Gareth Ainsworth was full of praise for his team's spirit, and the support of the travelling fans, following Gillingham's 1-1 draw at Cheltenham Town on Good Friday.
Jimmy-Jay Morgan opened the scoring early on following a well worked free-kick routine, where Jack Nolan threaded a defence-splitting pass to the striker, who made no mistake. Ainsworth discussed the goal and gave his thoughts on the rest of the fixture when talking with the media.
There was a moment of controversy at the end of the first-half when Sam Gale thought he had scored his first goal for the Football Club. However, it was ruled out for a handball, which the Gillingham manager was unsure about.
Taite Holtam made another start in goal and impressed Ainsworth with the toughness and resilience he showed throughout the game.
Glenn Morris and Armani Little missed the game through injury, and the Gills boss provided injury news ahead of the Easter Monday fixture. He also beamed about the 732 supporters that travelled to Gloucestershire on Good Friday, thanking them for their immense efforts.
Discussing the game...
As billed, really. I knew what Cheltenham were going to be. Mike Flynn's sides are organised, and they're big and strong and get the ball forward. All the things that I said before the game. With the wind factoring in there as well it was a scrappy first-half.
I thought that we started superbly. A really clever free-kick from Jack Nolan who made eye contact with Jimmy-Jay Morgan, and what a great finish. That's what he can give you. He's a super player and a super young man, and I am sure that he is going to be a hell of a player when he is older.
After that, I thought that we gave too many fouls away. We were a little bit frustrated, and they were clever. They got their fouls really well and stuck the ball into the box. It was a set piece, which we probably could have put money on that it was going to happen like that, but they worked it well, and you have got to give them credit. That's what they have done to a lot of teams.
In the second-half, I told the boys at half-time that we needed to get on the ball more. I thought that early on, they were coming at us, but I felt that after the changes, we got the ball down a lot better. We really did. Bradley [Dack] coming on, and he knows the game and is very experienced, and Jonny Williams. We managed to pass it around. We got Nelson [Khumbeni] in on a one-on-one.
We had the best chances of the second-half. Sam Gale with his header at the back stick and Oli Hawkins with his header at the back stick. They were the best of that half. We really did restrict Cheltenham to half-chances, although they probably felt like they had a bit of territory and forward momentum, but we had the best chances.
On the Sam Gale disallowed goal...
I think it's the Cheltenham player's handball. I don't think it's our handball. Galey is adamant that the ball hasn't touched his hand, so it's tough because those moments make all of the difference. There were no other goals in the game. That was it.
On Taite Holtam's performance...
Taite [Holtam] got another start, and I thought that he did well. He was very secure. There were a couple of kicks, and the [Cheltenham] fans got on his back, but he showed his maturity to get back on top of that.
Was everyone's heart in their mouth just like mine when he went down? He's a warrior. He came really well for that punch and made some cracking saves. There was one really good save in the first half and one in the second, which was deflected and even better.
He was very assured when coming out. A couple of kicks went out of play, but this place is difficult to kick. He reset himself, struck through the ball and got some great deliveries going, so I am really pleased with Taite.
He has had two great games. There were no shots to save on Saturday, but today, he was there when we needed him. That's what he's there for.
Injury news...
Glenn [Morris], I know he is itching to play. There's Glenn, there's Armani [Little], Andy Smith and Josh Andrews, still back home nursing a few knocks. Ethan [Coleman] and Josh are rehabbing, which is great. We are going to see plenty more faces before the end of the season. I need to see them, and I am sure that the fans want to see them. Hopefully, we can pick some more points up.
A mention for Euan Williams, who took a nasty dead leg, so he is one that we're nursing. We will have a real good squad for Monday.
On the supporters...
That's Championship standard! That really is. To the fans, thank you so much. They had a hell of a roar when we scored first. I wish that the goals would be at their end! They then went mental when Sam [Gale] scored.
Listen, 732 fans that is incredible. That really is incredible for a Good Friday and a team that cannot go down or go up. That is immense.
That is brilliant. It has astounded me. As I said, that's Championship support. Thank you very much.
Looking towards the end of the season...
It's a big game on Monday. We have got to recover and get right. That's a huge game. I think that AFC Wimbledon can both drop out of the play-offs and get automatic promotion. It's all over the place at the top!
I know that it's going to be a full house. I think there are going to be probably a couple of thousand Wimbledon fans making that trip because it means so much to them. It's going to be a tough game, but at home, we have been very good lately, and I want to try and recreate some of that and those performances and see what we come up against in one of the division's top teams.
The next three games - AFC Wimbledon, Swindon and Port Vale are all huge games. I know how much they mean to the fans. We will be giving everything in these games.
