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Gillingham assistant Paul Raynor admitted they looked dead and buried at 2-0 down against Woking but the team’s character shone through.
The Gills scored three times in a 20-minute spell to turn the tie on its head and claim a place in round two of the FA Cup.
“It’s a feeling of relief after being 2-0 down,” said the Gills no.2.
“We said to the boys, 'it is a cup tie, it’s either us or them in the next round.'
“We are just delighted. At 2-0 down we were dead and buried but we always believed in the boys. We have a young squad, they listened at half time, they took it onboard and I always felt we would create the chances.
“I am delighted for Dominic Samuel (whose two goals got the match level). He has worked incredibly hard in the last few weeks, without much luck, and Vadaine does what Vadaine does, if we can get quality crosses in the box like that then you would fancy him to get on the end of things.”
Oliver headed home what turned out to be the winner on 79 minutes. It had been looking bleak for the Gills, however, with Woking going 2-0 up with goals either side of the break.
Raynor said: “For sixty minutes Woking gave us a lot of problems, and we gave ourselves some problems. We conceded a sloppy first goal, which then gives them something to hang onto, and then they get a ricochet and something bounces for them in the penalty area. They go 2-0 up and we have a real mountain to climb.
“We had to go for it at 2-0, we had nothing to lose, we were going out the cup. We threw caution to the wind, threw lots of bodies forward, threw Trae Coyle higher, we went 4-2-4 in the second and it paid off but we were always susceptible that one break could be catastrophe and we could be out the cup.
“Credit to the guys, we stood firm at the back, we concentrated, we didn’t really give them a sniff in the second half other than the goal and the character shone through at the end.
“We have got some character, we have got some young players and we spoke at half time about changing things around and tweaking things, we changed the shape and we always felt we would create opportunities doing that and credit to Woking, but credit to the character of our boys as well.”
Oliver, who came on at the break, claimed the winner.
“Adding Vadaine to the mix at half time helped, it gave us that focal point, he won a lot of headers and he linked up and brought people into the game,” Raynor said.
“I thought we were a little too passive in the first half, we like to get the ball forward a little bit quicker, I thought our passing was too slow, it allowed Woking to get into shape and when you have got something to hold onto it can be difficult to break down. Credit to Woking but the main thing is that we are into the next round.”
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