Steve Evans proud of battling Bristol Rovers after seeing off 10-man Gillingham

Bristol Rovers boss Steve Evans hailed a “job well done” after his side’s 2-1 victory at struggling Gillingham.

The Gas are 13 points clear of the relegation places after a fourth win in five matches thanks to goals from Alfie Kilgour and Ellis Harrison.

Ronan Hale had put the Gills ahead from the spot in the first half, but Gareth Ainsworth’s woes continued with a fourth straight defeat, while things got even worse at the end as captain Armani Little was sent off in stoppage time.

Evans, who made four substitutions at half-time, said: “We had a job to do and we’ve come here and done it.

“We’re in a relegation battle until somebody comes and shows me a league table where we can’t get relegated.

“I’m not going to do what the manager did here last year where he gave players three or four days off when they weren’t winning games. That doesn’t exist in my vocabulary as a manager.

“We made some changes at half-time and, believe it or not, we had planned those changes for about 60 or 70 minutes so we just expedited those forward.

“There’s no doubt those changes made us the dominant force in the second half.

“We felt we got the team right, but their goal changed the game. The boys felt an injustice and you can feel that with a heavy heart and you’re not as slick.

“Not only those that came on did well, but all the boys on the pitch. We were straight on the attack and I don’t think they expected it.”

The Gills have been in a rut in recent weeks and it was another bitter pill to swallow for Ainsworth.

He said: “It is like two totally different halves. We get applauded off at half-time for the effort and then we don’t defend a corner in the first minute of the second half.

“It’s really bad and it’s another set-piece. I am trying to work on set-pieces. We have got people who work on them daily to say we are conceding too many from set-plays, and then we go and do it again.

“All I can say is I am going to make changes because there are players who are making the same mistakes and doing the same things over and over, which is terrible.

“The second goal is just comical defending, it is terrible. We have to react better. That really knocks the stuffing out of me, it’s the same thing.

“Year after year, as a club, we just fall away in the second half of the season. We have got to be better.

“The first half we played good and looked dangerous. In the second half, we looked so one dimensional. The boys had a licence to play today and we didn’t.”