Hodges delight as AFC Wimbledon end Gillingham’s unbeaten run with late winner - 7M sport

Hodges delight as AFC Wimbledon end Gillingham’s unbeaten run with late winner



Posted Sunday, March 01, 2020 by PA

Hodges delight as AFC Wimbledon end Gillingham’s unbeaten run with late winner

Glyn Hodges revelled in denting Gillingham’s play-off push as AFC Wimbledon ended their opponents’ 15-game unbeaten run with a 2-1 victory at Priestfield.

Callum Reilly scored a stoppage-time winner against his former club to leave the Gills seven points adrift of the League One play-off places.

The Dons initially led through Joe Pigott’s simple tap-in four minutes into the second half, but Regan Charles-Cook’s 87th-minute equaliser looked to have earned Gillingham a point.

However, Reilly, who left Gillingham for AFC Wimbledon last summer, ensured he and his boss had the laugh.

“Reading in their programme before the game it said they’re expecting to be in the play-offs and that they’re going to be going up, so we’re delighted to come and win against a team like that,” Hodges said.

“It was brilliant and the boys were fantastic. We battled hard and we looked a team out there today.

“Gillingham can overpower teams but I felt that we nullified that today, then we just had that bit of belief to get the goals.

“I can’t remember the last time we had decent conditions for a game but we scored two goals against the wind in the second half.

“It wasn’t Joe’s cleanest strike for the opening goal but they’re the ones that go in – the clean ones get saved. He’s a goalscorer, he gets himself in those positions and if the ball falls to him it normally goes in the back of the net

“We went again after they equalised – that reaction was really positive. We’ve got a lot of former Gillingham players in our team and it’s nice for Callum Reilly to come and get the winner today.

“You know when you’re picking a team that you play the players against their former teams – when that whistle goes you know that they’ll give you an extra five or 10 per cent.”

With Tranmere’s match postponed, the result lifts AFC Wimbledon eight points clear of the relegation zone.

And Gillingham assistant manager Paul Raynor says his side got exactly what they deserved.

“I don’t think we were at it all game,” he said.

“We huffed and we puffed. Wimbledon did a job on us. They made it difficult for us to get going, so we have to take that on the chin.

“Six or seven of the players were not quite at it and we know we’re better than that.

“At 1-1 we wondered if we should stick or twist. Three points would have been fantastic for us so we tried to win the game. We were brave going for the win – the downside was that we fell to a defeat.

“That wasn’t good enough today and sometimes you’ve got to be honest with your assessments. We’re still in touch with the play-off places so we’ll keep going.”

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