Steve Evans admitted defeat to Wimbledon felt like a smack in the face.

He watched his side dominate the League 1 fixture at Kingsmeadow but were left without reward after failing to take their chances.

The hosts won it with a goal from former Gills man Scott Wagstaff.

Report: Wimbledon 1 Gillingham 0

Evans said: “It was just a sheer dominant, super performance from us but we left with nothing, which is criminal.

“We were superb, that’s the best we’ve played in a long time, in terms of controlled possession, opening them up, switching the play and we were prevented by last-ditch defending.

“We made five or six golden opportunities and if one of those goes in we would probably have won by four.

“It’s the most dominant I have seen my team play in years, total dominance, but we’ve lost and I feel for the players and the travelling supporters.

“It could have been any score. We deserved to win and it’s a smack in the face.”

Evans was frustrated that his team didn’t get any of the big decisions go in their favour. There were two big penalty appeals, with Brandon Hanlan and Olly Lee both going down in the box.

Referee Kevin Johnson waved both away.

The Gills boss said: “The facts are we should have had a couple of penalities. If we get one of them we win it easy.”

Evans admitted they weren’t ruthless enough where it mattered, however.

“I said to the players, the performance was excellent, the dominance was excellent but we let ourselves down in the penalty box didn’t we?

“We didn’t take our chances. Everything else was right and I don’t think anyone can criticise the performance. They might criticise the finishing but the performance was outstanding in spells.”

While the Gills were pushing for an equaliser at the death, Ben Pringle was dismissed as frustration got the better of him, protesting after the referee awarded a goal kick and not a corner.

Pringle got a straight red card for repeatedly swearing at the official.

Wimbledon fans were singing 'the referee is a Womble' at the end and those sentiments were echoed during the post-match in the home bar afterwards, as Wagstaff was paraded infront of fans.

Wagstaff spoke of his pleasure at scoring the winner, saying: "It was a tough game, a few squeaky bum moments but the boys were brilliant and I felt like we deserved it overall. It was nice to get one over Steve Evans as well.

"It was a bit of a fight but we showed grit and held on for the win."