Gills head coach Ady Pennock wasn’t hiding away from his side’s poor showing on Saturday.

With the League 1 drop-zone looming large, his men failed to sparkle at Priestfield, losing out to a last-minute strike.

“I’m disappointed and frustrated,” Pennock said.

Report: Gillingham 0 Peterborough United 1

“On the ball we were very poor. Our ball retention wasn’t good at all. It should have been a 0-0 game but it’s not, it’s a 1-0 loss and it is just bitterly disappointing.

“You want to at least get a point out of these sort of games. I didn’t think either team played that well but he (Junior Morias) had the freedom of the park for the goal. It is just disappointing.

“All I can say is in a very poor game it should have been a 0-0.

“We would have taken a point because we didn’t put together two or three passes for 95 minutes and neither did they. It was 0-0 written all over it.

“We haven’t played very well but would have taken a point. It hasn’t happened and we have to move on to next week.”

Pennock’s side weren’t helped by more injuries. Scott Wagstaff limped off with an Achilles problem and Rory Donnelly was replaced at the break as he was suffering from conjunctivitis.

The bobbly pitch didn’t help either team.

Pennock said: “It was lively and bumpy and is what it is but they won the game and why couldn’t we? It wasn’t a good game to watch, not good for the spectators, but you have to come out with at least something.

“It wasn’t for the lack of trying, it was just a game that didn’t get going and there were too many stoppages. Even the referee got injured.

“It was just stop, start, stop, start. We came out late from half-time because the referees weren’t ready, it’s not an excuse, but it was a stop-start situation and it didn’t flow as we wanted it.

“The pitch was dry, bumpy and lively but it was the same for both. It should have been 0-0.”