Gillingham’s front two took their goal tally to 25 on Tuesday night and boss Steve Lovell was delighted with the way they combined.

He has been working on bringing Josh Parker and Tom Eaves closer together.

He felt they did just that to tear Northampton apart early on.

Report: Northampton Town 1 Gillingham 2

“It is not bad for a pairing is it?” said the manager, after Parker opened the scoring after six minutes and Eaves doubled it on 18.

“It is all credit to them, they work hard and the one thing I was critical about them is that they played too far apart from each other.

“We have been working in the last few weeks about getting close together. They have been doing that and I think that was the best that they have actually combined together.

“They were around each other a lot more. When you are playing a partnership up front, that is what you have to do, you have to be closer together and they did that.

“They both scored and you can’t ask for more from your front pair.”

Parker’s opener was special, firing home across the keeper from an angle, for his 11th of the season.

“It was a great goal,” said Lovell. “That is what he can do. This year he has done a lot of that, coming in on his right foot, they end up in the Rainham End but this one he caught sweetly, it was a good finish and he scored another with his head.”

Parker’s second was ruled out for offside. “He didn’t think he was offside but Josh always says that,” joked the Gills boss.

Read more on the Gills in this Thursday's Medway Messenger newspaper.