ND-JOLI GOOD FELLOW SINKS THE CHAIRBOYS
Loanee strikes twice in Gills’ easy victory
AVIRUS may have ripped through the Gillingham squad in midweek, but boss Steve Evans was delighted to see opponents Wycombe left feeling as sick as a parrot after their unbeaten record came to a crashing halt.
Wycombe, who were top of the table heading into the game, had the better of the first half at Priestfield, but Alex Samuel missed the target and Nick Freeman had his effort tipped over the bar by Gills goalkeeper Jack Bonham.
And they were made to pay after the break as Bournemouth loanee Mikael Ndjoli grabbed a double – the second from the penalty spot – to consign the Chairboys to a first defeat in eight league games this term.
After their less-than-ideal preparation, Evans was ecstatic to see his side dig deep and credited his squad for the resilience they demonstrated.
“We’ve had a terrible virus kick in midweek so there were four or five players who probably shouldn’t have been out there,” admitted Evans.
“Real, real credit to the players because they battled hard against a good team. The goals were two real pieces of quality from us and I’m immensely proud of the players’ character.
“We have to find a way to win matches and that’s what we did.
“We made positive changes during the game, such as bringing on Brandon (Hanlan) and if you’re not league leaders yourself, then it is always nice to beat the league leaders.”
Gillingham’s first came just before the hour mark as substitute Hanlan went on a solo surge down the left and teed the ball