Romain Vincelot shields the ball as Danny Kedwell watches on as Gills take a point against Fleetwood at Priestfield. Picture: Barry Goodwin

by Luke Cawdell

Gillingham boss Martin Allen was pleased to see his side pick up a point against Fleetwood after facing a two-goal deficit midway through the first half.

And Allen hailed the impact of super-sub Myles Weston, who helped turn the game around in the second period.

“It was a good performance,” said the Gills manager.

“I don’t think we played too badly in the first half but we found ourselves two goals down. It shouldn’t come as any surprise that the players stepped up a gear. We probably deserved to win the game in the end.

“I know they scored two goals but most of the play was in the middle of the field and it was a pretty cagey opening. They have been up near the top pretty much all season, so for us it was a good point to our total, another week has gone and it’s good for us.

“It was a great feeling (to have equalised). All the players in the club can play in a winning team and all the players on the bench can make a difference.

“Thankfully the one we picked to come on made the difference and set the place alight. I am well pleased for Myles Weston because he is a really good player. I am delighted for him.”

The Gills retained their five-point cushion at the top of League 2 with the draw - only one team in the top 10 won - but it wasn’t looking good when the visitors went 2-0 up after 28 minutes.

Despite that, Allen was sure the tide would turn. He said: “At 2-0 we were pretty calm. We weren’t banging our heads against the wall, or scratching our heads and saying ‘oh my God pass me the Nurofen’.

“It was a case of, ‘what are we going to do and how are we going to go about it?’ We knew we would definitely up the ante in the second half and we made that change (With Weston on for Deon Burton) to give us some pace to go in behind.

“We encouraged all the other players to be a bit calmer in possession and a bit more tenacious in the tackle, with their headers and challenges and God bless them they stepped up and performed for the crowd.

“I thought the second-half performance was up there with the best we’ve had all season. We passed the ball around, trying to tempt them out, and when teams park the bus it’s difficult to break them down.

"We pushed them back and got one (in the second half) and had a few chances with our attacking players to win it.”