Gills boss Andy Hessenthaler was thrilled with his side after they booked their place in the Third Round of the FA Cup.

Curtis Weston’s strike in first half stoppage time was enough to send Hessenthaler’s side through to Sunday’s Third Round draw in a pulsating game at Brisbane Road.

Buoyed on by a fantastic following, Gillingham showed all the fighting spirit needed to progress after dumping League One side Bournemouth out in the First Round and Hessenthaler was rightly proud of his troops at the full-time whistle:

“I thought my players were absolutely exceptional and I’m really pleased with their performance from start to finish,” he said. “I couldn’t have asked more from them and I’m pleased for the fans. There were 1,400 of them and I’m delighted the boys put in a performance for them.

“The better team won the game. We earned a bit of luck at the end because of the performance today.

“The goal came about through a bit of urgency which delighted me. We know Charlie (Lee) has got a long throw, he picked the ball up quickly and threw it into the box and Curtis (Weston) has gambled and tucked it away nicely.

“My only disappointment was we didn’t put the game to bed in the second half when we had some good opportunities, although we did ride our luck a little bit at the end when Orient hit the bar.”