Gareth Ainsworth believes that his Gillingham side more than deserved their victory as they beat Tranmere Rovers 2-0 at the MEMS Priestfield Stadium for a first home win of the season.
The Gills boss was impressed with the fitness and energy levels his team possessed, especially in the second-half, with both goals coming in the final 25 minutes.
Ronan Hale was at the heart of both, assisting Logan Dobbs for the first, before clinically putting away the second. Ainsworth was pleased that the striker could get back amongst the goals and praised the attitude that he carries with him every time he steps onto the pitch.
The forward was forced off immediately after scoring, as Ainsworth explained that he took a kick to the ankle, causing it to swell. The Gillingham manager also provided an update on Harry Waldock, who went off in the early stages of the second period.
Tuesday night is the return of the U21 Premier League Cup, with Birmingham City the visitors to ME7. Ainsworth realises the fixture is a great opportunity not only to give the younger members of the squad game time, but also give some senior pros working their way back from injury some minutes.
On the win...
It was well-deserved. You are not going to get anything for free in this league. We matched Tranmere in the first-half, and probably just sniffed out the better chances, but nothing much. I thought that we controlled the game better than them.
In the second-half, I think that our fitness came through, our energy came through, winning the battles, controlling the ball, and some fantastic moves for goals. I thought that we outpaced them at times and outran them at times. That is really important for me. That is my sort of team.
We have got to be fit in this league, but organised and also defensively solid. If somebody is missing the tackle, then somebody else is there trying to pick it up for them and block.
Ollie Wright, people will say that he had a quiet day, but he was sensational today with his organisational skills and his sweeping up. He never switches off.
I thought that we were the better team today and deserved that win.
I think that was one of the best performances at home under me since I have been at the club. Long may that continue.
On Ronan Hale...
He has had a nasty kick after he put it in. He has burst through, and it's a great one-two with Garath [McCleary] and a great move. You want Ronan on the end of things in the box. He is dynamite around there.
It is just a kick. His ankle has swollen up quite badly, so we are going to have to make sure that we look after him.
He is a born goal scorer and just wants to score. The frustration comes with that when he is not scoring, and when I am going to take him off the pitch, sometimes you can see that he is physically and mentally frustrated because he just wants to score. It isn't about anything else. He has got very high standards of his finishing, and he holds them high.
His cross was great with his left foot for the goal, and also his all-round endeavour, where he has played a couple of positions for me. I am playing this sort of three up top at the moment, and he is one of them. Sometimes he drops in a little bit and does some defending for me. He's a great character.
An update on Harry Waldock...
Harry [Waldock] came off as he had an upset stomach during the game. That was tough, as he battled through it, but at least it is not a pull or anything.
Securing back-to-back victories...
It is always nice in League Two, and in any league. It projects us into the top half of the table, but we haven't done anything yet. We will keep working, keep this group going, and I think that we can get better. I will make sure that we keep doing that.
The U21 Premier League Cup fixture against Birmingham on Tuesday...
Hopefully, we will get some of the youngsters, but some of the experienced ones as well. We can play three over-age players. I am not going to miss out on the opportunity to get match minutes into people. Hopefully, we can see some of those injured players coming back into that and getting ready for the first team on Saturday. We are going to be taking that seriously.
