Gillingham boss Andy Hessenthaler believes his side got what they deserved after conceding a last minute penalty at Priestfield on Saturday.

Nicky Wroe’s 94th minute spot kick was all that seperated the two sides after Ross Flitney had dragged Sean McAllister down in the box, but Hessenthaler refused to blame his keeper who had done well throughout the game with some fine saves:

“It’s disappointing to lose right at the end and Ross (Flitney) has apologised for conceding the penalty but if it wasn’t for him the scoreline could have been a lot more,” said Hessenthaler.

It could have been so much different had Danny Kedwell tucked away a 23rd spot kick for Gillingham, but his tame effort was easily saved by Ben Smith and Hessenthaler admitted after the game that his side hadn’t done enough to win the game:

“We got what we deserved, we deserved to lose. It’s cruel it comes at the end but I don’t think we were at it from start to finish and the boys were told that today.

“As a group, we’ve got to do better, good teams bounce back, we’re a good team but not today. Shrewsbury deserved to win the game.

“We weren’t good enough, I’m only telling you what I’ve told the players.”

“We spoke at half-time that we needed to improve but we didn’t pass the ball well enough, we were sloppy, at times we were too deep and for a game at home it was too stretched for my liking.”

“You’ve got to make things happen and not wait for chances to come. There were times when we gave the ball away and didn’t know what to do.”

Defeat on Saturday has dropped Gillingham to sixth in League Two, but Hessenthaler feels his side are still in a strong position to challenge for promotion come the end of the season:

“We’re not going to get carried away with back-to-back defeats at this stage, we’re in touch with the leaders but we know the table could be better than it is right now.”

The two losses to Rotherham and Shrewsbury have shown Gills fans that they probably have to be more realistic as to where the club really are at this time.

It is patently obvious to most fans that the side are desperately in need of another striker and a left sided winger as soon as possible and with the loan window re-opening on Wednesday, Hessenthaler will have to move fast to bolster the squad before they making losing a habit.

More worryingly for Hessenthaler was the news that Jack Payne had been forced off with what could be medial knee ligament damage late on in the first half.

Payne has been the linchpin in the Gills midfield this season and the loss of the youngster for any period of time would be a huge blow to the side.