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John Akinde’s weekend performance was his best yet for Gillingham said manager Steve Evans.
A pre-match talk with the striker helped sow the seed for a dominant display upfront where he bossed the action, scoring twice and assisting with another.
“It’s no surprise to see John Akinde play like that,” said Gills boss Evans, who has seen inconsistency in the striker since his move from Lincoln City at the start of the year.
“It was John’s best performance in two or three seasons. He led the line and I put it on him before the game. I had words with him before the game which is unusual for a manager.
“We said, ‘just get on the passes of Robertson and get of Eccles, they were terrific and Dempsey and MacDonald covered every blade of grass, technically very good as well.
“He’s played against us like that for years and with my team but he had a real carrot, we said to him, ‘the boys are looking at him thinking, have you got something to contribute’ and, my god, playing like that he has something to contribute, they couldn’t handle him.
“Three or players were around him and I was desperate for him to get his hat-trick but the other chance never fell to him. The chance that fell to Alex MacDonald, that he put wide, if that fell to John he would have scored.
“When John plays like that it is hard to play anyone else because their defenders will have gone home thinking, ’oh my God, what have I just faced!?
“When John plays like that he is equal to anything in this division. We just need to get that type of energy out of him every week and the rest will take care of itself.”
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