Gillingham goalkeeper Glenn Morris reacts to their defeat at Grimsby Town after having two players sent off and losing to a controversial penalty

Goalkeeper Glenn Morris says Gillingham can take pride from their battling defeat at Grimsby after finishing the game with nine men.

The Gills had Remeao Hutton red-carded in the first half and then saw Jonny Williams sent off with half an hour left, but Morris praised the team’s resilience under pressure.

Grimsby won the game 1-0 after scoring from a controversial penalty, awarded after Sam Gale was penalised for a foul after going shoulder-to-shoulder with home striker Jaze Kabia.

Morris said: “A lot went on in the game and you have to deal with certain situations. The boys worked so well and so hard and we couldn't have put any more effort into the game.

“We felt really deflated but proud of ourselves for the way we've worked.

“If we play like that every week, which we have been, we'll win more games than we lose.

“We can't do anything about referee decisions or anything like that. All we can do is just control what we can control and the boys did not crumble.

“You can get the fans on top of you, let a goal in and go 2-3-4 behind before you know it and you're out the game. We weren't, we were in the game and we really gave ourselves a chance.

“We can feel proud of our performance.”

Gillingham’s misfortune at Grimsby came less than a month after the hosts were also up against nine men when they played Cheltenham Town at Blundell Park.

Cheltenham conceded seven goals that day but the Gills proved a different kind of challenge.

Charles Vernam’s penalty was the only goal Grimsby managed as a combination of gritty defending from the Gills and Morris’ quality kept them at bay.

The hosts had a few nervy moments too, with Morris taking a 97th minute free-kick, launched into the box, but Robbie McKenzie couldn’t get the kind