Gillingham boss Steve Evans believes the 'best team lost' in his side's defeat to Sunderland.
The Gills made an encouraging start to the encounter at Priestfield, and were given the opportunity to take the lead from the penalty spot after Tom Flanagan was adjudged to have fouled Ryan Jackson just before the hour-mark.
However, Lee Burge kept Jordan Graham's poor effort out and minutes later, Alex MacDonald was shown a straight red card for a poor challenge on Luke O'Nien.
Sunderland made the numerical advantage count with substitute Chris Maguire scoring from the spot with six minutes remaining, and Lynden Gooch adding a second in injury time.
Referee Sam Purkiss decided to award the Black Cats the penalty after his linesman flagged for a foul on Charlie Wyke by Zach Medley, and Evans initially branded the decision as 'absolutely disgusting'.
But after consulting replays of the incident, the 58-year-old backtracked and accepted it was the correct decision.
The Gills boss initially told Kent Online : “The penalty to them looks like an absolutely disgusting decision.
"He [the referee] looked towards his assistant referee for the penalty that Sunderland got and it was simply not a penalty. Even the Sunderland bench had a little chuckle when he gave it.”
He later admitted: "We got it wrong and the assistant referee was correct."
Gillingham made a promising start to the contest, and the windy and wet conditions aided their physical approach to the match. However, Sunderland came closest to breaking the deadlock before the break with Luke O'Nien's effort ruled out for offside and Josh Scowen spurning a golden opportunity.
The Gills were then awarded the chance to open the scoring after the interval, but the penalty miss and subsequent dismissal led to their fifth successive defeat.
Evans praised his side's overall performance despite their latest loss, and accepts McDonald deserved to be given his marching orders for his late challenge.
He added: “The missed penalty happens, the rebound we should score, that looked easy for Dominic [Samuel] to score but the disappointed aspect was two-fold for me.
“Alex MacDonald quite rightly had the ears taken off him, so he should. I told him he must look at his team-mates and feel embarrassed.
“Chances were made and not taken, a rebound was missed when it seemed easier to score and Alex commits a terrible challenge, for me it is a red card, on the eye, i will have to look at it back.
“The best team has lost but nobody is going to believe that around the country.
“A large percentage of the fans don’t see it, it is still a defeat and it is my responsibility, but it was an outstanding Gillingham performance."
