Gillingham boss Stephen Clemence hailed his side’s high standards after they cruised into the third round of the FA Cup with a 2-0 win over League One Charlton.

The Priestfield Stadium came alive in the 26th minute when former Charlton man Macauley Bonne, who made a move to the Gills in the summer, netted against his former club.

Timothee Dieng caught the Addicks defence sleeping again and drilled a low effort into the bottom corner four minutes later.

With a place in the third round secured for a second successive season, Clemence pointed to his side’s relentless work rate.

He said: “I thought we were outstanding from the start, we had a game plan to get after them, how to press them and the lads carried it out fantastically.

“When you start like that you need to make sure you get your nose in front and thankfully we did and to go and score a second soon after was fantastic.

“I thought in the second half we could have gone on and got a few more so that was the message at half time.

“The boys were absolutely fantastic today and they’ve set some high standards for us to keep up to.

“I thought we were in control, we still played some good football but our pressing game was absolutely fantastic. I thought they were all exceptional.

“From my point of view and the players’ we’re happy to be in the next round and we’ll see who we get tomorrow.”

It was a rather different tale for Michael Appleton’s men, who failed to reach round three for the second year in a row.

After an underwhelming display against League Two Gills, the Charlton boss criticised his side’s lack of effort.

He said: “That was a difficult one for me, we were second best in a lot of areas of the pitch.

“Early on in the game, there was probably four or five players who were always second to the ball, always caught between positions, didn’t play forward, weren’t aggressive enough and we paid the price.

“But even coming in at half time, we gave away a couple of poor goals which is one thing, but coming in at half time I’m always positive because we’ve got 50 minutes or so to try and get back into the game.

“We’re very strong normally in the second half of games but we just didn’t do enough.

“We had a lot of territory but I can’t remember the keeper making too many saves, don’t know how many times the ball come into the box and we weren’t there getting the first contact.

“It’s not one that will live long in the memory if I’m being honest.”

Gillingham manager Stephen Clemence praised his side’s character as they overcame underdogs Hereford 2-0 to progress in the FA Cup.

Jayden Clarke’s deflected goal gave the League Two side a first-half lead before Tom Nichols’ late penalty sealed their passage into the second round.

“The boys have shown great character,” said Clemence. “I didn’t feel Hereford really opened us up, although there was pressure.

“I felt I learnt a lot today in circumstances which could have become difficult.

“The players with their character didn’t let that happen. They stood firm and I’m really pleased. The players have been fantastic with me.

“They know it’s my first time as a number one. I’ve had to do some things this week that I’ve never done.”

Clemence’s reign as Gillingham boss got off to a perfect start when Clarke’s 23rd-minute effort took a wicked deflection past goalkeeper Curtis Pond and into the net.

Paul Caddis’ side sensed an equaliser and almost found it in the second half but Ethan Freemantle fired wide twice.

However, with four minutes left on the clock Nichols hit Hereford on the break, running through on goal before being judged to have been clipped by goalkeeper Pond.

The experienced forward regained his composure to score from the penalty spot.

Hereford manager Caddis claimed the referee made the wrong decision over the late penalty.

“We’ve just had an apology for the (awarding of) the penalty,” said Caddis who was watching from the stands due to serving a one-match suspension.

“The referee has got it wrong. An EFL official and we’ve been let down. That’s not taking anything away from Gillingham. Over the course of the game they probably deserved to win.

“It’s difficult when you play against teams a level above you who are full-time. We’re a fit group, how fit we are I’m incredibly proud of as we only get four hours (of training) every week.

“I’m extremely proud of every player.”