Gillingham boss Steve Lovell was proud of his team’s achievements on Boxing Day.

Goals from Josh Parker and Callum Reilly saw the Gills beat League 1 leaders Portsmouth 2-0 at Priestfield.

And while the visitors had the majority of play, the most shots and corners, the only thing that mattered was the scoreline.

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Report: Gillingham 2 Portsmouth 0

“We gave everything and that’s all you can ask,” said the manager.

“We had to work hard, stick to our game plan and everyone had to do their jobs defensively and that was the main thing, to not to give them an early goal.

“After the first 10-15 minutes, I think we weathered a bit of an onslaught by them. They are a good side and they are not top of the league for no reason, we weathered that and came into the game.

“They had 20 odd shots on goal and six on target, we had 11 and four on target, but the top stat is that we win 2-0. We have had home games where we have had the most shots, corners and possession (and not won) so it is swings and roundabouts.

“I am just pleased with the boys, they stuck to the game plan, worked really hard and picked up an excellent three points.

“The players will have taken a lot from it, it’s a great win, a really hard working performance and I am really proud of them; they did brilliant.”

Parker’s opener came just before the half-time break.

Lovell said: “Josh is clever enough to make the space in behind. Elliott (List) made a great run and got it onto his right foot and put a good cross in.

“We spoke to Josh before the game about him needing to keep in the box more, as all our forwards do, and it was a right bonus going in after getting that goal before half time, which gave everyone a lift.”

Gillingham sealed the points with a stoppage-time Reilly penalty.

"The penalty was the icing on the cake," said the manager.

"Elliott turned them inside out and won the penalty, quite rightly so as well. It was an excellent day at the office, I would have taken that before the game!"