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Alex Jakubiak wasn’t going to let a cold ruin his fun.
He was feeling under the weather on Tuesday but bagged another two goals for the Gills, against Blackpool.
It’s now three goals in four games for the Watford loanee.
He said: “I picked up a bit of flu, I had a sore throat and was sneezing and coughing but I felt okay after taking tablets to get me through the game.
“There was no danger of not playing, it was just a cold, that wasn’t going to stop me.”
Boss Steve Evans knew the striker wouldn’t last the 90 minutes but was confident enough to start him, and the 22-year-old delivered.
Evans said: “The medical team were thinking more like him being on the bench, because of his illness, but credit to him. I thought he was stunning for an hour.
“He didn’t feel well, with a little bug, and he was the same again Tuesday morning, but he said he wanted to go on and play if selected and we put him in.
“You could see his legs fall off him after an hour but that is more to do with what he has been suffering with rather than being unfit.”
Jakubiak’s double was cancelled out by Blackpool late in the opening half.
Gillingham have conceded five league goals in their opening three games and all have come just before the break.
Jakubiak said: “You could see the positives from us first half, and second, it was just that spell just before the break when we conceded the two goals.
“That is something we need to work on, because it happened in the Burton game, and the Doncaster game as well.
“There is a pattern there, and it is something we need to patch up. If we could stop conceding goals then (we’d go) into the break with confidence and then push on second half.”
The Gills have shown good signs in the early weeks of the season but are still awaiting their first win.
Jakubiak said: “It will take time to gel. I am new to the team, there are quite a few new players, maybe it takes a bit of time to click.
“You work on things in training and in games and you learn things about each other, I think maybe after a few more games you will see things coming together.”
His opening goal came after a good interchange with Barry Fuller and that’s the kind of interplay that could flourish across the park.
He said: “I have been playing on the left and Bazza has been left-back. I feel like we have built quite a good relationship, in terms of where he is going to be. We have good chemistry there.”
