Match reaction from the Gills manager.
Steve Evans heaped praise on his Gills side following an excellent 3-2 win over Charlton Athletic at The Valley on Saturday afternoon.
Olly Lee opened the scoring within the first 31 seconds and, although the Addicks pegged back the visitors on two occasions, Kyle Dempsey thundered home a shot late on to ensure all three points headed back to ME7.
Speaking after the game the manager said: “It’s a great feeling. I thought the performance was excellent today; lots of energy. We scored three really good goals; we hit the bar and we thought the chance had gone at the end but Kyle Dempsey then goes and produces another piece of magic after, what has got to be, Goal of the Season in the EFL from Connor Ogilvie. He was back to his best.
“I have to give immense credit to the guys at Charlton and their ground staff. When we came here we thought the game would be off; areas of the pitch were unplayable. The pitch was perfect at three o’clock so credit to the referee for giving them the time to get it on.
“We got the dream start and it’s a fantastic finish from Olly Lee. Charlton were always a threat with the front two they’ve got.
“We got back in front, and we deserved to. Stockley then makes it 2-2 with a great header; they went down to ten men and we took the game to them. After that happened I said to my staff `relax, we’ll win the game.`
“We changed the system and pushed Kyle Dempsey further forward, gave him a pocket of space and he’s a magical player and scores a wonder goal, which is only surpassed by Connor Ogilvie’s goal. Gills fans won’t get sick of seeing that, and after the third we have to be professional.
"Credit to our players; we reminded them before the game that it’s a derby and if fans were here the away stand would have been bouncing. I said the fans are all watching and it’s about bragging rights."
The Gills boss reserved special praise for Captain, Kyle Dempsey, who secured all the points in the last few minutes, and believes his style of leadership has had a positive influence on the squad.
He added: “He’s a special talent, a special lad. He does that every day in training and it reminded me of when he was doing it every week for Huddersfield in the Championship. He’s not a vocal Captain; Stuart O’Keefe can do that, and it was brilliant to see him back today. The plan was for him to get 60 minutes, and he got it.
“Kyle leads by demonstration and example and he’s taken a lot of people on that journey with him.”
Finally, the manager revealed Jordan Graham and Callum Slattery missed out due to injury and may not feature in midweek.
He added: “Jordan had a dead leg, these things happen and he’s been trying to shake it off. He probably won’t be ready for Tuesday, and nor will Callum. Everyone we have was on the teamsheet today.”