Despite taking the lead, the Gills exited the FA Cup in the cruellest manner with a penalty shootout defeat to Newport County at the weekend, assistant manager Richard Dobson has been reflecting on that defeat.

Elliott Nevitt scored his second of the season to give the Gills the lead, before Seb Palmer-Holden also scored his second goal in a Gills shirt in extra time to ensure the tie went to the lottery of the penalty shootout.

Speaking after the games, Dobson said: “It’s an incredibly cruel way to lose a game. I thought that in the second half we got a grip of the game and had a lot of territorial possession. I think that the head injuries to their players killed a bit of the momentum that we had built up at that stage.

“When it goes into extra time, there are a lot of tired legs and a lot of space. It becomes a game of basketball, and the game goes end-to-end. We have chances and they have chances, then they found the net. It was a bit of sloppy play from us, as we didn’t track a runner from the second phase from a set piece, and they find the back of the net. Then we’re chasing the game again. Fair play to the lads, they dug in and got the goal, and then you are at the lottery of penalties. 

“We had chances in the game. We had chances to get ourselves ahead, and we had chances once they scored. I guess for a neutral, that it’s an end-to-end cup tie and both clubs are going at it full blooded. For a neutral, it’s good, but when you are on the receiving end of a penalty defeat, it hurts.”

When it comes to the Gills side never giving up, that has been evident in every single game this season, which is a marked improvement on the last few seasons, something Dobson is pleased about.

He added: “I don’t expect anything less than that. We were leggy at the end with the players that were on the pitch, and we had to make changes to protect people. It’s not ideal in terms of the changes that we wanted to make.

“We certainly don’t want to lose Robbie (McKenzie), but they kept going, the boys. We needed a moment of magic to get back into it, and Seb (Palmer-Houlden) supplied it.”

The Gills do seem to have a bit of a mounting injury list and unfortunately, it seems a few more players have picked-up knocks.

“Today, unfortunately, Litts (Armani Little) has felt something at half-time, but Nelson (Khumbeni) gets his opportunity. 

“Robbie (McKenzie) was tight, and it was one that we didn’t want to risk going forward. I haven’t spoken to him, so we will assess that one and see how he is. Hopefully, there is nothing there, and it is just tightness. There were a few players towards the end who were feeling the long game in their legs. 

“Jonny (Williams) has picked up something, just in training. It’s something that has been recurring for a little while that he has been carrying. He felt it again in training this week, so it was not something that we wanted to risk this weekend, and we will see how that one carries over over the next couple of weeks.”