Gillingham striker Vadaine Oliver has taken to social media to apologise for his penalty miss against Wycombe Wanderers, a game that finished in a 2-0 defeat for the Gills.

The score was 2-0 to the hosts when Gillingham were handed a life line with a 31st minute penalty. But Oliver sent the ball over the bar, blowing the chance for the Gills to get back into the game.

After the full-time whistle, Oliver tweeted: “I apologise. (I) let my team-mates down, staff and let you guys down. I’ll do my utmost to correct it next week.”

The tweet was met with lots of support from Gillingham fans who appreciate the hard work that Oliver puts in every game and how vital he is to the team, after hitting 20 goals last campaign and also being the club’s leading goalscorer so far this season.

In reaction to the tweet, Gillingham manager Steve Evans seemed disappointed with the reaction from his striker after the miss whilst speaking to Kent Online. 

“Heads go down (after a penalty miss) and that is not just us, you see it with other teams, heads fall and I think it affected Vadaine. I think it was probably his poorest performance for us since he joined. 

“Cristiano Ronaldo is on 500k a week and he misses penalties. It can happen. 

“The disappointing thing about Vadaine’s performance is I think he let that affect him for the rest of the game and you can’t allow that to happen.”

The Verdict

The Gills striker will certainly be looking to put things right next time out as Gillingham face fourth placed Sunderland at the Priestfield Stadium. 

With the forward already on five goals this campaign, fans will be hoping he has got the penalty miss out of his mind and can help Gillingham look up the table rather than over their shoulder at a relegation battle.