Crawley manager Scott Lindsey credited his side’s “character” after they claimed a 2-0 League Two victory over his former side Gillingham – but admitted they were still far from their best.
Will Wright and Jack Roles sealed victory for the visitors with goals either side of the break.
Lindsey revealed that he was disappointed in his side’s lack-lustre performance, despite a return to their fighting spirit following a 2-1 loss to AFC Wimbledon last time out.
“I thought we were absolutely rubbish today, if I’m honest,” said Lindsey, who played for Gills in 1994/95. “But we found a way to win the game when we didn’t play well.
“The players showed real character but the performance wasn’t reflective of how we normally play.
“I questioned their character after our last game and they showed a different side to themselves today.
“They really dug in, so I’m really pleased with that. They’re a massive three points against a good side.”
Former Gillingham man Wright fired home Town’s opener with a free-kick from the edge of the box after 24 minutes before Roles doubled the lead just two minutes after coming on in the 71st minute.
His deflected long-range effort handed Town a pivotal win and lesson for the young side according to Lindsey.
“It was a really dogged performance,” he added. “We’re quite young and inexperienced, so we’re learning as we go. That means the players can only get better, especially playing away on Boxing Day and in front of a big crowd.
“I’m really pleased to have kept a clean sheet, especially for the fans, who sang throughout the game.”
On the other side of the score, Gillingham manager Stephen Clemence expressed his concerns over his team’s lack of goalscoring abilities – with several chances not going their way at Priestfield.
With Tim Dieng and Tom Nichols both shooting wide in the opening half and Town goalkeeper Corey Addai on top form, Clemence believes that finding the back of the net has become an “Achilles heel” in recent weeks.
“I understand everybody’s frustrations and I’m just as frustrated as they are,” he said.
“We tried to change the shape today to give us more of an attacking threat and we had a number of attacking players on the pitch in the second half, but scoring goals is still our Achilles heel.
“We’ve got to stick together and work harder, because we know there’s got to be improvement.
“I felt we didn’t start the game well enough. But in the last 15 minutes of the first half we got on top of them, then we were the better team in the second half.
“We had four very good chances, but we didn’t take any of them.”
