John Egan was delighted to have helped Gillingham bury their cup blues.

The defender captained the Gills in the absence of Doug Loft and scored the second goal against Bury.

Victory for the Gills returned them to the top of League 1 and ended a run of three straight defeats.

He said: “We knew it would be a tough test for us but after going behind early on, the self-belief and the character of the lads really shone through.

“We kept going right to the end as shown with Paddy’s [Emmanuel Osadebe’s] goal. We are delighted with the three points.

“We had a tough week and weren’t playing how we normally play. It was weird to be honest. The game was a blessing because we were wounded and we wanted to really put it right.

“The lads were fantastic. Going 1-0 down we could have easily dropped our heads but everyone stood up more.”

New signing Dominic Samuel cancelled out Leon Clarke’s early opener for Bury.

“He only came in on Friday so we don’t know him too well but he was very sharp onto the goal,” said the stand-in skipper.

“It is a perfect platform for him now to go on and produce more goals for us. I am really happy for him.

“It is not easy to come into a group and play your first game but that goal will really settle him down and hopefully he can build on it now.”

Egan hit the second goal to put Gills 2-1 up after 10 minutes.

He said: “We have been strong from set-pieces this season and every time I go up I feel I may be able to get on the end of something.

“The ball was swung in and Harry Lennon has picked me out with a nice header. I took a touch and volleyed it, and thankfully it has gone in. I was delighted.”