But after starting so brightly and taking the lead through Rew on eight minutes - Gale was far from happy with the 'flat' display served up by his Boro side after that.

Full-back Harry Kavanagh teed up Harvey Rew for Gosport's opener. Picture: Tom PhillipsFull-back Harry Kavanagh teed up Harvey Rew for Gosport's opener. Picture: Tom Phillips
Full-back Harry Kavanagh teed up Harvey Rew for Gosport's opener. Picture: Tom Phillips

The annoyed Boro boss moaned: ‘I don't agree with criticising my players in public but, us as a group tonight - we started the game so well - we scored a fantastic goal and then we just went flat. If we scored another one then they would have been dead and buried.

‘We didn't kick on from there, we came out second half, we didn't get to grips with the game at all.

‘It's just frustrating, that's football, it's just frustrating. The lads know it's unacceptable, we're better than what we showed, they'll look to rectify it.

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‘We have standards and we have to have a conversation, as we have, as to why did we do that tonight - especially when we started so well, so bright, then just fell away.

‘We started really well, we were excellent, we just became sloppy. We did things poorly and we end up giving away - Bert's (White) made two great saves - we've given a penalty away. It was dubiously outside the box but we shouldn't be lunging in there - there's no reason to make the tackle.’

Gosport made the perfect start with full-back Harry Kavanagh's cross being headed home by Rew after just eight minutes.

But Boro lost a lot of their impetus from that point and goalkeeper Bert White made a brilliant save on the half-hour to keep the hosts ahead.

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Mason Walsh then missed a glorious chance to double Gosport's advantage on 69 minutes.

The contentious penalty moment arrived six minutes from time. Substitute Elliott Wheeler was adjudged to have made a foul yet, with Boro protesting it was outside the area, a penalty was awarded which Collins dispatched as it ended 1-1.

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