Substitutes Mikael Mandron and Jordan Green send Gillingham through

Dramatic late goals from substitutes Mikael Mandron and Jordan Green powered Gillingham to a 2-0 win over AFC Wimbledon and into the second round of the Carabao Cup.

The visitors should have taken the lead after just five minutes when Lewis Walker latched onto a defence-splitting pass from fellow summer signing Shaun Williams, only to stab the ball well wide of Nathan Broome’s goal.

The Dons were the better side throughout the rest of the first half and Ayoub Assal almost engineered an opener when he teed up Kyle Hudlin, who struck a tame effort straight at Gills goalkeeper Jake Turner.

Assal was at the heart of the action again in the 74th minute, flashing a wicked ball across the face of the goal only for the Gills defence to somehow scramble clear.

Gillingham were denied the lead five minutes later when Mandron bundled in from close range only for the linesman’s flag to intervene after a lengthy consultation with the referee.

But there was no denying the Frenchman’s 89th-minute effort, which he struck sweetly into the bottom corner from outside the box.

Green capped things off for the visitors a minute later, slotting coolly past Broome to settle the tie.