Gillingham boss Stephen Clemence hailed his team’s mentality shift after League Two’s lowest scorers carved out a 1-0 win over struggling 10-man Sutton.
Substitute Scott Malone’s screamer with 18 minutes remaining proved the difference after Sutton’s Harry Smith was sent off midway through the first half at Priestfield Stadium.
It is the first time the Gills have found the net in three games and Clemence hopes it will inspire a commitment to improving their goal return in the new year.
He said: “I thought we were absolutely fantastic, even when they had 11 men, we’ve had enough chances today to probably win three football matches.
“It could have become difficult against 10 men, but we kept going after them, moving the ball around, and we’ve got to do that regardless of who we play.
“That’s the mindset I want us to have. I’m starting to see a shift in the players.
“The goal we scored was probably one of the hardest chances we had tonight. It was an excellent finish from Scott, so well done to him.
“We need to be more clinical. We’ve had a number of opportunities in the past couple of games, but we’re still the lowest scorers in League Two.
“I’m sure there’s been lots of criticism out there at us for not winning the last three games but the group always give their all.
“I don’t look at the table too much, it only matters come the end of the season.”
Three points bumped Gillingham up to 10th but it was a different story for interim Sutton manager Jason Goodliffe as United’s performance was a reminder that old habits die hard.
After a derby win against Wimbledon, Smith’s early sending-off for a challenge on Max Ehmer in the 26th minute stacked the odds against Sutton and, for Goodliffe, proved to be the turning point.
He said: “It was a hugely frustrating evening. I thought we were under the cosh for the first 10 minutes, as they came out of the traps well, but we managed to withstand it.
“We started to create some moments for ourselves, had a great chance through Smith and the game turned on the red card.
“I can’t fault the effort of the players, the boys gave it everything they could tonight. Deano (Dean Bouzanis) didn’t have a lot of saves to make and we defended our box extremely well. It’s taken an unbelievable strike into the top corner to beat us.
“From where I was, it didn’t look like a red card, I felt it was very harsh. From then on it was backs-to-the-wall stuff.
“It’s typical of how the season is going. We don’t seem to get the right decisions nor the right side of the luck.”
Man United could be without Toone until new year, says Skinner
Marc Skinner revealed that Manchester United could be without midfielder Ella Toone until the new year after she picked up a calf injury in training.
Toone has featured in five games in the Women's Super League this season, but is yet to register a goal or an assist so far this term.
The 25-year-old has missed United's last two games and was not selected in Sarina Wiegman's England squad for their upcoming friendlies against the United States and Switzerland.
She had previously appeared in a staggering 96 straight matches before missing United's WSL showdown with Leicester City last weekend.
But ahead of the Red Devils' meeting with league leaders Chelsea on Sunday, Skinner confirmed they would be without Toone for not only that game, but for the foreseeable future.
"We have three games [after the international break and before Christmas]. There's always the hope, but I think you balance and you go, 'right, if we can get her back, we get her back'," Skinner said.
"But we're just not going to rush her in this moment because it's a calf injury, it's your running mechanism. If we injure the running mechanism, it takes longer.
"So ideally we'd like her back for those games afterwards.
"The projection is she misses this game [Chelsea], she misses the international window, probably misses the first game after that, and then we'll see from there.
"But because it is such a short block of only three games, we'll assess whether it's worth that or actually resetting to come back after Christmas."
Al-Nassr 1-2 Al-Qadsiah: Aubameyang winner ends hosts' unbeaten run
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hit the winner as Al-Qadsiah inflicted a 2-1 defeat on Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League on Friday to end their 21-match unbeaten run.
Cristiano Ronaldo's seventh league goal of the season put Al-Nassr ahead, but Al-Qadsiah replied swiftly through Julian Quinones before Aubameyang struck the decisive blow.
The hosts drew first blood in the 32nd minute when Ronaldo slotted home after Al-Qadsiah goalkeeper Koen Casteels had spilled a routine catch from Talisca's cross.
However, Al-Nassr's joy was short-lived when Quinones brought down Turki Al Ammar's delivery five minutes later, with the Mexcio winger firing past Bento to level the scores.
Quinones also played a part in the winning goal after brilliantly turning the ball back across goal from Nahitan Nandez's search pass to tee up a simple finish for Aubameyang.
The result sees Al-Qadsiah move level on 22 points with third-placed Al-Nassr, with Al-Shabab also level with them.
Stefano Pioli's Al-Nassr are six points adrift of defending champions and leaders Al-Hilal, who also have a game in hand.
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