Gillingham manager Gareth Ainsworth was left bewildered at a decision to disallow a potential match-winner at Cheltenham.

With the match level at 1-1, Gillingham defender Sam Gale turned the ball home from close-range after out-muscling a defender, and there didn’t seem too much wrong with the goal. Referee Graham Scott felt he’d seen a handball and ruled it out.

Report: Cheltenham 1 Gillingham 1

“I think it's the Cheltenham player's handball,” said Gills boss Ainsworth.

“ I don't think it's our handball. Galey's adamant that the ball hasn't touched his hand.

“It's tough because those moments make all the difference. There were no other goals in the game. That was it.

“It's the winning goal for me. We've got the ball in their net twice. He says a handball, I can't see a hand anywhere in there, and then there are hands all over the pitch which just aren't given.

“For me, we've probably come up short there on the decisions, but I'm not going to moan about that. If this was us going for the play-offs, or something, I'd be going absolutely insane.

“There was no flag going up, and I don't know why it was disallowed.

“Hopefully, we'll get some luck back when I need it, but right now, 1-1, I'll take that away from home.”

Ainsworth’s overseen away games against Harrogate, Salford, Chesterfield and now Cheltenham and picked up a point in all four of them,

“We can build, we can go again,” he said.

“I've got a super bunch of boys and unbeaten away from home.

“Let's win our home games and keep unbeaten away from home, then we'll be in a good place.”

The Gills took the lead inside two minutes when Jimmy-Jay Morgan was picked out by Jack Nolan with a free-kick, and he finished well, but Cheltenham levelled midway through the half.

Sam Stubbs headed home from a Cheltenham free-kick played into the Gills box.

Ainsworth said: “I knew what Cheltenham were going to be. (Their manager) Mike Flynn's organised, (his teams are) big, strong, get the ball forward, set-pieces, all the things we mentioned before the game, as billed and with a wind factor in there as well, it was scrappy first off, but I thought we started superbly well.

“(It was) a really clever free-kick from Jack Nolan, making eye contact with Jimmy Morgan, and what a great finish.

“That's what he can give you. He's a super player, super young man, and I'm sure he's going to be a hell of a player when he's older.

“Then after that, I thought we gave too many fouls away, a little bit frustrated. They were clever, they got the fouls really well, they stuck the ball in the box.

“It was (an equaliser from) a set-piece and we probably could have put money on that it was going to happen like that. They worked it well, and you've got to give them credit, that's what they've done to a lot of teams.

“I told the boys at half-time we needed to get on the ball more. I thought that early on, again, they were coming at us, but I after the (substitute) changes, we got the ball down a lot better.

“Bradley (Dack) came on and he knows the game, very experienced and also Jonny Williams. I think we managed to pass it round. We got Nelson (Khumbeni) in on a one v one.

“We had the best chances of the second half, Sam Gale with his header at the back stick and Oli Hawkins with his header at the back stick. They were the best chances of that half.

“We really did restrict Cheltenham and although they probably felt like they had a bit of territory and a little bit of forward momentum, we had the best chances.

“We were close, but I'm really excited with what I've seen, some bits of what I've seen of the way we can play. Switching the play was great. We're growing all the time.”