Gillingham boss Martin Allen couldn’t believe his side had nothing to show from Tuesday night’s performance.

Visitors Leyton Orient had three chances and converted all three.

The Gills lost the first round match 3-1.

Not for the first time this season, the Gills impressed, but are still awaiting their first win of the campaign.

Allen said: “We played very well and when we went 2-0 down at half-time you think ‘how the hell has that happened’.

“I thought we played some great football and dominated possession in the first half, with some great chances and I don’t know if that was a penalty (for the first goal) or not from where I was.

“Second half we changed our way of playing a little bit, to try and get back into it early on, and again we had some good chances but weren’t able to unlock the door.

“They have had five wins from five (in the league) and so you would have had to have been (at Priestfield) to understand how frustrating it is.

“The team are playing alright, we are just coming unstuck. Perhaps there are a few little individual errors here and there and we’ve been getting punished.

“We are having shots and attempts, that are just missing posts and are going just wide and there have been a few saves from the keeper. It’s a challenge now to work out how to make it better. The performances have been good.”

Allen handed Cody McDonald a start upfront alongside Antonio German. Both impressed the Gills boss.

He said: “It was good to see Cody getting out and playing and he has been chomping at the bit. I thought he played really well and was unlucky with a few chances.

“The German has done very well in training and he played very well. We put Bradley Dack in and these players need to play. I have no regrets about playing these players, they are good players.

“Danny Hollands that was his first start for over a month and it was good to see him. I took Gregory off at halftime. He was playing very well but he had a yellow card and I don’t won’t to risk losing him (to a red card).”

Gills had numerous chances in the opening half but it was Orient who went into the break two goals up.

“It was tough to be 1-0 down, let alone 2-0 down,” said Allen.

“We got them together (at the break) to help them, support them, look after them and we gave them a bit of a plan for the second half to go a bit more direct and we virtually played with three upfront in the second half to go and get it back, to surprise them and change it tactically. I thought that worked very well.

“We put them under a lot of pressure. You have to remember they have just won five out of five and last week they played Hull City and they totally dominated from start to finish in and out of possession.

“I am surprised and disappointed to lose but it was a good effort from our team.”