Gareth Ainsworth was over the moon after securing his first win in charge of the Football Club, as Gillingham beat MK Dons 1-0 on Saturday afternoon.
Bradley Dack scored the winning goal in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time, causing raucous celebrations around the MEMS Priestfield Stadium. Ainsworth was delighted to be able to celebrate that moment with the supporters and for Dack to have his big moment.
Taite Holtam made his senior debut for Gillingham in the win after Glenn Morris missed out due to a hamstring issue. The Gills boss discussed the goalkeeper's performance and was pleased that he could keep a clean sheet on his big day.
The 51-year-old made multiple tactical changes throughout the game. Ainsworth gave his reasoning for those decisions and was glad that it ultimately paid off at the death.
Emotions post-match...
I am so pleased for the Gillingham fans, and I am so proud of the Gillingham players and staff that I have got because they all deserve that. They have all been waiting. You could feel it around the place.
For us to nick a last-minute winner, and it wasn't pretty. It's not always going to be pretty, but what a result. Everyone at the end I celebrated with them with all my heart because they were brilliant. The fans were patient.
To win it in that manner, and for Bradley [Dack], getting the goal. He has been through a tough time, a hell of a time. He's a man of quality, and he's the man that has popped up with the winner today, and he said to me coming off the pitch, 'Thank you, Gaffer.' I think that's reciprocated Bradley, because that goal was a big goal for me.
Four draws and a win is a decent start that I am happy with.
On the last minute winner...
I'll have to hold my hands up here and say that I didn't mind Bradley [Dack] taking this. Sometimes, as a manager, you get that wrong.
It was a great ball in by Clarky [Max Clark], and Conor [Masterson] peeled off to that back stick, and he put it back into an area, similar to what Elliott Nevitt did in the game at Chesterfield, and we just needed someone to tap it in at the back stick.
Brad was there. He knows where that goal is, and that is a really important position. I scored a lot of goals in that position at the back stick....the amount of tap-ins that you get there.
Every single player deserved that win today because of their efforts. Again, they gave everything.
Taite Holtam making his debut...
Glenn [Morris] felt his hamstring in training yesterday, and that is the worst day for your goalkeeper to feel his hamstring. When he did, there's no risking it as he has done fantastically well.
I thought he [Taite] was assured his kicking was great, and he has got a Cheshire cat smile on him down there. He is really beaming. To come in, get a last-minute winner and a clean sheet. I thought that the back five, and a four at times, really looked after him with their defending. They defended solidly and didn't allow many shots.
They have really helped him, but he deserves that, and he deserves that clean sheet. I said to him to keep his shirt because it's his debut shirt, and you're not going to forget that.
Tactical decisions in game...
There were some things that we tried that they [the fans] probably didn't see, but I tried two different formations out there. I thought that we needed to get another man up top, but changed my mind in the second half because I thought that I have let MK Dons in here a little bit, so we changed it back to the original formation.
We changed formations a few times. I want to see what the boys can do and what they are all about. I changed it twice today. I started with one, and I really liked it, but we didn't seem to be too attacking and too threatening. I changed it, and sometimes, going two up front, it let MK Dons come at us a bit more in the second half.
They started getting a lot of the ball and coming at us. I had a discussion with Dobbo [Richard Dobson], and we changed it back to the original one. Thankfully, it worked in the end.
I had to make some big and brave decisions with the substitutes, and I am so pleased for every person that is part of Gillingham.
