Oli Hawkins scored for ten-man Gillingham as they fell to a 3-1 defeat in a spirited performance against Swansea City in the Carabao Cup first round on Tuesday evening.
Ronald opened the scoring for Swansea in the first-half with a smart curling finish into the far bottom corner out of Glenn Morris’ reach.
Gills were reduced to ten men six minutes into the second-half when Euan Williams was dismissed for a late sliding challenge on Kyle Naughton.
Liam Cullen thought that he had put the tie out of the visitors reach when he slotted into the back of the net from Joshua Key’s low cross.
However, Gillingham set up a nervy ending when Hawkins met Robbie McKenzie’s perfect cross from the right to thump a header beyond Lawrence Vigouroux.
Azeem Abdulai added a third in the final seconds as he slotted home from ten yards out.
Mark Bonner made seven changes to the side that beat Carlisle United 4-1 on the opening day of the league season. Glenn Morris, Shad Ogie, Euan Williams, Jonny Williams, Jayden Clarke and Joe Gbode came into the starting XI.
Academy graduate Alex Giles was also named in the line-up as he made his Gillingham senior debut. George Lapslie and Marcus Wyllie were named among the substitutes.
Swansea dominated possession during the opening ten minutes, and Oli Cooper had the first opportunity in the fourth minute. He made an overlapping run inside the box, which Ronald spotted. Cooper shot from a tight angle, which Morris got down to save.
Moments later, Zan Vipotnik should have hit the back of the net. Ronald curled the ball towards the back post, which was out of Glenn Morris’ reach. Vipotnik got on the end of it at the back post, but fortunately for Gillingham, he cleared the crossbar from close range.
The Swansea pressure continued as Jay Fulton tried his luck with a curling first-time effort. It was at a good height for Morris, who pushed it away from the danger before Giles won a free-kick.
In the 13th minute, Morris had to remain alert to deny Ronald. The Brazilian got in behind the Gillingham backline down the left and made his way into the penalty area before firing goalward. The strike had plenty of power but was well saved by Morris, who pushed it over the goal.
Ronald broke the deadlock in the 25th minute. He had the ball on the left wing before he cut inside onto his right foot, carrying the ball into the penalty area. Once he got into a more central position, he curled a low shot towards the far bottom corner, which nestled into the back of the net.
Clarke had Gillingham’s first chance of note in the 39th minute. It was good build-up play from the visitors, which was started by Max Ehmer’s pass out from the back into Euan Williams, which opened the game up.
Gills made their way into the Swansea half before it was played out to Clarke on the left. He was allowed to cut inside on his right foot before shooting inside the box. Unfortunately, he could not make the correct contact as it trickled into Lawrence Vigouroux's gloves.
HALF-TIME: Swansea City 1-0 Gillingham
Mark Bonner made two changes at the break, introducing Oli Hawkins and Aaron Rowe, with Max Clark and Jack Nolan making way.
Gbode tried his luck with a speculative effort in the 50th minute. The ball fell to the forward 25 yards from the goal, and he tried his luck with a half-volley. Unfortunately, he got his strike wrong, sending it wide of the target.
Moments later, Euan Williams was sent off following a late sliding challenge on Kyle Naughton.
On the hour, Gillingham made their third change as Lapslie replaced Jonny Williams.
Swansea had a penalty appeal after Rowe’s challenge on Ronald inside the penalty box. The Brazilian attempted to get beyond Rowe, who committed to a sliding challenge. Ronald went down under the contact, but the referee felt there was not enough to constitute a foul, so play continued.
In the 66th minute, Wyllie made his competitive debut for Gillingham, replacing Gbode.
Liam Cullen, who replaced Vipotnik in the 67th minute, made an immediate impact. Joshua Key, who had also just come on, played a low pass across the face of the goal towards the back post, which Cullen met, slotting into the back of the net from close range.
Swansea had another penalty appeal when Goncalo Franco latched onto a defence-splitting pass. He and Morris both collided inside the box, but the referee once again did not award the spot kick, as Franco was already stumbling as he made his way into the box.
In the 83rd minute, Morris did brilliantly to keep the score at 2-0. Josh Tymon fizzed a low cross across the six-yard box, which Fulton’s prod forward was blocked by Morris. The rebound came out to Azeem Abdulai, who fizzed a shot goalward. The Gills goalkeeper reacted quickly to recover and made an impressive second save before the visitors dealt with the danger.
In the 87th minute, Hawkins pulled a goal back for the ten men. Ogie’s initial throw into the box was cleared, but Gillingham regained possession through Giles, who played the ball down the right for Robbie McKenzie. He produced a peach of a cross, which found Hawkins inside the box, and he headed beyond Vigouroux in the Swansea goal.
Abdulai put the game to bed in the final seconds of stoppage time as he slotted Eom Ji-Sung's low pass into the bottom corner.
FULL-TIME: Swansea City 3-1 Gillingham
Swansea City: Vigouroux, Pedersen, Fulton, Cabango, Grimes, Vipotnik (Cullen 67’), Tjoe-A-On (Tymon 67’), Naughton (Key 67’), Cooper (Franco 73’), Ronald (Eom Ji-Sung 72’), Abdulai
Unused Subs: Broome, Darling, Watts, Thomas
Gillingham: Morris, Giles, Ehmer, Ogie, Clark (Hawkins 46’), McKenzie, E. Williams, J. Williams (Lapslie 60’), Nolan (Rowe 46’), Clarke (Wakeling 78’), Gbode (Wyllie 66’)
Unused Subs: Turner
Referee: David Rock
