Gareth Ainsworth was full of praise for his players as they left Shrewsbury Town with all three points on Saturday afternoon.
Harry Waldock opened the scoring after three minutes before Shrewsbury levelled the score via the penalty spot through George Lloyd just short of the hour. However, the visitors secured the victory with ten minutes remaining, as Andy Smith was on hand to prod home from close range after Bradley Dack's curling effort was deflected onto the crossbar.
Ainsworth credited the sensational effort of the group and the supporters, as the Gills had to dig in deep to survive spells of Shrewsbury onslaughts. Despite the intense pressure, Gillingham restricted their hosts to little in open play, and Ainsworth was impressed with the opportunities his side created throughout the fixture.
Following a tricky spell, the 53-year-old admitted that a lot of work was done behind the scenes reviewing what had gone wrong, but he encouraged his squad to play without fear, which he got.
The Gills boss was delighted for Academy graduate Harry Waldock, who scored his first senior goal. The young midfielder returned to the starting XI having been on the bench for the previous two fixtures, and Ainsworth was pleased with the endeavour that Waldock showed.
Post-match thoughts...
The boys were sensational, and the fans were sensational. Stick with us, please, because those boys have reacted after a tough week that we have just been through. To come here and get a win is a special day. Not just that, but the nature of the win and the people who have started the game, and come on and finished the game. Absolutely superb. I am really, really proud of them all.
The fans were just awesome. They really were. They believed and kept singing and kept getting behind us. We had probably the better chances of the game. We restricted Shrewsbury to what would be lots of set pieces. They are the best set piece team in the league, so we knew. We tried not to give set pieces away, but we ended up giving a few away. The penalty is one that we are obviously disappointed with, but if they just wanted to launch it in and try and score that way, then that is fine. We dealt with it really well. We knew that it would come.
I thought that we carved them apart at times really well. Harry Waldock's first goal; I am absolutely delighted for him, and Andy Smith... He was in the right place at the right time. I don't actually know what he was doing three yards out when the ball hits the crossbar, but it just shows the belief that these boys can go on and win the game.
Getting a response after recent results...
It was on the back of a really tough week. Accrington and Grimsby weren't nice, and we had to sit through some hours of footage and say, 'Look, this isn't us. This isn't right.'
I told the boys to play with no pressure.
I thought that at times Omar [Beckles], Smithy [Andy Smith], and Logan [Dobbs] were ten feet tall. They were fantastic. Ollie [Wright] was solid at the back, and the rest of them in front were very good.
Harry Waldock's return to the starting XI...
I thought that today he was sensational. He really was. His running is always there. His running is always great, but I think that teams will try and bully him or try and get the better of him, but Harry stood up for himself really well today.
What a fantastic goal, and he ended up on the end of a couple of chances today. I thought that he was outstanding.
