Gillingham

Goals from Connor O’Riordan and Joe White secured a 2-0 win to move the Railwaymen up to third in the Sky Bet League Two table.

The Gills have dropped out of the top seven and their current form is in stark contrast to the blistering start they made to the campaign when they led the table in mid-August.

Harris rested midfielder Williams and felt others did not step up to the challenge to show the type of leadership exhibited by the missing 36-year-old.

“We went behind to the softest of goals and I’ve got to look at that and see if I’ve got the right players out there or whether I need to change the way I want to play,” said Harris.

“We’ve fallen short and it wasn’t through not creating chances. But whether the mentality was right in the group or whether there was enough leadership and desire out there without Shaun Williams, I don’t know.

“Shaun was missed badly tonight, but I rested him because of the way he carries himself when he plays 90 minutes at the weekend, which means he struggles to make a Tuesday night squad.

“He is such an important player for us, but people have to step up and take responsibility. We have to find it in ourselves to make sure that we come to places like Crewe and be harder to beat than that.

“Crewe have been excellent at home and are 13 games unbeaten. You have to give them credit for that, but this was a game we should still be winning.”

O’Riordan’s far-post header edged the Cheshire side ahead in the 30th minute after Gillingham had threatened early on when Ethan Coleman thumped against a post and George Lapslie fired over.

Defender O’Riordan finished off a Zac Williams cross as Crewe worked the ball back into the box following a corner.

Macauley Bonne should have levelled soon after when Robbie McKenzie’s shot was pushed into his path by goalkeeper Harvey Davies, only for the striker to fire the rebound wide with the net gaping.

Crewe held firm in the second half and the closest Gillingham went to levelling was when Coleman headed a corner wide.

The home side sealed victory when substitutes Aaron Rowe and White combined, with the latter netting his first goal of his loan spell from Newcastle with five minutes remaining.

Crewe boss Lee Bell said: “We had to work hard for that as Gillingham are a good team with an excellent manager. We rode our luck a couple of times in the first half and Harvey Davies made an outstanding save.

“But our shape was excellent and we really nullified them in the second half, and took our chance to seal it on the break. It was good to see Joe White tuck that away.

“I was really pleased with our defending against a team that can really hurt you. That is 13 games unbeaten at home overlapping from last season.

“We want to make the place a fortress and a hard place for teams to come to. But we also played some decent football tonight and we had some dangerous moments.”

Goals from experienced centre-back James Chester and Emile Acquah – his first in the league since October – ended a three-game losing streak.

It was the first game the club have played in 17 days after fixtures against Bradford and Crawley were called off due to waterlogged pitches.

“I think you’ve seen three or four lads who have played the best they ever had in a Barrow shirt,” said Wild.

“They were outstanding.

“It was really nice last Saturday when I went and had a chat with the fans and the fans who have been with us through thick and thin knew we were having a blip and we would come through it and we’ve delivered for them.

“I’m really pleased that we’ve done that because some of the things they were saying was humbling to say the least.

“I keep saying this, we must remember what this squad is doing for the football club and the distance it’s travelled.

“We’ve put a pin in the ground. Where we were 12 months ago in March we were out of the play-off picture and nowhere near it. Twelve months on we’re in the play-off picture.

“I think the staff and the squad deserve so much credit for what they’re doing for this football club.”

Stephen Clemence’s side slipped out of the play-off spots after defeat.

And frustrations boiled over as Conor Masterson and Remeao Hutton were booked for squaring up to one another at the end.

On the incident, Clemence said: “It’s an emotional game, football. You have to keep your emotions in check.

“I don’t like to see that, but I’ve nipped it in the bud. They’ve shaken hands and they’re fine.

“They both just want to win and sometimes in the heat of the moment your emotions can get the better of you, but they’re fine now.”

On the game, the Gills boss added: “I felt we were off it and we didn’t hit the levels we have set recently.

“It’s difficult when you play two away games on the spin, especially with the amount of miles we have put in in the past few days.

“I don’t want to use that as an excuse, but we were a little bit flat.

“I will go to bed wondering whether that’s my fault because you don’t want to change a team that’s done well.

“We dust ourselves down and get ready to start a new run on Saturday.

“We didn’t create enough. I have to say Barrow are very well organised. It was difficult and we didn’t have that spark that we needed.

“It is what it is, we’ve been beat. It’s one game.

“The division is the division and a lot of teams can beat each other. Is it a surprise? I came here thinking we’d win the game.

“We’ve got 10 games left and we’ll be trying to win them all.”