Gillingham fought tooth and nail to prevent Wolverhampton Wanderers from progressing in the Carabao Cup, but it wasn’t to be on Tuesday night.
With a bug having swept through the camp over the previous 48 hours, manager Neil Harris had to field a side that was fit and able to take to the field and was only able to name five substitutes as he too felt the effects of the illness among them.
In the end, the travelling support will have been proud of what they saw their side do, but two late goals meant it was the Premier League side that progressed to the Quarter Final stage and The Gills will now turn their focus back to the league for a little while.
Former Real Madrid, Spain and Sevilla boss Julen Lopetegui was appointed over a month ago but had to wait until after the World Cup break to see his side in action.
It was ultimately worth the wait for Lopetegui, but he was made to sweat by a Gillingham side that held out for 77 minutes, until Cheye Alexander hauled down Hwang Hee-Chan in the area, allowing Raul Jimenez to roll home just his second goal of the season from the penalty spot.
Wolves then sealed the win in stoppage time, with Hwang pulling the ball back for fellow substitute Rayan Ait-Nouri to stab a finish past goalkeeper Jake Turner to finally finish off the Kent side.
Lopetegui has taken over the only Premier League side whose goals-scored total remains in single figures, and the majority of their game against Gillingham showed the new manager why his squad struggle so much to find the net.
Wolves racked up 80 per cent of the possession against the EFL’s bottom-ranked side but failed to test Turner during the first half. It wasn’t that the Premier League club failed to create chances – it was that they showed their familiar habit of failing to take them.
Joe Hodge and Daniel Podence saw close-range efforts blocked by desperate Gillingham defenders as Wolves stepped up their efforts towards the end of a tepid first half, with Hodge then wasting a brilliant chance from Goncalo Guedes’ excellent cross.
Ruben Neves then cracked a shot against the post from the edge of the area on the stroke of half-time, with the midfielder looking as if he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as he trudged down the Molineux tunnel at the break.
Lopetegui rang the changes in the second half and it was substitutes Jimenez and Hwang who made the crucial difference.
After Diego Costa had flashed a volley wide and Turner had denied Nelson Semedo at the back post, Hwang won a penalty when he was dragged back by Alexander as he tried to turn a loose ball from a corner goalwards.
Jimenez coolly slotted the ball past Turner in his first club appearance since August, before Hwang set up Ait-Nouri to seal a valuable win for Wolves.
Gillingham will now turn their attention to their League Two clash with fellow strugglers Colchester United at Priestfield on Boxing Day.
Wolves: Sa, Semedo, Collins, Kilman, Bueno, Hodge (Adama H/T), Neves, Moutinho (Hwang 61), Podence (Jimenez 69), Guedes (Nunes 61), Costa (Ait-Nouri 81).
Unused subs: Sarkic, Lembikisa, Toti, Ronan.
Goals: Jimenez (pen 77), Ait-Nouri (91).
Gillingham: Turner, Alexander, Tutonda, Wright, Ehmer, Williams (Lee 74), O’Keefe (MacDonald 74), Mandron (Kashket 64), Jefferies (Reeves 74), Adelakun, Baggott.
Unused sub: Holtam.
Referee: Mr Michael Salisbury
Attendance: 26,943 (1307 Gills).
Picture supplied by Gillingham Football Club.