Southend United 1 Gillingham 3: Reaction from Gills boss Mark Bonner after pre-season friendly a Roots Hall

Gillingham boss Mark Bonner pinpointed the things he liked best after a win at Southend United on Saturday.

It’s still work in progress for Bonner and his team but a 3-1 win at National League side Southend was another positive in a pre-season which has seen them provide plenty of promise.

Report: Southend 1 Gills 3

Jack Nolan scored twice - an opener that according to the officials crossed the line after hitting the post and another which crept in from distance as striker Marcus Wyllie looked to get on the end of it.

It was a counter-attack that Jayden Clarke finished off that Bonner really took pleasure in seeing. The Gills boss fielded a senior side from the off for an hour before introducing plenty of young players for the final 30.

Following the win, he said: “The last 30 was a lot different and they (Southend) were the same really, they made a lot of changes on 70-75 minutes and the game then became a bit of a non-event really.

“The first hour we looked good when it was counter-attacking phases but we spent too long without the ball and didn’t use the ball well enough.

“They played well, with a nice structure and are a team that has been together for a while. They were good.

“It was like three minutes of action where the goals happened either side of half-time. I am not even sure the first one was a goal.

“The second was a brilliant counter-attack from us and the third one (scored by Southend) was hopeless from us. A strange few minutes.

“There were good minutes for people, lots of them that needed it on a very long, slow pitch.

“It wasn’t a quality game, there were a lot of technical errors from us but there were a few bits to like.

“Our best bits were in counter attacking phases at the moment but we have a lot