Matt Lawrence made his 600th career appearance in Gillingham's goalless draw at Shrewsbury on Saturday.

The 36-year-old defender (pictured) turned in another impressive display at the heart of Gillingham’s defence and left manager Andy Hessenthaler in awe of the man.

Hessenthaler, who defied many with his performance levels at a senior age, was delighted to see one of his players have a big impact.

"It’s a phenomenal achievement and I’m well pleased for him," admitted the Gills boss.

"He put in a fantastic performance and he’s asked to keep his shirt (from the match) and rightly so."

Get regular match updates from our reporter Luke Cawdell at Aldershot v Gillingham on Tuesday via ourGills Twitter pageandGills Facebook page. You do not need to have Twitter or Facebook accounts to view these updates.

Lawrence, who began his Football League career with Wycombe in 1996, went onto play for Fulham, before a brief return to Wycombe, then to Millwall where he played over 200 games and onto Crystal Palace where he added another 100-plus appearances.

Since signing for the Gills in the summer he has made 31 appearances and is now forging a decent partnership with fellow central defender Garry Richards.

"They put in another good shift," said Hessenthaler.

"We handled their boys up front well and it was a complement to our boys that they took Ainsworth off, because he didn’t have an effect in the game."

What do you make of Lawrence's milestone? Have your say below.