by Luke Cawdell

Gillingham boss Martin Allen revealed that a stomach bug swept through the club before the Aldershot match.

The bug affected the manager as well as his goal-scoring son Charlie Allen and keeper Stuart Nelson but it failed to derail the Gills.

Allen (pictured) said: “The boy (Charlie) Allen was absolutely exhausted and the manager was exactly the same.

"My belly was in bits but there was no way I was going to miss that. I didn’t take training on Friday and I only came in at the last minute to watch and the players have all done us proud once again.

“The manager was on the side of the pitch just desperate that the game wasn’t going to go on any longer. I have virtually been off for two days with a stomach bug and so has Charlie Allen, so has Stuart Nelson and Ross Flitney and three or four others in the club.

"For me it was just a relief to get through to the end without any tricky situations.

“The players showed a great attitude and played some fantastic football. We took our chances and it was a really good day.”

A dominant first-half display saw the Gills go into the break 3-0 ahead.

“We wanted a clean sheet and to try and score more goals (in the second half), Allen said.

“We got a clean sheet and one more goal and it’s a good marker. The second place team (Port Vale) didn’t play and we needed to go out and make our mark. We are six points clear now and that’s good.”

The Gills held onto their clean sheet in the second half as they attempted to play keep-ball and starve Aldershot of chances.

“You defend by keeping the ball,” said Allen. “I think the crowd appreciated that.

“It’s not always easy to watch because it’s different to what the supporters here are used to, keeping possession to keep a clean sheet, that’s what the idea was for the second half. You could see the passion and the commitment from the players.”