Mark Patterson was full of praise for his young side despite going out of the FA Youth Cup at the third round stage after a 2-1 defeat by Portsmouth at Fratton Park on Wednesday night.

Midfielder Luke Rooney scored with a spectacular strike with 15 minutes left after Gillingham overcame a poor start and the early dismissal of goalkeeper Conor Quinn to put in a battling display which also impressed first-team manager Mark Stimson.

Youth chief Patterson said: “We went 1-0 down but got a foothold in the game and then Conor got sent-off.

“He made a poor decision, got himself in a bit of a tangle and pulled their lad back.

“Under-16 keeper Darren Hawkes came off the bench and we really did well, a lot of effort and good play.

“We were pleased to go in 1-0 down at half-time, started the second half well, without creating too much and then they scored again after Darren made a good save off the first effort.

“After that, we rolled our sleeves up and had a real go and I was proud of them.”