Match-winner Curtis Weston praised the Gillingham defence following Saturday’s gritty 1-0 win against Morecambe.

The Gills started their 2009 league campaign with a clean sheet and Weston, who scored the only goal of the game on 18 minutes, believed it was their strength at the back that paved the way to victory.

Weston said: “They knew the pitch and the weather and they play well to those conditions ­– most times those are the hardest places to go.

“We were under the cosh for most of the second half but the way we defended, especially the back four, was brilliant.

“The pitch was heavy on the legs and from everything, free-kicks and goal kicks they were all coming back to us and it was a very strong wind. We had to keep defending and we did that well I thought.”

The weekend hadn’t started so well for Weston as he unfortunately left his boots at home before travelling up on Friday. They arrived on the supporters’ coach an hour or so before kick-off.

The game may not have been the prettiest but Weston was glad to see the Gills battle when they had to.

“You need that,” he said. “We can pop it around and play good football but when you come away you need to be able to grind out results, pull your sleeves up and get stuck in against teams like Morecambe and that’s what we did.”