Steve Davis praises Ness after he helps create three goals against the Gills

Steve Davis has told crewealex.net that he used the versatility of Jamie Ness to make sure the on-loan Stoke City midfielder influenced the Gillingham game in the final third. Ness was a constant creative threat with his passing and he played a key role in all three goals.

It was his forward pass that released Uche Ikpeazu to win the penalty for the all-important opening goal. His splendid free kick delivery caused the mayhem inside the Gillingham box to allow Ajose to scramble home his second goal of the afternoon and he then found Ikpeazu again for the decisive third goal with six minutes remaining.

Steve told the club’s official web-site: “We decided to push Jamie further forward because we thought he would be more effective there. There was little point playing him deeper because Gillingham operated with a deep lying midfield player in their diamond shape.

“It allowed Nessy to get forward and play closer to the front two. He can play those little balls in behind and find the forwards and I thought he played well. His free-kick for the second goal was excellent, so difficult to defend against.

He added: “We had to move him back into the left of midfield in the second half and he has the ability to fit into different roles for us. He is looking fit and strong and he has played really well for us over the last couple of months.”