Gaffer reacts to MK Dons victory.
Steve Evans was left delighted following his side’s 3-2 win over MK Dons at the MEMS Priestfield Stadium on Tuesday evening.
Jordan Graham, Vadaine Oliver and Connor Ogilvie scored the three Gills goals in what proved to be a night of good finishes at ME7.
The first half goals saw two of Gillingham’s most prominent attackers on the scoresheet. Evans was full of praise for both Graham and Oliver, who worked hard all evening.
Evans said: “The penalty from Jordan [Graham], no goalkeeper is saving it. It’s simple.
“Vadaine has been wonderful tonight, and he was wonderful at Portsmouth. Not many people go to Portsmouth and dominate Sean Raggett, and he did.
“He’s done the same tonight. The defender was very wary of him, and Vadaine robs him, and it’s a great finish.”
Ogilvie’s winning goal was a brilliant finish as the defender did well to keep control of his thunderous strike.
The Gills boss had no doubt where the ball was going as soon as he saw the defender striking it.
He said: “To win it, you don’t want it falling to most people on the pitch other than Connor Ogilvie.
“When it drops like that because he’s got the sweetest left foot going, and when he buries it, you can see what it meant to the boys.”
The Gills did not get off to the best of starts, with MK Dons scoring in the opening five minutes and having 90% of the possession.
Despite the stat, it did not surprise Evans. However, he was delighted with the way his team reacted to his tactical changes in the tenth minute.
He said: “They’re a good side, and they’re expansive. They are a possession-based team, and I’m surprised it wasn’t more than 90% possession in the first seven or eight minutes because we didn’t touch the ball.
“We got the opportunity to regroup, and we changed it. From there on out, it was a different game. We closed them down, and we got a lot of regains.”
One man that stuck out to the manager following his changes was his captain Kyle Dempsey.
Evans was left glowing with praise for his captain, saying: “Kyle Dempsey lifted us from the ashes. He was sparkling in that period.”