Sam Vokes insisted there were positives to take despite defeat as Gillingham were left frustrated by a narrow weekend loss at Crewe.
The Gills had the better chances on Saturday, but couldn’t beat home keeper Ian Lawlor, and conceded from one of only two on-target efforts from the home side.
One goal was enough for Crewe, a win which moved them into the play-off positions and left the Gills still struggling to keep up.
Gills striker Vokes said the team felt “deflated and frustrated” after the loss, but added: “We’ve come away from a game which we’ve arguably dominated, dominated chances at least, and a set-piece has undone us.
“[We’re] not happy to concede that, but I suppose we’ve got to look at the positives. We created a lot of chances, but gutted we didn’t come away with the points.
“We’ve had shots blocked on the line. Their keeper made some good saves. I think he got man-of-the-match in the end, so that kind of sums up where the game was and what happened.
“Unlucky doesn’t get you points, but I thought we were very much the better side.
“We’re frustrated, but we’ll look at it, and we’ll go again on Tuesday.”
The Gills are now nine points off the play-offs and face a Chesterfield side sitting just below the top seven.
Vokes wasn’t adding any extra pressure on the game and said: “We can’t blow one game up as being massive, but for us, it’s the next game, so it is the biggest game we’ve got coming up.
“We’ve got to dust ourselves down and go again.
“They’re all huge games and if we want to achieve what we still think we can, and we deserve to, then we need to start picking up the points.
“It’s no good coming away [Saturday] and saying we were the better team and had the better chances, but come away with no points. We can’t keep saying that.
“The lads are gutted, but we need to pick ourselves up because we need to go again on Tuesday.
“There’s a third of the season left, and the game’s come thick and fast. Chesterfield away on Tuesday is what we’ll be concentrating on now.”
Vokes started upfront with Ronan Hale, as manager Gareth Ainsworth paired them up in attack.
They didn’t manage a goal on the day but they did look bright, and Vokes enjoyed playing up alongside the new signing.
“It was good,” he said. “I enjoyed playing alongside him. He’s a great asset to the squad and the team.
“His goals last week [against Tranmere] show that, and, for me personally, to play alongside someone like that, it helps my game massively because we can link up and create that big-man, little-man [partnership]. He’s a great asset to us.
“Teams look different at times these days. But, effectively, we were a partnership up there, and to have a wide man in Garath McCleary as well is great for someone like me.
“I think that’s where frustration also comes because I do feel like we created some good chances. We just didn’t put them away.”
