by Luke Cawdell

Gills boss Mark Stimson reluctantly left leading scorer Simeon Jackson on the bench against Leeds after admitting his other strikers were just too good to drop.

Jackson, with 17 goals this season, has been in and out of the side through injury in recent weeks and in his absence Dennis Oli and Rene Howe have linked up well.

"It was a tough one," admitted Stimson. "People know how highly I rate Jackson and what I think he will go on to do in the game but these two boys are different types.

"Rene is a physical presence. He can make it difficult for centre halves and he puts himself about while Oli is just in a great bit of form. He is phenomenal in training.

"In the last minute of injury time on Saturday he opened up down the right hand side like a sprinter. The only thing missing was a baton.

"Simeon has had a couple of weeks off. I like to give people a chance who show total commitment to the cause and the desire, not saying Jackson hasn’t, but he hasn’t been here for the last couple of weeks.

"It wouldn’t be right for me to leave Dennis or Rene out because of what they’ve done."