It was a case of practice makes perfect for Joe Martin on Saturday.

The Gillingham left-back curled a free-kick into the top corner to double his side’s advantage at Crewe early in the second half. But his goal was no fluke.

He said: “I have been working on my free-kicks but haven’t really had any opportunities to have a dig. It was nice to get one in a good position and I felt confident – luckily it went in.

“Down training, I spend half an hour on my free-kicks and it’s nice to get one and for it to go in. Hopefully, that’s the first of many.”

Martin had been second fiddle to the likes of Chris Whelpdale and Charlie Lee on set-pieces. But his displays on the training ground meant there was only one man taking the effort on Saturday.

He said: “I have been putting them into the top corner so it was a pretty easy decision really."

Victory on Saturday ended a run of 10 league and cup games without a win since the start of the season for the Gills.

“It is a massive relief and it’s been a long time coming,” said Martin.

“Performances have been pretty good, it’s just been about getting that frst win and we deserved it.

“Last week we worked especially hard, every day, working on things we needed to do and it all came to fruition. It was nice to get to the result and we can kick on now.