Steve Evans wishes Posh well in their promotion bid, but he reckons Gillingham would have won if they’d managed to avoid the game-changing errors

Siriki Dembele of Peterborough United scores his side's second goal of the game against Gillingham. Photo: Joe Dent/theposh.com.

Posh won 3-1 to move into the automatic promotion places for 24 hours at least, but only after the home side had deservedly led at the break thanks to John Akinde’s penalty.

Evans warned his side to expect a reaction after the break, but watched his side make game-changing errors as Jonson Clarke-Harris scored twice and substitute Siriki Dembele also netted.

Evans believed his side would have won without the errors.

Evans told Kent Online: “You know they are going to react, but we don’t need to help them. Teams at the top don’t need help in any league. We helped them.

“The first goal should be a comfortable save, the second they got a bit of luck, and the third was from two big, big errors, but at that time Posh were on the ascendancy and dominating, like the way we were in the first half and it was difficult for us.

“They took advantage of those errors and then they were more expansive and brighter on the ball than us.

“We had to somehow keep two strikers on the pitch and try and nick a goal. With five or six minutes to go the boy Beevers put his head in the way of an effort from big John (Akinde), which might have been going in, and that might have made it interesting. Over the 90 minutes if we take out the errors we probably win.

“You are always concerned at 1-0. You know playing against a good side, in any league, that are challenging and capable that you are going to have to deal with them first 10-15 minutes of the second half and deal with it properly, we didn’t.

“We were mistake-littered for the first 15 minutes of the second half and it made it difficult for us.

“The third goal was two big mistakes from two young centre backs. Jack Tucker has three weeks to get the ball up the pitch, then the cross comes in which we don’t work hard enough to stop either and big Jonno (Clarke-Harris) gets across Robbie Cundy.

“But we will take it. We are not on a level playing field with Peterborough United, with the resources they have. It is mountains away, but you have to spend those resources wisely and they have a chairman and manager who are doing so. I hope they go into the Championship. I wish them well.”