by Luke Cawdell

Andy Hessenthaler was thrilled with the performance put in by defender Garry Richards in Saturday’s 1-0 win at Plymouth.

The 25-year-old returned to the Gillingham team after young centre-back Connor Essam was sidelined with a bug.

It was the first time since the 2-1 home defeat to Southend that Richards (pictured) had played. He was dropped from the side, along with several other senior players, but showed his commitment to the cause on his return at the weekend.

"Garry Richards was outstanding," said Gillingham boss Hessenthaler. "I had to make some decisions a few weeks ago on players and gave people a rest and left them out on performances.

"It is not easy to take because they want to play but Garry came back in and showed what a man he is. He is a proper professional and he did a fantastic job. He led by example and helped Callum Davies when he came on.

"Garry will always give me 100% and that’s credit to him."