Gareth Ainsworth expects Ronan Hale’s goals to be first of many for Gillingham

Gillingham boss Gareth Ainsworth hailed the impact of Ronan Hale after the new signing fired the Gills to a 2-1 win over tumbling Tranmere.

January signing Hale marked his full home debut for the club with a goal in each half as the hosts condemned Rovers to a sixth straight League Two defeat.

Charlie Whitaker halved the deficit with 15 minutes to go, but it was too little too late for the visitors.

And Ainsworth, whose side got back to winning ways after successive defeats, said: “Everyone’s talking about Ronan getting his first two goals and that’s brilliant because that’s what he was brought here to do.

“He’s done fantastically well taking those two goals today. He’s a poacher that we’ve missed and we’re really pleased he’s got off the mark.

“They’re two very different goals. He was a thorn in their side in the first half. Him and Sam Vokes combined really well.

“It was a pleasure to watch him score those two goals because he’s had some really good chances in the last few games since he’s come in.

“Ronan will be relieved himself. He’s off the mark and I’m sure we’re going to see many more from him.

“The lads were superb. They’ve dug deep. We made it a bit harder than it could have been at the end.

“We could have scored more goals in that first half and made the game more comfortable for ourselves.

“It’s hard when a team’s coming at you when they’ve got nothing to lose and you’ve got something to hold on to and we’ve done brilliantly to do that.

“I’m really proud of the boys. They’ve had a tough week.”

Tranmere boss Andy Crosby was left to rue his side’s missed chances, but fully expects them to turn their woeful run around.

“I think it was more than spirited if I’m honest,” he said.

“They were the better team in the first half an hour and got their goal. For the rest of the game we were the dominant team.

“We didn’t manage to take the chances that we created. We’ve had 19 shots and all of those were probably in the box and we’ve only got one goal to show from it.

“There were lots and lots of pleasing aspects from a new group who have only been together from Tuesday morning and in some cases Thursday morning.

“There’s lots for us to build on. There was an enthusiasm, an energy and quality in possession. The guys who have come in and added to the group.

“That level of performance is something we can take forward as a group.

“If we have that as a baseline to maintain then we will be in every game going forward.”