Gillingham manager Andy Hessenthaler admitted he felt like he was watching the circus after seeing his side crash to a 3-1 defeat at AFC Wimbledon.

Striker Christian Jolley put the Dons ahead on 10 minutes and doubled the lead with his fourth goal of the season just two minutes later to leave Gillingham shell-shocked.

Jack Midson struck a third to all-but end the contest and although Charlie Lee hit a second-half consolation there was no way back for Gillingham. And Hessenthaler, whose side are now five points behind the leaders Southend, claimed he could barely believe what he was watching.

“It was like a circus, and these players are better that. It’s hard at any ground to come back from 3-0 down,” he said.

“We weren’t good enough for the whole 90 minutes. Forget about the second half, we lost the game in the first half. It’s not acceptable and I apologise to the fans.

“They’re experienced players, but Matt (Lawrence) just didn’t deal with the ball for the first goal. We switched off for the second and the third one was joke.”

Indeed it was a woeful performance from a Gillingham side that blows hot and cold from week to week.

The contrast between the performances against Burton Albion and AFC Wimbledon are stark and if the Gills want to be considered as promotion contenders, they are going to have to find some level of consistancy and soon.

Pic by Jack Gracie