Stephen Clemence was proud of Gillingham’s defiant display despite his 10 men suffering a 2-0 defeat against League Two play-off rivals AFC Wimbledon.
Omar Bugiel’s header gave Wimbledon the lead, and things went from bad to worse for the visitors as Conor Masterson received two yellow cards in two minutes to cap a chaotic first half.
Gillingham fought hard to get back into the game after the break, but Bugiel’s second wrapped up a crucial win for the Dons.
The result sees Wimbledon leapfrog their opponents into seventh, while Stephen Clemence’s side drop into 10th.
“I was really proud of the boys in the second half with 10 men,” said Clemence.
“I thought their character was immense actually, to stay in the game and to create one or two things ourselves.
“The first half, I thought we started well, but the game swung in the space of a five or six-minute period.
“We should do better, the challenge isn’t good enough in the box and then obviously a few minutes later we are down to 10 men.
“It is disappointing because I felt we were right in the game, I felt we were giving them problems, but obviously it was not meant to be tonight.
“I thought we were in a good place in the game, all games are difficult, but I thought we were in a good place coming away from home, but as I say the game swung in five or six minutes and it is done now.”
The Dons now have a two-point cushion in seventh, with the Gills, Walsall and Crawley all hot on their heels.
And Wimbledon boss Johnnie Jackson was full of praise for Bugiel after his delightful double.
He said: “He gets a lot of plaudits for the work he does off the ball and how he puts his body on the line and stuff like that.
“That is all true, and he deserves that, but he scored two proper centre-forward goals tonight.
“A headed goal from a cross, but the one I enjoyed even more for Omar is getting the poacher’s goal off a rebound.
“He does not score loads of them and that is where we want him, I want him to think more like a centre-forward and be in those sort of areas so he can capitalise and he is doing it.
“He has been outstanding.
“We did not panic when we had a couple of tricky results, there were reasons behind it we felt but we focused on ourselves and made a few tweaks.
“We look a really good outfit at the minute, but we have got to keep doing it, we haven’t cracked anything, there is no point in us having this but then falling away.”
USWNT goalkeeper Naeher to retire from international football
United States goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher is to retire from international football next month.
Naeher has won 113 caps for the USWNT and was a regular between the sticks during their most recent World Cup-winning campaign in 2019, also starting for Emma Hayes' Olympic Gold medallists in Paris earlier this year.
The 36-year-old, who has represented the Chicago Red Stars in the NWSL since 2016, will link up with Hayes' side for their upcoming friendlies against England and the Netherlands, but that will be the final camp she attends.
Naeher said in a statement posted to her Instagram account: "With immense gratitude and very thoughtful consideration, I have decided to retire from the international game.
"Having the opportunity to be a part of the USWNT for the past 15 years has been the greatest honour.
"This has been a special team to be a part of and I am beyond proud of what we have achieved both on and off the field. The memories I have made over the years will last me a lifetime.
"I know one chapter is ending, but I am so excited to continue to see the growth of this team going forward and what more they can accomplish."
Hope Solo (202) and Briana Scurry (175) are the only goalkeepers to make more appearances for the team than Naeher, who made her debut versus Argentina in December 2014.
Mbappe position switch works wonders for Ancelotti
Carlo Ancelotti was satisfied his tactical decision to switch Kylian Mbappe's position in attack paid off in Real Madrid's 3-0 win over Leganes.
Mbappe scored his seventh goal of the season to help Madrid to a comfortable victory in LaLiga on Sunday.
However, his position in Madrid's front line has been a topic of debate since he joined the Spanish champions, with Mbappe having often played out wide while at Paris Saint-Germain.
And Ancelotti elected to switch Mbappe out to the left flank against Leganes, with Vinicius Junior spearheading Los Blancos' attack.
"Mbappe played on the left side, where he did well, and Vinicius on the inside," Ancelotti told reporters.
"We have to highlight their play to open the scoring. They did very, very well. Mbappe scored, after a fantastic assist from Vinicius. Little by little, they're both improving.
"Kylian is more used to playing there and today, for the team and for him, it was the best thing.
"Because playing on the outside brings more effort and Vinicius was back on Thursday. Meanwhile, Kylian had been training here for a week and a half, he was fresher."
Mbappe was not called up by France coach Didier Deschamps for this month's Nations League games, despite being Les Bleus' captain.
With an injury crisis at the back and a trip to Anfield to face Premier League and Champions League leaders Liverpool coming up, Ancelotti added he was hopeful of Lucas Vazquez, who has a hamstring strain, and Aurelien Tchouameni, who is recovering from a sprained left ankle, returning to action.
He was also upbeat about the contribution of Federico Valverde, who scored from a free-kick while filling in at right-back.
"The truth is that Fede, at the back, has done very well," said Ancelotti of the Uruguayan, who also wore the captain's armband.
"He's a fantastic fullback. After Dani Carvajal and Lucas Vazquez, the best right-back in the world. His problem is that he can play at this level in many positions and is the coach's problem to choose the best position for the team.
"Let's see if Lucas and Tchouameni can recover. If not, we will make decisions."
Jude Bellingham netted Madrid's other goal as Ancelotti's team closed to within four points of LaLiga leaders Barcelona, who drew 2-2 with Celta Vigo on Saturday.
Madrid also have a game in hand on Hansi Flick's side.
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