Gareth Ainsworth was left lamenting the missed first-half opportunities as Gillingham fell to a stoppage time defeat against Cheltenham Town on Tuesday night.
Ronan Hale fired the Gills in front after 18 minutes with a smart finish, catching out Joe Day. However, Ainsworth knows that they should have put the game to bed before the break, as they created several great chances in what was a positive half. However, Gillingham left the door open for their hosts and were punished in the second-half as Mo Faal thumped a late volley home to secure a come from behind victory for Cheltenham.
Sam Vokes came into the starting XI, leading the line with Hale, and Ainsworth was impressed with how the pair combined in attack. The Gills boss also touched upon Conor Masterson and Robbie McKenzie making their returns to the starting XI, which he viewed as a positive.
Assessment of the game...
We created enough chances to win two games today, and we have been guilty of not creating a lot of chances in the past. That was great play, especially in the first-half, where we had loads of chances to put the game to bed. At half-time, we should come in 3-0 up, honestly, I am saying that. If you don't take your chances, then you are going to get bitten. We got bitten at the end there. You cannot afford to miss chances like that.
We set up a bit differently, and I thought that we caught Cheltenham out with that. Vokesy [Sam Vokes] and Ronan [Hale] played really well together. I thought that Vokesy was magnificent in the first-half, and then the shot from Ronan was brilliant. He is going to score goals. He is in to score goals, but we need to add to that.
We need more goals at times, because we created a lot of chances. Cheltenham only created three or four and scored two. I think that we have had three from about a yard, honestly. Coming in at 1-0 up was tough to take for me because we deserved so much more.
The boys have given everything, but unfortunately, we have not got a result.
Returning players making starts...
Conor did all right. We knew that he would be flagging. He has not played. He has been out for a long time; I think that it is about his sixth or seventh start of the season, which is tough for Conor because he is a committed player who wants to do well.
Robbie McKenzie as well. It was his first start for a while, which is a positive for us. There were one or two others that also got the chance of a run out.
Ronan Hale and Sam Vokes leading the line...
It was the first partnership that they have had together, and I thought that they played really well. Sam is renowned for his hold-up play, and his flicks into Ronan, who scored a goal himself. We started really bright, and there is potential in that partnership, but with three games to go now, we have to make sure that we are competitive in all the games. There are three big games coming up, so let's go for it.
