“Our best yet,” was how Gills boss Justin Edinburgh summed up Wednesday night’s clash with Brighton.

Gillingham might have lost the match 2-1 but for long periods they had the edge over their Championship opponents.

“For a long duration I thought we were very good,” Edinburgh said.

“I was very pleased with the overall performance. We had some real good chances and got in good areas. We probably should have had a couple more goals but it wasn’t to be.

“I was a bit disappointed with their goals and I suppose you always are but I think it was the best performance (of pre-season).

“We had done it in fits and starts and for most of pre-season but we maintained the level of performance for near enough 90 minutes.”

Bradley Dack opened the scoring on Wednesday with his third goal of the summer.

“He has come back and he has hit the ground running but he will be the first to applaud Luke Norris for laying it on a plate,” Edinburgh said.

“I thought he (Norris) was outstanding from start to finish and they are the performances I am preaching and what I want from Luke week in, week out. He is more than capable of doing that.

“I left very satisfied, looking forward to Saturday and continuing the progression we are making.”

Chelsea loanee Jordan Houghton limped off with an ankle injury, following a block tackle, but Edinburgh is hopeful he will have no lasting damage.

He said: “He has had a bit of a sore ankle but hopefully he will be okay. We will assess him over the next 24-48 hours.”