Switching Max Ehmer to midfield was a natural option said Gills head coach Ady Pennock.

Ehmer played a defensive midfield role and moving him there, from central defence, raised a few eyebrows among Gills fans.

But Ehmer handled himself well, to the delight of boss Pennock.

He said: “Max is a gifted boy. He has only been a centre-half since the age of 19, so before that he has played centre midfield.

“He has fantastic feet for a big fella and he put a great shift in.

“He started the tempo (of the game) with a tackle on Ricky Holmes. I know he got a yellow card but you need a bit of grit.

“I thought he had a very good game and he didn’t look out of place at all. He set up the goal and his overall performance, he did well.”

Pennock’s first pick for the defensive role would be Billy Bingham, but he remains out with a head injury sustained in training.

The head coach explained the situation regarding Bingham.

Pennock said: “He got a cut on the Saturday (against Shrewsbury) and then he had a clash of heads with Steve Arnold on the Friday.

“We thought nothing of it but then on Saturday, going to Oxford, he spoke to Gary Hemens (the physio) and said he wasn’t feeling too good, that he had blurred vision.

“He said he still wasn’t right this week and we have to be so careful when you clash heads. We have to be sensible on that.”

The Gills picked up a few knocks at the weekend. Mark Byrne was due to have stitches in a head wound while Scott Wagstaff limped off with a calf injury.

Gabriel Zakuani went off with cramp but all of the substitutes had been used by the time Sean Clare got a knock and he managed to see the game out.