Tuesday’s win was the best yet for Gillingham’s interim boss Keith Millen in what was his fifth game in charge.

Home side Swindon had more possession and more shots, but the Gills scored the only goal of the game, failed to make the most of a one-on-one chance and also missed a penalty.

Report: Swindon 0-1 Gillingham

Like so often this season, the Gills failed to make the most of their opportunities infront of goal, but the way the team dealt with a quality ball-playing opposition really pleased the stand-in boss.

He said: “I would say (it was my favourite) and when you win it helps!

“From a tactical point of view, they cause you problems and I thought we were okay.

“We should have scored three goals, but probably all season we have been saying we’ve been creating chances and we just haven’t taken them.

“At least we’re creating them, that’s the main thing, if you aren’t then you know you are in trouble.”

Connor Mahoney deflected effort from the edge of the box in the 22nd minute won the game.

Gills keeper Jake Turner was kept busy throughout, saving well from Jake Young in the first half and turning Remeao Hutton’s effort past the post in the second.

But at 1-0, Macaulay Bonne couldn’t score with just the keeper to beat and Cheye Alexander dragged a second-half penalty wide.

“We do make it hard for ourselves don’t we with the chances we had,” said Millen.

“For all of their good play, and they put a lot of balls in the box. Territorially, certainly second half, we were under pressure, but when you look at the clear chances, we should have been out of sight.

“Those last five minutes would have been a lot more comfortable if we had scored the second but I am just so pleased with their desire to work hard for each other against another good footballing side.

“We knew what they would do and how they would try and hurt us, and generally we coped okay, then when we did win the ball and showed a little bit of composure and we got a pass away, it was almost like we were at them.

“We knew they would have possession and I knew if we could keep some sort of shape on the turnover we would cause them problems, that’s why I wanted to keep three up if we could with Jayden (Clarke), Connor (Mahoney) and Macca (Bonne). I felt that if we won (the ball), going the other way, we would cause them problems and that’s what happened.”

Mahoney’s strike settled it in the end, taking on a shot from the edge of the area that beat keeper Murphy Mahoney. The home goalie had moments earlier tipped a shot over the bar from the same player and then did the same with his subsequent corner, as the Gills man went close to scoring directly from the set-piece.

On the goal, Millen said: “It was a good move. We spoke before the game about Jayden staying a little bit high and wide because he has pace and one versus one he is a threat but I wanted Connor to free himself a little bit again. In the last couple of games we haven’t got him in the game enough, I said ‘go and get the ball’.

“The likes of him and Jonny (Williams) going back to (his old club) Swindon, he was excellent, really good. All of a sudden when you had two or three passes we combined and the movement was excellent and the finish.

“It was hard work for the boys, the tough decision was when and if we went to a back five because we were under so much pressure and we had some tired legs, I thought the timing of the subs and the change of shape just helped us to see the game out.”

The win ended a run of four straight losses away from home in League 2. The Gills had been beaten 2-1 at home by Notts County at the weekend.

Millen said: “I spoke to the player before we kicked off about people’s perceptions and what we look like.

“Do we look like a team feeling sorry for ourselves because away from home we hadn’t been great, or are we going to look like a team that’s fighting for each other, (a team that’s) not perfect, but we’ll give it a go? I think that is what people got to see and that’s all I could have asked of them.”